Personnel Dept. Changes

Posted: January 27th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 23 Comments »

For my SB Nation Philly column I broached the subject of whether the Eagles scouting staff was too young.  Apparently the Eagles agreed with me.  Today they hired Rick Mueller to be Player Personnel Executive.

For now, the team is saying this hire isn’t filling the spot held by Ryan Grigson, now the Colts GM.  Mueller’s title is somewhat vague and that could be intentional.  The Eagles may be trying to figure out the best way to allocate duties.

Anthony Patch was promoted to Director of College Scouting.  That’s a good move.  He has a good track record and losing him would have hurt.

The silent guy in all of this is Louis Riddick.  He’s currently the Pro Personnel Director.  Is he due for a promotion?  Is Grigson trying to lure him to Indy?  Riddick was down in Mobile and he was sporting Eagles gear.  I do apologize for not grabbing his leg and screaming “Don’t go, Louis!  Don’t go!!!”  I don’t know what his future is.  He is very good at what he does and I’ve love him to stay in his current spot or get promoted.

Back to Mueller for a second.  He started off in Jacksonville in 1994 as a scout.  Mueller learned under Rick Reiprish, a longtime BLESTO and Seahawks scout.  Mueller and Reiprish later worked together in New Orleans.  Mueller was fired by the Saints in 2008.  According to PFT, he lost a power struggle with GM Mickey Loomis.  Mueller then worked in the UFL for a couple of years.

The thing I like about Mueller is that he is a scout.  That’s his background.  The Eagles have great business guys.  They have good young scouts.  Adding someone who has been a scout for more than 15 years is exactly what the team needed.

Don’t expect him to be some magic elixir that wipes away all bad draft picks.  We just need him to help us a bit.

* * * * *

Senior Bowl practice notes are finally done.  Sorry it took so long.

South Day 3

North Day 3 

The game is Saturday.  I’ll be posting some kind of preview of who to focus on.

23 Comments on “Personnel Dept. Changes”

  1. 1 Eric Weaver said at 3:44 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Obviously I don’t put much stock into “walterfootball’s” mock draft, but it’s curious he has the Eagles taking Kendall Wright. In my opinion, that’d be a horrible pick. Who was the last receiver to come out of the Big 12 and be a quality NFL starter? Recent history is littered with a lot of underachievers like Sweed, Crabtree, etc. Maclin is about the only guy I can think of and he’s in rare breed.

    I say no way to Big 12 receivers.

  2. 2 Anonymous said at 3:59 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Wright is the real deal. All about speed. Most Big 12 guys are big. Wright has some size, but he’s got legit deep speed and is a big time vertical threat.

    The top WR is Justin Blackmon, another Big 12 guy and I’d gladly add him.

    You do bring up an interesting point. I’ll think about that.

  3. 3 Joe Taylor said at 4:13 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Is he similar to Randall Cobb?

  4. 4 Anonymous said at 4:17 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Cobb is more elusive. Wright is a true WR with the ability to be a threat over the middle or down the field.

    Some scouts compare him to a bigger version of Steve Smith, the Panthers star.

  5. 5 Anonymous said at 5:41 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Dez Bryant is a world class douche, but the talent is there.

  6. 6 Eric Weaver said at 6:50 PM on January 28th, 2012:

    Tommy,

    Could it be that’s the conference that really runs a lot of spread offenses? They can’t handle press coverage. It’s why Florida receivers haven’t been very good either. Percy Harvin being the exception.

  7. 7 Joe Taylor said at 4:07 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Yeah I think it would be a bad pick. If we go WR in 1st Rd, then I certainly do not want another small 5’10 player.

    Bucky Brooks of NFL.com has Kuechly going at 13 to AZ.

    & us taking Devon Still.

    I don’t know much about him but what NFL player do you think you could compare him to, Tommy?

    He said he commands double teams so that our LBs can get in free and make tackles…That’s sounds like he’s a dominate DT, if he is disruptive, I’m OK with it.

  8. 8 Anonymous said at 4:20 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Bucky Brooks is an idiot. Do not read anything of his in the future. You’ll be smarter for it.

    Devon Still did get doubled at PSU. Won’t in the NFL. I just don’t think he’s worth pick 15. I’m a big fan, but gotta figure out a good value for him.

  9. 9 Joe Taylor said at 4:45 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    At pick 15, give me the best 5 players in your opinion that probably still be available.

    Obviously your son, Luke is #1, lol.

  10. 10 Anonymous said at 7:21 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    BAHAHAA that is the first time I’ve honestly heard you talk shit on somebody other than the hacks in CT.

