The Candidates
Posted: January 7th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 346 Comments »The Eagles need a personnel guy to work with Chip Kelly and help him run that side of things. Before we talk names, let’s understand the job a bit more. This isn’t going to be the GM job. The new person won’t have control of the roster or the draft. This is a stepping stone position. Established candidates who have some power now will not want this job. The Eagles asked for permission to talk to KC’s Chris Ballard. He’s got no interest in this job. He’s done this kind of thing already. Ballard is looking for a GM job. He wants control. As I’ve mentioned before, Kelly is looking for his version of Tom Heckert, someone looking for a promotion, but who knows he’s not quite ready to run his own show.
Rumors so far say these are the candidates:
Ed Marynowitz – PHI – Assistant Director of Player Personnel
Sheldon White – DET – VP of Pro Personnel
Eliot Wolf – GB – Director of Player Personnel
Chris Polian – JAX – Director of Pro Personnel
Chris Grier – MIA – Director College Scouting
Brian Gaine – HOU – Director of Pro Personnel
There is no one on the list that I’m in love with, but there’s also no one that I hate. Chris Polian probably is my least favorite candidate because he learned so much from his dad, who was unorthodox with what he did with the Colts.
Gaine is interesting because he’s got a lot of experience and worked under Bill Parcells with the Jets and Cowboys. I’m not the biggest Tuna fan in the world, but he generally hired well and certainly was a guy you’d want to learn from.
Wolf, Polian and Grier all are the sons of former GMs. Must be nice, huh? Grier has the most experience and has worked in the business for more than 15 years. You don’t stay that long if you don’t belong. Wolf is the youngest of that trio and might be the most interesting. His dad, the legendary Ron Wolf, hasn’t worked for the Packers for a while. Eliot is rising through the ranks on his own. He works for GM Ted Thompson, who is good at finding football and front office talent. The Packers have put personnel guys around the league. John Dorsey (KC) and John Schneider (SEA) are a pair of GMs who worked under Thompson in Green Bay.
White has done a good job of finding veteran talent for the Lions. Guys like Glover Quinn, Golden Tate, Joique Bell, Reggie Bush, Rashean Mathis, James Ihedigbo and Josh Byes all were key to the Lions success this year. White is a former NFL player who took a scouting job after he was done playing and then worked his way up the ladder. He’s been in pro personnel since 2000, but still does some college scouting.
Of these candidates, Gaine might be the safest choice. He’s worked for multiple teams in multiple roles. He had a great mentor in Bill Parcells. White has only worked for the Lions and hasn’t exactly been tutored by great people. That said, he’s lasted with one team for a long time and that’s very rare.
Wolf might be the boom/bust choice. He’s got the right pedigree, both personally and professionally. But he’s also young and used to working with talented personnel people. You never know how he’d handle a new environment where the pressure would be on him to have the answers.
* * * * *
When I made up my candidate list the other day, this was it.
Chris Ballard – KC
Chris Grier – MIA
Lake Dawson – TEN
Brian Gaine – HOU
Will McClay – DAL
Scott Fitterer – SEA
Alonzo Highsmith – GB
Brian Gutekunst – GB
Ryan Pace – NO
JoJo Wooden – SD
There is no order to the list, by the way. I was doing research and jumping around from team to team to see who might be of interest.
Scott Fitterer is the name that seemed most fascinating to me. He is their Director of College Scouting and has had a strong hand in helping to build a terrific roster. He knows about how they obsess on athletic ability and how that’s helped them find some late round/UDFA gems.
Highsmith is a guy who’s been talked about for a few years, but he’s not moved from GB. This might be a good fit for him. I don’t know if he’s ready to be on his own as GM, but he certainly has the knowledge and experience to have more power than he does up there.
* * * * *
I don’t think there is a slam-dunk must hire choice. There is a lot of logic to going with Marynowitz, but I think the Eagles would be smart to look around. Kelly has relationships with some personnel guys from his time at Oregon when they would come out on scouting trips. But there are plenty of sharp guys he doesn’t know and it is wise to look around and see who’s out there.
The Eagles need someone that knows personnel, but someone who can also work well with Chip Kelly and what he wants to do. That is a mixture of old school football and new school ideas. Finding the right fit is critical. The new guy has to fully buy in to what Kelly is trying to do for this to succeed as planned.
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Uuuuugh….talking about GM-Lite candidates is so boring Free agency is soooo far away and the draft is farther away
I know. I said this last night lol. If I wasn’t so busy I’d be watching more college prospects.
The biggest problem with that is draftbreakdown hasn’t made their big push on getting film up. There’s probably only 40-50 guys with any kind of volume of film.
Dnt have time anyway. You better watch more tape of Justin Gilbert so you can realize how good he is. Think we can grab Gunter and Rowe with our 4ths?
Gunter I have a 3rd round grade on. I’m not a big Rowe fan. He just looks awkward playing at corner, and doesn’t bring as much physicality as you would like considering he’s a former safety.
Well then perhaps the fifth. I thought he looked solid, although I didn’t realize he was a former safety. Thats the kind of versatility we look for. Gunter may work his way up the boards, he looks pretty damn good.
He was a 3 year starter at S, and got moved to CB this year because they had some depth at S and CB was a mess.
I’ve been meaning to go back and look at his Junior tape to see if he’s got the chops back there. Because if he’s a decent safety and just spent the year at corner, he could be very intriguing. But I don’t like him at corner at all.
I thought he looked ok. What didnt you like specifically? He looks like he can cover pretty well. Is it just the lack of physicality for our scheme?
He’s a poor open field tackler. His footwork in off coverage is all over the place, and I don’t love his ball skills. I’m not sure of his speed. That said I don’t have enough film on him to write up so he’s liable to move up.
His ball skills are garbage. I’ll have to watch his footwork again. I usually just watch and see, can he backpedal, turn his hips quickly and with his man. I think he can but have to look again.
His pedal is better at safety where he can play a bit higher, but specifically watch it when he’s more than 5 yards downfield against in breaking cuts.
I mean, we could use some safety help. If the coaches think he can be productive there and he falls a bit. Take him. I’ll try and watch.
He looks much better at safety, until he has to make a tackle. In the three games i watched he made one open field 1v1 tackle. He missed 4 or 5.
I just got done watching his Michigan game against Funchess again. I saw he got juked when Funchess cut back in around 5 yards. Also I saw him whiff on some tackles, that if he made, would make him more impressive. The more I watch, the less I like.
He has the size teams are looking for so he will probably be picked higher than he should. I say 5th round/low 4th just because of the versatility and size he displays.
I do wonder, if given the chance to play more at cb would he get more competent? I could tolerate the tackling issues from a cb but don’t you think the tackling can be fixed anyway? One can learn to tackle better.
