According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Texans are interested in Eagles Vice President of Player Personnel, Joe Douglas as a target for their vacant GM position. This comes as no surprise after the sensational work Douglas has been a part of during his short stint with the Eagles so far, but what can the Birds’ do to stop the process?
Two more personnel executives the Texans are interested in for their vacant GM job are Eagles VP of player personnel Joe Douglas and Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) January 5, 2018
The Eagles could actually block an interview for the GM position as the team are still in the playoffs. But because the role inherits full responsibility over the roster, trades, draft boards and personnel decisions, the Eagles would be unable to put up a fight once the playoffs have come to an end. Gauged as a promotion, the Eagles can simply hope that a potential new contract or that the culture he has began to construct will keep him in the City of Brotherly Love.
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.
The Browns attempted to secure an interview with Douglas back in January but the Bears denied them the opportunity in the run up to the Draft. The Browns aren’t the only team in the NFL appear to hold the former All-State Lineman in high regard. Seen 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.
“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. “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.”
Earlier on in the presser, Douglas himself spoke about the comfort the team feel when looking at all the potential scenarios to explore regarding their 14th overall pick.
“Gut instincts are taken out of the Draft. We have a great group of scouts, a great group of coaches.” Douglas told the media. “We’ve done so much work on these guys, it’s never going to be an exact science..but I think we’ve fine tuned it to a formula we’re looking for in a player”.
So what is that formula that Douglas speaks of? It’s a lot less of what we see on the field, and a lot more of what we’re hearing about off the field.
“You’re really trying to gauge how much does this guy love Football? When you get to this level, everybody is talented. There’s a prerequisite of talent that’s required for every position. We’re trying to find the things you can’t really measure; Mind, Spirit, Soul, their will to win.”
It’s not hard to see why other teams would come clawing after Douglas, who has helped turn the Eagles into a potential championship contender within just 12 months. But what can the Eagles do to let him go? It may just be a case of trusting the process.
Mandatory Photo Credit: Ed Hille/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