  11. 11 Anonymous said at 7:47 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Don’t forget Mike Lombardi and Brian “hyperbole” Baldinger.

  12. 12 Anonymous said at 4:07 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    T-Law:

    Did you see Rick Mueller at the Senior Bowl?

    That would seem important . . . but the Eagles know best.

  13. 13 Anonymous said at 4:21 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Not sure what he looks like. Could have been sitting behind me and I’d have been oblivious.

  14. 14 Joe Taylor said at 4:11 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Is Wright more towards Steve Smith’s level or DeSean Jackson’s level? Steve Smith is 5’9 but plays bigger than that, Wright is at about 5’10. If Wright plays bigger than his size like Steve Smith than I could be happy about that.

  15. 15 Anonymous said at 4:30 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Looking back at Mueller’s time with the Saints, they had some very good drafts w/ Mueller as (i) Director of Player Personnel, and (ii) VP for Player Personnel. Especially in his last 4 years there (2004-2008).

    Don’t know what role he played in the draft. But the Saints selected Carl Nicks, Jahri Evans, Jermon Bushrod, and Jamaal Brown in that period — all of whom became Pro Bowlers or All Pro.

    The Saints added WRs Devry Henderson, Robert Meacham, Marques Colston during Mueller’s tenure.

    And DBs Roman Harper and Tracey Porter.

    Earlier in his Saints tenure, the team missed on a couple of high picks, too: DT Jonathan Sullivan (5 overall) and, to given expectations, Reggie Bush (2 overall). But the Saints also added Will Smith and Duece McAlister during those earlier years.

    Like I said, I have no idea what role Mueller played in those selections.

  16. 16 Anonymous said at 5:43 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    A question’s been raised at BGN whether Mueller was strictly “pro personnel” or on the college side (or both).

    Here’s an article from the local New Orleans’ newspaper regarding Mueller’s 2008 firing. Here’s what seems to be the answer in a quote from GM Mickey Loomis about Mueller’s role before his firing — with the last sentence the key:

    “This is always a tough decision when you make changes and as a result positions are eliminated,” Loomis said in the press release. “Rick has been a valued part of this team since 2000; and it was under his direction that players such as Deuce McAllister, Will Smith, Charles Grant, Jahrii Evans and Marques Colston were drafted by us.”

    Here’s a link to the article. http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2008/06/mueller_out_source_says.html

  17. 17 Anonymous said at 6:07 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Ryan Pace has been the Director of Pro Personnel since 2007. Can’t see who had the job prior to that.

    Mueller was Player Personnel, but his background is college scouting. He came up as a college scout and that seems to be his area of expertise. He has worked in the league a long time and I’m sure he’ll help both departments.

  18. 18 Anonymous said at 7:16 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Mueller was kicked out of NO after pretty much building that team by Loomis, supposedly a power play. Loomis is a cap guy, think a mind merge of Howie and Joe.

    Eagles seem to be much more collegial, for one thing, Joe could pull that type of bull given his relationship with Lurie, but from all reports he’s wise enough to stick with his spreadsheets and leave the personnel decisions to football guys. That should help recruiting the 2nd tier guys who know they may have hit the ceiling, but want to work in an organization where their work will be respected, and not second guessed by a guy who’s trying to flash his testosterone.

    Doesn’t hurt that the Eagles seem to be willing to pay for quality behind the scenes. Respect and money are a fine way to recruit good people.

  19. 19 Anonymous said at 7:24 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Obviously isn’t a very good cap guy considering the clusterfuck they left themselves in FA this year.

  20. 20 Eric Weaver said at 6:51 PM on January 28th, 2012:

    The reason he’s a good cap guy is why they were able to sign all those guys. As Tommy stated before, Banner isn’t the guy that demanding the team add them, he’s just the guy that signs them.

  21. 21 Anonymous said at 7:49 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    I don’t know anything about who does what, but I always like Riddick because he graduated from the same high school as I did (though not at the same time).

  22. 22 Anonymous said at 8:10 PM on January 27th, 2012:

    Micheal Floyd or Kendall Wright if u had you choice at 15, Tommy? Wouldn’t be nice to have a 6’3 225lb receiver? I think we can get Joe Adams in the later rounds to replace Deseans speed. Needs coaching on routes but the speed is there.

  23. 23 Jeppe van Ee said at 7:21 AM on January 28th, 2012:

    When looking at the pro bowl rosters (who admittedly doesn’t always consist of the best players) only EIGHT players were drafted outside of the 1st round.

    With that in mind, is the current draft strategy of quantitative over qualitative the right way to go? I think this team needs an influx of young elite talent – not more depth talent!

    So, should we try to package some picks and get 2 1st round picks this year?