All in all we probably need to see him run and how fast he is but if the coaches think they can coach him into cb, maybe he is worth the risk. I saw just take Waynes/Rollins/hell even Peters high or/and take a run at Gunter.
No worries, a few years ago I was just a college player who knew how to watch film, and knew technique but that was about it. Find smart people who know what they are talking about, and more importantly who can communicate what they see. It rubs off. Plus screw saving lives, watching film in your spare time is way more fun 😛
A lot will have to do with Chips own opinion of his strengths and weaknesses. His coaching hires (such as his choice of OC) seems to indicate he’s got an understanding of what he can and can’t do and is willing to hire someone to compliment his approach. If Chip thinks he’s a good evaluator of college talent that won’t be a big priority for the new hire. On the other hand he’s got experience on the West Coast, maybe hiring a guy who knows the SEC and east coast will be a better move.
Tommy, others have brought up the potential problem of Howie still being in the building, and that this new position is (sort of) not only reporting to Chip but caught between Chip and Howie (who still does the contracts). There will be conflict between how much you (Chip/new guy) want someone and how much Howie will pay. So some people think if you picked Chip over Howie, then Howie needed to leave.
what do you think, and on that tangent, does that make this position less desirable?
setting aside this hire, I’m more questioning whether the new paradigm can work. If Howie didn’t understand what Chip wanted, how can he properly value what Chip wants in deciding how much to pay?
Roseman’s “cap” power remains a valuable chit for him.
And for Lurie, too.
Lurie’s given Kelly everything he wanted — except the ability to push the “Red” button (i.e., control over the Eagles’ financial structure).
By keeping Roseman in that position, Lurie has created some mild veto authority based strictly on dollars — perhaps with Lurie making the final call.
Kelly, if nothing else, publicly acknowledged Roseman’s acumen as cap guy. Too late now for Kelly to complain about that, too.
Last item . . . with all the money Roseman’s getting paid, he’s going nowhere — unless some new owner offers him a piece of the action to be Joe Banner-II.
If the Kelly Experiment blows up, Lurie will turn back to Roseman — and toss bouquets his way about how Roseman kept Lurie informed about player values and draft prospects . . .
And other similar nonsense.
I’d really like to hear your opinion on this too, Tommy. I’ve brought up the same concern on multiple occasions.
There is a notable name missing from the list: Tommy “Funyuns” Lawlor.
How does one tell Lurie that thie structure he has put in place doesn’t work, that his trusted confidant is not the right person to evaluate talent, and that changes must be made if the Eagles are going to get to the Super Bowl, and not be able to immediately provide the name of whom Kelly would propose as a replacement? That Kelly didn’t have a person in mind, tells us a lot about his preparedness. That Lurie would agree to a change in structure without knowing who would fill this role, tells us a lot about his competence (or lack thereof ).
what if he had a guy named.. and that guy said no thanks?
That guy would have been felt out – directly or more likely thru others – to access his interest. You’ve got be prepared for the boss to ask the “who” question. If nothing else, it gives the boss the ability to defer a response by saying ” come back when you have a specific name”.
Lurie went with his GUT… we’ll see if it pans out.. Chip will find a guy.. when a coach gets fired, that owner or GM doesn’t (generally) have a guy ready to roll right away they have to interview people… same situation here.
you and I base most, if not all, thoughts based on our guts … Lurie – does not run an organization on “gut” feelings…..lol…
Of course he does. He’s not a Vulcan.
well, he said Howie will be the GM… then a few days later.. Howie is Jock sniffer and Chipper is above GM… seems pretty GUT to me.. but your right i hope it wasn’t a GUT move.. but who the heck knows..
There isn’t any reason that he should have only one name on a list. He should have a general feel of guys he thinks are qualified and those are probably the names we’re seeing now. Just because the names weren’t leaked to the media immediately, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t give Lurie some names he was thinking about. You can’t just go out and hire someone the next day. In most cases, you have to formally request interviews. We may be interested in some other guys that are still in the playoffs and they haven’t leaked because we haven’t asked to interview them yet.
i agree w you. i was trying to add minor sarcasm..
“That Lurie would agree to a change in structure without knowing who would fill this role, tells us a lot about his competence (or lack thereof ).”
No it doesn’t. Successful, highly competent people make decisions in this fashion every day.
Either way I think this came down to an actual or implied threat by Kelly that he would not stay with the then-existing arrangement. Lurie had to decide, IMO, between two less than perfect scenarios. Either (1) keep things as is and surely lose Kelly in a year or less (and perhaps Marynowitz, who for reasons not yet articulated seems to be viewed as a rising star but who apparently was not getting along with Howie), or (2) go with Kelly’s “vision,” keep Kelly and Marynowitz, while also being able to keep Howie around, to help with contracts/cap and perhaps be able to step back into a more involved role if Kelly craps the bed with his personnel responsibilities.
Since coaches of Kelly’s apparent quality seem harder to find than personnel guys like Roseman (especially where there is some evidence that he doesn’t play well with others), the decision wasn’t really that hard. Hopefully it works out, but I think Lurie just didnt see a better option.
I’d rather not speculate on what went on behind closed doors, but in the scenario you present I agree -you back Kelly.
You missed option 3. Keep Kelly and let Howie go, which imho was the right move to make. I say this as a fan of Howie who still would rather have peace in the front office.
Heads of multi-million, if not Billion
Actually, you’re wrong about that too.
Executives make arbitrary decisions all of the time. Successful people do it all of the time. There are a hundreds of studies and thousands of Malcolm Gladwell books on the science of decision making which make this argument..
How do you know that he didn’t have a guy? More likely, he was blind-sided by the Gamble release and he’s still evaluating names for a position he didn’t think he’d need to fill until the axe fell.
The thing I find so interesting about this whole front office reshuffle is that, the only stories we’ve ever heard about Howie and Chips relationship are anecdotes where Chip wanted to do something, let’s say less than intelligent, like draft Taylor Hart in the 3rd round and Howie was able to correctly talk him out of it, help in get the player he coveted in addition to getting additional value on top of that. And, some of these stories have come from chip himself, so we have little reason to doubt them. Yet, Chip is getting more personnel power and stripping Howie of his say in personnel matters. I’d love to have heard his pitch to Lurie. If it didn’t include threats to leave it must have been a real convincing vision.
I think it’ll be interesting to see what happens at draft time. I’m sure Howie will stay on top of personnel matters even if he currently has no say in the organization. It’s his dream to be a personnel guy, he’s just not going to just stop gathering personnel and roster info. Will Howie, as VP of Football operations and overseer of equipment and strength training be in the war room at all? Will his knowledge of what other teams are planning to do on draft day be lost? Will his uncanny ability to fleece other teams in trades be something we can still utilize as our cap guru now? Does he lose his seat next to Lurie at games? Since the scouts were pissed that coaches reordered their draft board will we be getting a whole new personnel department or will the new guy just be in charge of a dozen angry scouts that know Chips gonna rearrange their board again?
