Just a couple of hours after the Eagles “parted ways” with Head Coach Doug Pederson, Owner, Jeffery Lurie spoke to the media. And it went….poorly.
To be frank it was an unmitigated disaster. Lurie spent much of the press conference defending Howie Roseman as questions began to pile up that demanded answers.
What did that tell us about this team?
Remember when former Cowboys CB Orlando Scandrick was cut by the Eagles and started telling national audiences the following:
“That locker room is different. I would tell guys when I came there, like, I still feel like they are living on that Super Bowl high, Like, it’s over. You’re living in the past. But some of those guys came into the league and the first thing they experienced was 13-3 and the Super Bowl, that’s what it’s all about.”
This team is stuck in the past.
Lurie would rather talk about his one Super Bowl and a bunch of playoff appearances from the early 2000’s when discussing his current front office’s ability to evaluate talent than recognize that in order to restore the glory days, changes need to be made:
“We’ve over the last ten, 15 years, had a lot of success, a lot of success winning divisions, being in NFC Championship Games. I think one-fourth of the time I’ve been owner in the last 20 years, we’ve appeared in an NFC Championship game. That’s hard to do without really good talent.”
He even talked about Nate Sudfeld’s first game action as being one of dominance….in a 6-0 loss.
Outside of the Nate Sudfeld talk and the near-praise for Howie Roseman, Lurie did nothing but confuse reporters and fans.
In the end, his perception of what this team really is and the trajectory is on is clearly different to that of just about anyone else.
If Lurie came out said something like this:
“Hey, we are in a really tough situation, we’ve got old players, bad cap, and need to rebuild and it’s not fair for Doug to go through a rebuild when he wants to compete for a championship”
Then maybe there would be a bit of hope for fans to cling to. Hope that Lurie is looking through the same lens and is seeing the same things, wanting to make the right changes for the team…but that would also mean letting go of Howie Roseman.
Jeffery Lurie would rather relish in former glory and hold on to one masterful season, than accept the team is in a very different place right now and needs him to make the right calls more than it does Howie Roseman.
The Eagles now have to find what is essentially an entirely new coaching staff and establish a fresh identity. If the new hires are brought on with the expectation that it’s Howie’s way or the highway, as appeared to be the case for a Head Coach who literally won them a Super Bowl, then the team could be doomed to repeat the same cycle.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
