The Eagles have put their head coach search to rest and have trusted their instinct on hiring former offensive coordinator of the Colts, Nick Sirianni, to replace Doug Pederson. All eyes are now on Howie Roseman, to nail this offseason after Lurie doubled down.
Many felt that the team should have moved on from their hot-and-cold GM, Howie Roseman, but Jeffrey Lurie had other plans. Roseman hasn’t had the greatest track record when it comes to drafting or even when it comes to setting up his coaches for success.
There are several reasons why Howie’s job was safer than Doug’s. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie once put himself in an uncomfortable situation when he gave Chip Kelly the keys to the kingdom. That unlimited access set the franchise back as key players were moved for the most questionable reasons.
Kelly was fired one season later and Lurie hasn’t looked back since. Comfortability is hard to come by when you have one underperforming member of the organization. Having two is a very different problem. One was controllable, while the other continued to spiral out of reach and cause ripple effects throughout the organization in a negative manner.
Take Carson Wentz’s regression for instance. In the mind of Lurie, it’s easier to find creative coaching staff to help the franchise QB, than it is to find a GM that would commit to the task knowing that a trade is only an arms reach away. Despite what fans and the national media think, Wentz is a quicker fix than finding a replacement for Howie Roseman.
In what became a war of attrition, a disconnect between the front office and coaching staff ruptured the Eagles in 2020. Lurie and Roseman insisted on micromanaging and dictating the course of the journey, while Pederson resisted and begrudgingly worked with what he was given. The former Eagles head Coach was hanging onto a thread and put his hopes and dreams on Jalen Hurts. This might have saved his job had he not pulled him in the season finale and caused a few tremors in the locker room.
The Eagles GM came under plenty of fire this season and for good reason. From an emotional twist in the previously flawless career of Zach Ertz, to a bizarre attachment to Jason Peters and Alshon Jeffery, this year was just strange.
It’s not just an offseason that involved the drafting of Jalen Hurts and a flurry of incredibly raw, but fast players, that was being called into question. Only three of his Draft picks have ever made the Pro Bowl and outside of one free agency class, the rest has been pretty poor, to say the least.
Howie Roseman wasn’t exempt from micromanagement either. The Eagles hired John Dorsey as a front office consultant for the team, aka Howie’s training wheels. Dorsey has had an up and down track record but his knack for talent is anything but a weakness. The former Chiefs and Browns GM was behind many of the moves that have pushed those teams to be in the positions they’re in today. The hiring was never announced and his impact with the Eagles hasn’t been dissected yet but that could be the very reason why Howie isn’t on the hot seat.
Now with the majority of the offensive staff in place, the teams’ brass has surrounded their disgruntled QB with coaches that are not only young but believe in maximizing the talent of their players as opposed to forcing them to fit into their scheme. This is where Howie’s tendency of drafting and signing free agents comes into play. If Nick Sirianni can truly work with any talent then Howie will once again look like a great GM as opposed to the guy who drafted JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who had just 4 catches in 2020. It’s a risky move by Lurie but it does come with some high rewards.
In what was a coin-flip decision, Roseman was granted one last lifeline to right his wrongs and take one giant leap back in the right direction. If he doesn’t, the team will be actively searching for a new GM next offseason.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