It’ll definitely be interesting…
“I’d love to have heard his pitch to Lurie.”
______________
In substance, I think, what Kelly said to Lurie was: “This is how I envision things working here, but you’re the owner and you make the final call of course.”
READ: Him or me.
Pretty much. I also think there’s probably a lot more negative Howie stories that don’t get reported: http://www.csnphilly.com/football-philadelphia-eagles/eagles-front-office-revisited-why-howie-roseman-pushed-aside
Reports from scouts who worked under Howie are starting to trickle in pointing to Howie the manager not being such a positive driving force. Obviously you have to take it with a grain of salt but Chip has a vision for how he likes people to manage, and it doesn’t sound like Howie came from that school of thought. The timing of the dismissal and Chips reaction to the manner & timing of it speak toward that sentiment. I think this is much more about managing people and breeding a collaborative environment than it is about fighting over draft picks.
EN:
I think what you’ve described very well may have been a part of Kelly’s motivation.
What ever was going on, though, it was a problem for Kelly.
We just don’t know what it was, exactly.
I hope Howie takes a step back with this move and reevaluates some things. He’s good at talent acquisition, and down the road could come back into play.
Also he’s not the first GM to be wary of those under him. At least he didn’t go J Edgar Hoover on people ala Pioli.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/report-chiefs-employees-live-environment-secrecy-intimidation-fear-175257336.html
D3FB:
That’s very good advice.
Almost paternal. And the extension Lurie gave Roseman offers him that opportunity.
I wonder if Lurie made a suggestion similar to yours? Very wise advice, indeed.
I’m thinking that Howie will have to stay on top of personnel issues, if for no other reason than he has to work their contracts at some point.
Don’t know if anyone else noticed this, but apparently Wiziwig.tv was shut down by the Spanish government… Someone better set up a new streaming site before next season!
http://cricfree.sx/ still works
There are a few others I’ve used, so plenty are out there. Only problem with most is all of the pop ups that can’t be blocked.
Addblock stopped them for me anyway
Yep – firefox and AdBlock Plus are the way to go with these sites
ifeed2all.eu is a great streaming site
Wiziwig wasn’t actually the streaming website, but a sort of search engine for other streaming sites. Chances are the websites you used previously are still up and running if you check your web history. Then again, you might not actually ever want to see your web history.
It wasn’t shut down by government, they just got scared of government and shut it down themselves. But personally I don’t believve them anyway, cuz http://wiziwig.to/soccer is still working – Wiziwig is acting like it’s over but it’s not imo.
I’m glad the article states that this is NOT a GM position. Some fans still think of it as a GM spot. This isn’t a huge hire IMHO. It’s more of a internship(I know, not exactly) position of someone who WANTS to be a GM but doesn’t have the background. I’d imagine people(without current power) would line up like crazy for this spot.
….
“I’m not the biggest Tuna fan in the world” — that comment right there made me a bigger fan of T-Law. One of the most overrated HC’s in the history of the NFL.
Parcells the coach was pretty damn good. Parcells the personnel man wasn’t that great. Too bad he didn’t realize that til way to late 😀
How bout the best scout/personnel guy ever who worked for niners and seattle during their boom bigtime drafts over last 8 yrs but left teams for drinking problems and works as a private nfl consultant now????? Espn did a special on him. Scout savant
Redskins hired him as a GM yesterday.
Ugh thanks for the heads up
Sucks but i don’t know if he would have taken the job without any power involved
Thought I heard the Redskins just hired him.
great! I really, truly feel for the guy. But dealing with D.C. and Snyder on a daily basis? I know I couldn’t stay sober
Probably cracked a beer upon leaving the interview.
I know that job would drive me to alcoholism.
He’s about to sign as a true GM with Washington. Wonder how working with Snyder will impact the vodka urge.
Well, I toast Snyder every spring with his spending so…
You never know how he’d handle a new environment where the pressure would be on him to have the answers.
that’s just it, Tommy…wouldn’t our situation be the exact opposite? I imagine he (or whoever is hired) would (very) slowly grow into responsibility and decision-making
Then the potential for a substantial vacuum exists concerning valuation — i.e., where on the board a player should go — and pre-draft and draft-day trading.
While this new hire (or promoted in-house scout) is learning, who’s the “wise man” on the personnel side?
I agree. Another question: is Howie even in the war room on draft day? Because whether we like Howie or not, he has valuable contacts for trades and is knowledgeable of values.
NFL GM position open (Not really a GM position)
Looking for a football guy with many years experience in player personnel to rubber stamp the decisions of a first time NFL coach and take the blame in the event those decisions do not work out.
Ouch. Way to sell it.
Thread winner. ‘Straw Man’ or experience as a scarecrow also welcome
Why don’t the Eagles hire TO as the ‘light GM’. I mean he’s still alive in the “Celebrity Apprentice” so he cannot be that bad, right?!
FYI, Adam Caplan thinks highly of Chris Polian:
“Would be an excellent hire. Former GM.”
Caplan is generally pretty good, although there have been plenty of times I’ve disagreed with him.
Caplan works with his dad at espn now. Wouldn’t read to much into his opinion on that
What’s interesting is that apparently Kelly is the one interested in interviewing Polian and Polian in some respects has been portrayed like Howie Roseman. Back in November of 2011, Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star wrote an article where former employees of the Colts trashed Polian and said he was “toxic.” Another quote from the article: “[S]ince he started moving up the organizational ladder in the early 2000s for no apparent reason other than being a Polian,” Kravtiz writes, “he has been instrumental in hastening the exits of scouts and assistant coaches who led the Colts to previous greatness.” The actual article is in the Indy Star’s paid archive so I can’t link to it. I’m sure the level of truth in the article is debatable as it is with Roseman. It seems like Polian didn’t get respect because it was viewed he got his job because of nepotism while Roseman didn’t get respect because of his cap background and not being a “football guy”. Regardless, it’s somewhat ironic that a divisive personality like Polian would be considered if the criticisms of Roseman have merit.
The Giants fired defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. He’s a bad defensive coordinator, but was a very good DBs coach. I don’t think we should have or should fire Davis as DC, but I’d like to see the Eagles replace their current DBs coach. I know personnel is a large part of the problem, but it doesn’t seem as if the corners at least are taught good technique. Lovett is around 70 years old, so they could save face and call it a retirement.
Todd Lyght left for Vandy, so there’s an opening.
