Are Eagles in danger of losing Joe Douglas to the New York Jets?

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It’s been a strong offseason for the New York Jets. Le’Veon Bell will shoulder some of the offensive weight that Sam Darnold has to carry, Adam Gase was hired as their new Head Coach, and the team drafted very well…which makes the decision to fire Mike Maccagan even more puzzling.

Sure, Maccagan was responsible for the extortionate Darrelle Revis contract, the drafting of Christian Hackenberg, and a lack of strong pass-rushers on the outside, but over the last two years, his direction couldn’t have been stronger. Whoever takes over from Maccagan will have a strong base to build on.

Adam Gase will reportedly fill the interim GM role while Jets chairman, Christopher Johnson, conducts the search for Maccagan’s replacement. Unfortunately for Eagles fans, there’s one obvious candidate who has been heavily linked to a promotion for quite some time.

Joe Douglas.

The Eagles’ vice president of player personnel has a strong relationship with Gase after working together in Chicago and rumors of him eventually climbing the next rung of the front office ladder as a New York Jet are hardly new.

Douglas has a reputation of one of the best at what he does, someone that has risen through the ranks at a rapid rate and while he’s been absolutely imperative in setting the draft board for Howie Roseman over the last few years alongside Andy Weidl, his departure was always expected.

“Part of bringing him (Joe) in here, is trying to change what we’ve done and trying to get better.” GM Howie Roseman said during the Draft process of 2017. “It started with using a different grading scale and getting us all acclimated with the way he talks about players and how he grades players. As we go through the free agent board and the draft board, we trust in Joe and his ability to put that together.”

Douglas spent fifteen years with the Baltimore Ravens, first as an area scout where his work influenced the decision to draft Joe Flacco and then as a National Scout in 2012. He held this position for three years before moving to Chicago to become the Bears’ head of College Scouting in 2015. It was here where Douglas learned under Bears G.M Ryan Pace and of course, met Adam Gase

Regarded as a future GM by teams around the league, Douglas hails from the Ozzie Newsome school of scouting and the way he views the draft has already been made very clear. Most recently, the Eagles selected Andre Dillard with the 22nd overall pick after trading up, just one year removed from trading back to select Dallas Goedert in the second round.

Whether it’s incredibly valuable agent signings like Cre’Von LeBlanc, Patrick Robinson, and Zach Brown, or a meticulous draft strategy, Douglas has left a firm imprint on Philadelphia, aiding tremendously in the rise of Howie Roseman.

The Texans tried to snag Joe Douglas one offseason ago and other teams have tried, but there’s only so much blocking the Eagles can do before the right opportunity arises and lures him away…

Mandatory Photo Credit: Philadelphia Eagles