The name Marc Ross should be added to that list. He is basically the 2nd in command with the NY Giants, working under their GM, Jerry Reese. Reese isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, he is only 51 years old, and is coming off two of his better draft classes, in NY. Ross worked for the Eagles from 1997 – 2003, and was promoted to their college scouting director in 2000, ( the youngest in the league at that time. ) During Ross 2nd year as director of college scouting the Eagles had one of there best drafts in the last 20 years, drafting : Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, Brian Westbrook and Michael Lewis. The other huge bonus would be he already knows all the teams strengths and weaknesses within the NFC East.
I agree. It’s funny though. Giants fans think he’s horrible and call for him to be fired.
They had a few lackluster drafts in the years prior to their last two drafts. I’m sure many of their fans are still not happy about that, just like we remain upset about the Eagles 2010 – 2011 drafts.
Tommy, do you think this position could turn into a GM job in the future if Chip really likes the person?
Not Tommy but I’m sure the title could eventually be GM but I doubt as long as Chip is around if it would be the type of GM that has hiring/firing of HC authority. It’d be a Tom Heckert and Howie Roseman before 2012 type deal with the HC still having ultimate control.
Exactly, John Schneider’s official title is GM, but Carrol technically has full control.
Schneider and Carroll seem to have the ability to make each other’s job easier.
Some people owe Jason La Confora a apology. It appears that his story about Howie Rosemans bad reputation around the league and also how Rosemans presence within the team was hindering top tier coaching candidates from considering the Eagles head coaching job.
All it means is that he listened to a few people with agendas like Mosher did. Kelly did ultimately accept the job and there wasn’t any other high-tier candidate that declined interviewing with the Eagles.
well said
Have you not been paying attention ? They had to go back to Chip Kelly when he said ” no ” , and tell him he could bring in a ( football guy )to work with, ( see – Tom Gamble ) because he didn’t ( trust / respect ) Roseman. Do you REALLY not see the EXACT correlation between La Confora’s story, and what just happened with the Eagles, Roseman / Kelly situation ? This information is WELL documented. The point IS NOT ( how many ) candidates declined, it’s that La Confora’s preface about the ( Roseman ) dynamic, was absolutely correct, and was ultimately proved by the Eagles front office shake up, and Roseman being distanced from Kelly. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see how his story is supported by many other current stories being written, and most importantly what happened to Roseman.
Have to side with GR on this one. La Confora’s story was pulp fiction, based mostly on anonymous sources (read Banner) and fails to match reality. Roseman isn’t toxic. He is a knowledgeable and valuable guy who knows how to evaluate talent AND predict the market for that talent – both in Free Agency and the draft.
I expect very little to change. Howie will be as involved as before – only now the entire organization has a clear vision of who has final say.
Don’t accuse knowledgeable commenters (like GR) of not paying attention just because he prefers not to squint and read between the lines of a report from two years ago – in exactly the same way you did.
You so called ( knowledgeable ) commentators REFUSE to acknowledge FACT that your boy Roseman was ” demoted ” out of PLAYER PERSONNEL by his biggest fan, Jeffery Lurie, because Kelly DID NOT want to work WITH HIM !! That was the crux of LaConforas article. I’m tired of explaining it to you Roseman sycophants, continue your fantasy world scenarios. The PROOF is in the pudding ….. Roseman is out of the player personnel department. Chip came to the Eagles in spite of Howie, not because of him. Where are ANY facts to support your THEORY ? Please, just humor me with something …… anything.
philliesfan123, clearly you want to blame Howie for all the Eagles woes for the last half decade. Sure, La Canfora’s article looks prescient now, but 1) Kelly came here anyways and 2) as others have noted, there weren’t any candidates who refused to talk with us. Clearly the article was heavily influenced by Banner’s acrimonious departure.
You are free to your opinions on Roseman, but if your going to bash him, at least think through your criticism.
we honestly don’t know anything either way. there are also the reports that bb told kelly not to take the job b/c of the front office. even though kelly came here (b/c honestly, this is a great job, tons of talent on the roster, an owner that spends, great fans) it didn’t take long for a tenured guy to get pushed out by a guy who just came.
The person you are replying to is a visitor from philly.com. Toxic Alley. I have to admit I do visit there once in awhile as the cartoons are sometimes amusing.
Actually, I don’t blame ALL of the Eagles ” woes ” on Howie. The blame goes front and center on Jeffery Lurie. Roseman is a driven person ( albeit – out of his depth in player evaluations. ) Lurie had the opportunity in 2010 to hire a ( experienced / proven ) player personnel guy to be the teams general manager. Instead he rewarded ( his friend / money guy ) at the expense of the teams future ( roster ) prospects. My problem is that the Eagles player personnel department should not have been a ( internship program ) for Roseman. If lurie wanted to ultimately give that role to Roseman, he should of hired a legitimate GM, and let Howie ( intern ) under him, so that to not negatively impact the roster, during Rosemans learning period. Howies ( learning curve ) as a inexperienced player personnel manager, ultimately did effect the teams roster. Kudos to Howie, very poor management on Lurie.
I have been paying attention, and you’re still wrong in thinking La Canfora’s article was anything more than a trashy hatchet piece. Not saying Howie is a saint, but every single prediction La Canfora has made based on his conversations with disgruntled ex-employees has been categorically proven false.
Kelly also turned town TB and CLE before he did us the first time. You are speculating on the reasons for why he changed his mind without any proof. You do not know that telling him he could bring in his own football guy was the deciding factor. Don’t confuse narrative with fact.
Who cares?
Wait so we hired at the time THE top coaching candidate with Howie here, so why do we own him an apology?
Also anything written by CSNphilly or Philly.com is pretty much just puppet work from people mad at Howie.
Howie ran over his cat, punched his mother in the face and exhumed and desecrated his ancestors bodies.
This is the best image I could find, but this reminds me of the Carrot Top episode on Family Guy…
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3VdCJVoxPfE/hqdefault.jpg
Be nice if some people not mad at Howie stepped up? Haven’t heard any of them.
If Howie was so bad, he would have been outright fired.
So…..much…..salt…..
Ajason LaConfora is a hack! I can’t believe people follow him enough to even know his oppinion. Dude is horrible
Even IF La Canfora was 100% correct about Roseman, I’ve seen enough of his posts that have nothing to do with the Eagles to know that he’s horrible.
absolutely.. dude is horrible even when he isnt talking about us… wonder how much longer he gets to keep his job
Same…. Take his reporting of the Eagles out of the equation and he is still atrocious
I am not sure if this has been brought up before but I think it bares repeating:
This position is not just about being a talent evaluator, it is a managerial position. That means the candidate needs to not only be good at making trades/properly valuing draft picks/finding good players – they need to be able to get the most out of their staff and hold on to highly valued people. If the reports about Howie the manager are true, or even partially true, then it makes sense that Chip would want him removed from power and to oversee the department given his philosophy on management and leadership.
Chip has demonstrated that he wants an organization wide culture built on reason and open discussion. From taking advice from defensive players mid game (snow bowl), to building a staff with varying background, to sitting in and taking notes in Special Teams meetings, Chip has been attempting to build an environment where players and coaches feel empowered enough to question. How many times have we heard Chip talk about questioning methods and having good reasons for doing things. Chip will want that philosophy and culture in the scouting department as well, and we have to keep that in mind when looking at the reasons for the restructuring, and the ultimate person who is hired.
You’re really bareing down on the bare facts. Your post bares praising for its bare commitment to…umm…
Ah, dammit, I’m lousy at puns like this. Just trying to call out a typo and I’m embarrassing myself. ATG, please step in and fix.
haha damn it, nothing more embarrassing than undermining an argument with a typo.
I won’t fix it because you made me laugh.
I once went to a Halloween party bearly dressed. A typo there would have been even more embarrassing.
See now this only encourages me to ensure more typos!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o
One thing for sure is the Chip Kelly factor: He’s still intriguing enough for possible potentials to be willing enough to take the job and learn his style of football at the same time.
Let’s hope that one can understand the other with the same language.
I don’t agree with the narrative that Chip is going to hire someone to just go along with whatever he wants. I think he will dictate certain measurables or types of players that he’s looking for, but every head coach should have control over that, even if there’s a GM in place with final say on the exact players.
If anything, Chip has proven (to me at least) by the type of people he surrounds himself with that he has a strong sense of what he does and doesn’t know. He likes to have a strong team of consultants to help him with what he doesn’t know. Everyone likes to point out how he wanted to take Hart in the 3rd or JMatt in the 1st… the important part of those stories is that he DIDN’T. He listened to people that had a better understanding of their draft value.
I don’t think he’s looking to hire someone to be a “yes man”. With the way that Chip values optimized processes, why even hire a person to be a middle man if they don’t actually offer anything? He’s looking to hire someone that has really sharp eye for talent, has a strong work ethic, and is good at running the scouting department so that he can have full TRUST in the scouting team’s evaluations. Chip wants to be in charge of managing the process. I doubt that he wants to personally evaluate each prospect and set up a draft board by himself or hand pick every FA.
there was only one thing that kept the eagles from making the playoffs this year, and being much better, and it wasn’t the qb’s missing open receivers, it wasn’t even fletcher getting beat deep, or nate allen coming on a bad angle, it was not Howie roseman or lurie, or any of that, it was just one thing: turnovers.
the new gm or whatever he will be will not help with that at all and that is really the only thing that kept us from the playoffs.
Great post, Tommy! Thanks
As with most hires, I hope Chip is willing to hire someone who will challenge him and has the experience & knowledge to back up his own ideas. I understand they need to work well together, but I think some of Chip’s ideas proved to be flawed this year and i want to see adjustments. Hiring someone who has been successful already somewhere else and can push Chip to see things he may not want to or know about would be beneficial IMO.
Jameis Winston will enter draft.
…inconvenient timing for him to announce.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12132479/attorneys-jameis-winston-sexual-assault-accuser-file-civil-suit-florida-state-university
I would actually say its perfect timing for him to announce it. If FSU is in such turmoil he’s doing what ever other athlete and coach do when the college police start calling about things, jump to the NFL if you can.
that’s more on FSU, not him. I actually think it’s good that this is happening need to clean up how universities deal with these issues from a process standpoint.
We should trade up to the top 5 to get him!
Lol no way. He might go #1 though.
That is sarcastic text.
Tommy,
You had no interest in Scot McCloughan before WASteam snapped him up?
no Seattle let him go for reasons that have not been addressed
They let him go because of his drinking problem
Probably drank a lot when the Harvin trade didn’t work out.
He was fired way before that
that is a reason that has not been addressed
I misunderstood what you meant, but yea, he still has that problem and sound like he hasnt fully admitted that he is a drunk.
exactly
My stars! ;~). Can you imagine being a Washington fan now. Owner has too much money but no sense, GM is a drunk by his own reckoning, HC is ??, quarterback is perennially injured and can’t seem to “go though his progressions”, #1 WR is a tiny pouting child, some of the decent defensive players are getting old and they aren’t very good at drafting. Keep it up fellas!
I’m aware of why Seattle let him go. My question is why Tommy left him off his list.
Interesting article from grantland on Oregon’s defense — which i think its instructive when thinking about our defense. Their D is basically “terrible” when compared to other teams playing for the championship and the team is 0-4 when failing to score 30+ points (!) per game (FD: article goes on to say that oregon’s d has clamped down in the last two months not allowing more than 20 points in the last few games while giving up a ton of yards, and that on an adjusted-per-play basis it might even be a top 10 defense).
My question is can we as a fan group learn to love a team with no defense?
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/college-football-championship-game-oregon-defense-versus-ohio-state/
(For some comparison, although Oregon and Ohio State have both played 14
games, opposing offenses have run 123 more plays against the Ducks, the
equivalent of nearly two additional games at the Buckeyes’ usual pace. And OSU’s offense is not slow.)
46 percent of the touchdowns and 43 percent of the total yards against
Oregon this season have come with the Ducks already leading by at least
15 points.
No
As long as the D can force a high amount of turnovers to help the offense score more points, I will be happy
FSU had 5 turnovers. Is that just good luck, or is the Oregon D involved?
Turnovers and scores are how the offense and the defense are supposed to work together. But 5 turnovers is a lot to force on the pro level.
Karma was involved. F the Florida State Criminoles.
no we cannot love a team with no defense.
I’d argue the ‘no defense’ comment is a little out of touch. Even this year, with the leaks in the secondary, we played fairly good defense for stretches (SHUTOUT). I’ve learned to ignore total yards and look more at 3rd down defense and YPP as measuring stones of how good the Eagle’s D is.
Great on sacks and turnovers, terrible on points allowed. Look at the results of games against even terrible teams we were giving up 20+ points, giving up 30 against decent teams, and packers (like broncos last year) put up a 50spot on us.
Agreed on this season. Points and the big plays are my biggest gripes with our current defense. Really good offenses, like the Bronco’s have been able to move on us at will. Not happy about that at all.
With that said, I really don’t care about the rankings based on total yards.
Doubt thre is a fan with enough info on each candidate to be able to really offer a worthwhile opinion on how to rank these Execs in terms of best option to replace Gamble. I can regurgitate their resumes, but I don’t even have close to enough info to offer a worthwhile opinion..
….
This is one pf those wait and see Topics
agree 100%. This is the most boring time in football, especially when i know dallas is playing this weekend. maybe i’ll start going to the gym instead of reading everything ever written about my favorite football team.
LOL – I’ve already started working on some projects. I come here for a diversion.
whoa, whoa there. Not the gym.
Holidays got me looking like Embiid
https://twitter.com/tmoore76ers/status/552238826395955200/photo/1
They got you to grow to 7 feet?!
Embiid to play wideout for the Eagles?
You weight the same but you’re only 5’10”?
It is wait and see, but my not that informed ranking:
1. Brian Gaine, HOU; 2. Sheldon White, DET; 3. Chris Grier, MIA; 4. Eliot Wolf, GB; 5. Ed Marynowitz, PHI; 6. Chris Polian, JAX
Why ED 5? I can see the allure ‘Bama was great when he was there — unclear if it’s just super easy to recruit there though — almost want someone with a similar career of CK (building a program).
Just overall lack of experience. I think he should be given some type of promotion, but not to the top spot. A lot of the college scouting department were guys Roseman brought in and may still hold allegiance to him. Marynowitz was brought in by Roseman but if you believe the rumors aligned himself with Kelly. Now I fully suspect that a lot of those Roseman guys are let go in May but do you really want to promote Marynowitz, who’s been here 3 years, to the top ahead of long-time guys like Patch. Eventually, sure, but I don’t think it would make for harmony in preparing for this draft coming up. Bringing in an outsider with no voice in past quarrels is a better solution IMO.
well reasoned, you might be right
Agree, the only strong opinion i have is to stay away from Jeff Ireland.
and Tannenbaum… no need for jet and dolphin trash
He’s busy fluffing Miami’s owner.
Lot of truth to that. I have formed some opinions, but most are based on either anecdotes or who they worked for in the past.
Here’s my first public mock boyz.
Round 1 Pick 22 (PITT): Kevin White, WR, West Virginia (A)
Round 2 Pick 20: Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami (Fla.) (A)
Round 2 Pick 24 (PITT): Kurtis Drummond, FS, Michigan State (B)
Round 3 Pick 20: Hroniss Grasu, C, Oregon (A)
Round 4 Pick 14: Eric Rowe, CB, Utah (B+)
Round 4 Pick 20: Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor (A-)
Round 5 Pick 20: Josh Shaw, CB, Southern California (A)
Round 6 Pick 20: Eric Lefeld, OT, Cincinnati (C+)
Round 7 Pick 20: Clayton Geathers, SS, UCF (D-)
couple of questions — is clayton related to clifton? who did pitt move up two spots to take? WR first round?!
Lol, I have no idea who Clayton is related too. Looked pretty decent when I watched him. Call him a late round steal.
Yes he is part of that family and it is crazy he isnt big like the others
Big for a safety though. 6-2, 208.
PIT gave up a 2nd to move up 2 spots? You did this at first-pick.com, right? Some of their trades are less than realistic.
Well, duh. lol. Although I would say, if there is a player more than one team loves, its crazy what they will give up to get him. Do you have a bette site? This is the only on I know of that is decent.
No, first pick is the best one I’ve seen.
http://fanspeak.com/ontheclock/ is better, but you cant do trades unless premium member
They’re okay, but right now they don’t have us owning BUF’s 4th round pick.
I had to notify first pick that we own that 4th round pick before they changed it. I’m sure you just have to do the same thing with fanspeak
F that! I’m only premium when doing alcohol purchases.
Ha ha, who are you to question Mitchell snake charming inferior organizations into giving him extra picks?
I really doubt Rowe lasts to the 4th round once the draft rumor mill starts
He might, maybe late 3rd. Nothing spectacular but solid all around. Good size, bad hands.
Well done! No scramble bums at QB and no draft picks from colleges I hate.
Thanks Mike! I knew you would like it!
I’m in love with that sight because it’s a lot of fun, even if the trade values aren’t realistic.
Well like I said elsewhere. If you have 2 teams wanting that special player…. Who knows.
If Andy Reid got a 2nd for AJ Feeley and the Rams got all of those extra picks for RGKnee; anything is possible.
All the Oregon players who Chip allegedly loves and you pick a center? Isn’t Kelce one of the best and only 26 or something?
He’d be a hell of a guard and a great backup center.
Ah.
This.
He can play guard too. I guess it was him or Fischer the OT. Whoever you prrfer.
IF AP goes to Dallas it’s going to be a long offseason: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/07/zimmer-wants-peterson-back-but-its-a-two-way-street/
I really hope they sign AP to a big contract, because while he is good, he will be over 30 with a lot of tread on the tires
Whole year off probably just working out, getting angry. Romo Witten Dez Peterson isn’t really fair.
Read a column by Spadaro, sounds like eagles will get a new WR (likely in FA). Sophomore seasons are always the hardest hopefully kelly learned a lot about personnel on the NFL level.
He also made it seem like we’re going to look for help at CB / S / ILB. Think Dion Could be a good move, think our system is really set up for a speed rusher at ILB.
Witten is not good and Murray is just as good as AP imo and Romo will be 36, how long can his back keep up?
I’m sure Jerry Jones is working on an exo-skeleton as we speak.
Plus Murray just had well over 400 touches and while he didn’t get hurt this year, history shows us if you have that many carries your production drops significantly.
i think this is muray’s last big season. he’s always had durability issues, i think if they let him walk he’s not getting a shady deal.
And who ever signs Murray to WAY too much money is going to find that out the hard way.
Hmmmmm, sounds like Spuds is sand bagging in the event we can’t keep Maclin.
dude is a freak with at least two big years left in him
As I said below, Im not sure AP is any better than Murray.
Also AP has 2 great season and a few very good, but I wouldnt trust a 30 year old RB who already has 2k NFL carries (look how fast RBs suddenly fall off).
But not 5. Dead money city!
If they are going to sign him, I hope the guaranteed money makes him uncuttable for four or five years.
Also, I hope they extend Romo through 2020 in order to free up enough cash to get it done.
is he a free agent?
Nope, but the Vikings could possibly dupe Dallas into trading for him. Jerry would see Peterson as a wet dream level upgrade over Murray.
why would the vikings trade their best most marketable player?
a) switch gate
b) Jerry would overpay
(a) seems like a weak reason. I don’t want Dallas to get him.
I didn’t exactly make that up off of the top of my head, there are a lot of writers thinking the Viking would like to move on.
that’s crazy. If he ends up in the NFC East that’s awful.
Bad for a year or two, but the contract extension they’d give Peterson along with the impending Dez deal should be eating a lot of cap.
I hear you and hope so, but I’m afraid the NFL cap goes up and up and the advantage we have over teams like the Cowboys gets greatly minimized.
Does he really still have his 2012 stuff, though?
Good for DAL for being good this year but they have issues. Their cap situation is horrible. They’ve restructed Romo so many times that his cap hit is astronomical and they can’t release him because the dead money hit would be even worse. Both Murray and Dez Bryant are UFAs this offseason.
it seems like we are all just waiting on the cowboys to go bottoms up, like we were all year.
this is annoying. lets just beat them and play better then them next year and not talk about there cap issues and romos back and etc… they are still playing…those losers! this sucks
*those cheaters!
“lets just beat them and play better then them next year “. Best advice yet.
That’s been rumored all season. Good for everybody involved if it happens.
“Rumors so far say these are the candidates:
Ed Marynowitz – PHI – Assistant Director of Player Personnel
Sheldon White – DET – VP of Pro Personnel
Eliot Wolf – GB – Director of Player Personnel
Chris Polian – JAX – Director of Pro Personnel
Megan Fox – HOT – Director of Pudding Love
Chris Grier – MIA – Director College Scouting
Brian Gaine – HOU – Director of Pro Personnel
There is no one on the list that I’m in love with, but…”
I tend to disagree.
The most incisive comment of the past week.
Hands down.
Better watch those hands, fella. Tommy might take umbrage.
First coaching loss of the offseason –
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
50s50 seconds ago
Random coaching nugget of the day: #Eagles assistant DBs coach Todd Lyght is leaving to become CBs coach at #Vanderbilt, source says
Now Lovett just needs to retire and we can bring in some fresh blood
I wouldn’t call this a loss….
I’m sure that was a mutual parting of ways.
I suspect so too but he’s the junior guy. Why get rid of him and not Lovett?
Think he happened to get a job first. They’re probably all on notice
This may answer my own question: “There were rumors during the season that Lyght differed in coaching
techniques with the Eagles’ top defensive backs coach John Lovett.” That’s from the esteemed Mark Eckel(sarcasm).
damn — maybe that means more of the same for next year?
Maybe it was Lyght teaching the CBs the brilliant technique of just following the WR and never looking back for the ball. Still, of all the college coaches we brought in, Lovett and Minter seemed to have the weakest backgrounds. I’d like upgrades there.
Dallas said that “defending” a receiver by just running into him without ever locating the ball is good technique. And Dez will run 15 yards out onto the field to tell the refs about it.
Similar rumors coming out of St. Louis with Chokenheimer Jr. leaving for the OC job at Georgia.
Watch Trestman come in to “whisper” to Bradford…………….. and a 2nd / 3rd round QB draft pick in St. Louis / LA.
Likely the same way Andy held on to McDermott til they could find him something else.
He should have held on to McDermott until he found a cliff to drop him from.
I hope Lyght was the guy responsible for not teaching our DB’s to get their heads around. Whoever the hell is responsible for that particular thing can get shipped to the goddamn surface of the sun for all I care.
So, you want him to leave and not look back?
http://www.iconarchive.com/download/i43126/oxygen-icons.org/oxygen/Emotes-face-smile-big.ico
NOOOOOOOooooooooo!
https://31.media.tumblr.com/307a3015d02e63164c62475619875462/tumblr_inline_n9wto8eBTn1sx5o8u.gif
extra likes for the martin gif.
Off topic but hilarious http://deadspin.com/the-worst-nfl-family-in-america-must-be-stopped-1663369466
Now that was worth the read and I’ve felt the same way about that commercial. Thanks for the link to a good laugh.
You must be one of those “licentious, drunken Philly fans.”
In no way am I licentious at all. Wait let me rephrase that, I am in no way licentious until we lose games to the cowboys. That’s when all moral and general behavior go out the window.
I’m in favor of whoever helps us draft continued pro-style QBs, CBs that can cover, safeties that can cover and hit, ILBs that don’t “Trotter” to the wrong hole on run plays, OLBs that can kill QBs, O-line depth that can be functional, some tall dudes at WR, and a strong RB to put into the mix.
yeah me too, who ever will help us win a SB, I want that guy.
How many picks do the Eagles really have? ;~)
8! And none to spare on a running QB.
I’m not that fussy. Get a QB (and receivers) who can complete every 7-yard pass they attempt, and make 3 yards (when necessary) with his feet. I don’t care if he never makes a 50-yard pass as long as he keeps the ball moving. To quote Rocky, the ultimate fictional Philadelphian, “That’s how WINNING is done!!!”.
We can solve that in some sorts with in house talent. Foles goes back to 2013 Foles (huge IF I know), bench Cooper, start Maclin (assuming he resigns) and Pope Mathews on the outside with Huff as the slot man and relegate Cooper (I know his contract situation) to 4 wide sets and special teams. We can get out of Coopers contract after this year thankfully.
Personally i think we need another WR. Do you want Huff as your outside guy, seems a little early, i’d take a vet (vjax, fitz, johnson, dez, — all of those are probably silly) to pair with MAC, let huff earn his spot.
Cooper contract is TERRIBLE — hopefully he’s better this year. I would almost just cut him in spite of teh dead money.
I hear ya on that one. My comment is with the thinking we don’t add a stud veteran receiver and just work with what we have. Mac and Jmatt as outside receiver and Huff in the slot. I think can be the ideal slot man if he hits those jug machines and improves on those drops. The dude is a former RB that can get those YAC yards that slot men need to have. I would be ecstatic if we can get out hands on Fitz or Vjax. I don’t see TB getting rid of Vjax is they plan on bringing in a rooking QB. ‘Allas isn’t letting Dez get away. I heard Andre Johnson is willing to restructure to stay in Houston but I wouldn’t be opposed to adding him. My only problem with adding any of those guys is Mathews now being able to get his shot on the outside for a while where I think he can thrive.
Yea we’re stuck with Riley for at the least one more year then we can cut him with no ramifications.
Moving Matthews outside and Huff to the slot doesn’t seem to fit Kelly’s vision, but I agree that it sure looks from the outside like it would make the most sense. Huff’s got upside, but he must cut down on the mistakes if he’s going to be on the field on a regular basis. I’d rather run Ertz out there right now as my 3rd receiver.
Matthews is in the slot so he can body small DBs like Boykin.
That’s the theory. Didn’t see a lot of it this year. Most of Matthew’s best catches were on crossing routes that took advantage of his speed. Didn’t see a lot of TE style box outs.
…and crossing routes, clear out routes. I’d be interested to see if the offense looks very different next year.
Need to see more Ertz. Hopefully he works out with the lineman or Celek or something and learns how to block. Wonder if we could just split him out wide instead of riley cooper.
I agree we need another WR, but outside of vjax, not sure I’m all that interested in anyone you listed. Fitz is past his prime. So is Johnson. Dez is a headcase who makes Djax look like a choir boy.
I don’t ever see Huff on the outside unless both his hands and routes improve a ton. Cooper’s contract is ugly, but cutting him wouldn’t be the end of the world. Unlike, say, the Cowboys being forced to cut Romo?
I wouldn’t mind signing Fitz. Good guy. Still has a couple of years? Like Sproles? Also could be an invaluable mentor for the youngsters. All that said, WR is not urgent right now. I believe the defense, especially backups, and replenishing the OLine are more important this year. As someone noted yesterday:
“.When I look at this defense compared to others around the league that are good/great and on the rise, the biggest thing is having amassed talent, and depth at all 3 levels. You see it in Seattle, where they plug guys in and don’t miss a beat. SF lost key guys to injury and had youths in place ready to pick up the slack. Zona is starting to stack guys in the secondary with multiple safeties who can play. St. Louis, Detroit, KC, Buffalo.
For the Eagles, defensive depth is even more important. In 2014 *****Malcom Jenkins played more football than ANYONE in the league, not just defenders. He logged 1350 snaps. Fletcher was 10th with 1201, Cary 19th with 1183, and Nate Allen 36th with 1149.”
For as much as we come down on these guys, that’s entirely too much exposure”.
I’d upvote this multiple times if Disqus allowed.
Was it you who made the comment originally? After all the comments I’ve read the last few days, it’s all kind of blurred together. :~)
No, but I agree 100% that defensive depth is a huge priority with Kelly’s emphasis on tempo and the extended snaps the Eagles must face.
Not according to chip kelly.
I agree with what you’re saying, we can obviously make excuses (SEA looks a lot different without their safeties (especially ET) and LBs who are great in space, other teams are consistently picking early in the draft) but i think the reality is that we’ve been terrible at getting (developing) DB talent over the last [pick a number] years. That has to change.
WR is still a need because if Huff doesn’t take a step forward, we have Matthews and Maclin. After that we have nothing. I think we take a WR in the first 4 rounds this year
the back end of the WR corps is bad. Also is MAC a numero uno?
There’s another receiver you might like if you put your Coates on.
based on someone’s comments here or elsewhere, I checked out the Bucs BGN equivalent page on whether Chip Kelly should trade for their pick for Mariotta. the consensus there was something like Eagles should give four years’ worth of 1’s, 2’s and 3’s to even start the conversation. It made for good train reading.
Thank you to Dan Snyder for setting the bar!
isn’t it totally frustrating though that QB is so important, and good QB play so hard to get and elite QB play is really worth a distorted amount, and yet they keep making the rules to favor the QB. If Foles doesn’t work out, getting the right guy could take years and years.
Yeah, so I’m invested in Foles doing well next year.
literally the whole organization is. I hope that he can stay healthy.
He’s got to be smarter about taking unneeded hits. I admire his toughness, it’s probably his defining quality at this point, but he’s been rocked so many times for such a young QB. Live to play another down, Nick.
Learned at the feet of Ditka.
Except Ricky Williams might have actually been good at some point in his life. RGKnee sucks.
After seeing Williams “Football Life” it does look like he finally got his head sort of straight a little too late. Too bad.
I wonder if he’s got some of the same issues as Brandon Marshall. On the same show about him, he said Ricky Williams told him to go see one of the league therapists.
It’s a shame because he was a player I liked. I wouldn’t have given up a draft for him, but he was solid coming out.
One of my sons has dyslexia. One of the symptoms is a very short attention span, which is also a symptom of Attention Deficit Disorder. And autism. I wonder if there is any correlation between these problems and the difficulty those players had before finding a way to shut off the voices in their heads. I don’t mean schizophrenia, just thoughts scattered everywhere.
adderoll use is prevalent for this reason i think.
Thank goodness my son’s difficulties happened before they started drugging 10-year-olds with Ritalin. Addicted by the time they’re 12 then onto the Adderall by college age. No wonder some of them need counselling at 22.
Okay. End of rant.
cocaine-lite. There was as much adderoll use in the library as there was in the frat house when i was in school.
It’s an interesting connection for sure. My sister has 2 daughters, one with autism and one with dyslexia. I also learned bi-polar is sometimes diagnosed as ADD.
I’m sure if the price would be trading 4 years worth of 1’s 2’s and 3’s and you’d STILL find Philly fans who would do it.
*finger gun at head, pulls trigger*
Atlanta just did their own restructure.
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
1m1 minute ago
Big changes in Atlanta. #Falcons restructure front office, with Scott Pioli taking over pro and college scouting. Thomas Dimitroff does cap
This is strange though because Dimitroff’s background is in scouting, not the cap. I’m sure he learned and was functional in the cap once he became GM, but it’s not his primary background. So not exactly similar to what happened with Howie.
0 replies
24 retweets
8 favorites
Is that what Rex wanted?
Maybe. No word on whether they’re ready to hire a HC. One differenece: Pioli will still report directly to Dimitroff. Dimitroff and the HC will report to the owner.
“The Atlanta Falcons today announced a restructuring of its player personnel department, which is effective today. The changes are designed to provide a more intense focus on pro and college scouting efforts, play on the strengths of individuals in the two departments, and ensure the highest standards of performance in other areas of football operations managed by Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff.
As part of the realignment, Assistant General Manager Scott Pioli will take on pro and college scouting and NFL Draft responsibilities, reporting to Dimitroff. Dimitroff will also retain management responsibility for salary cap, player affairs, equipment, sports medicine and performance, and video activities.
“After reviewing all of our options – internally and externally – I have no reservations that this is the best approach to setting up our player personnel groups for future success,” said Falcons Owner and Chairman Arthur Blank. “It maximizes the talents of Scott, allows for more time and focus on all areas of our football operations groups managed by Thomas, and is in line with other player personnel groups in the league.
“While this decision was not tied to the head coach search currently underway, we also believe that independent thinking and collaboration will contribute to taking us to the next level in our league. Therefore, our new head coach and Thomas will report separately to me.””
Odd setup, but that screams “veteran coach” as the hire. Rex interviewed there for 5 hours and is rumored to be heading to Buffalo next. I wonder if they just did this move to appease Rex. If I were him, there is no way I’d want to report to a massive D bad like Dimitroff. That dude thinks he’s WAY cooler than he actually is.
I’m not that familiar with Dimitroff so I can’t really comment. Looking at a picture of him though, he just looks like a douche.
Indeed he is. If he was half as into scouting linemen as he was fashion trends; the Falcons wouldn’t suck and lose games in their own building to trash Carolina.
That and riding bikes with Lance Armstrong.
Tour de Fraud?
It sounds like not really anything has changed. No changes in titles for either, but per La Canfora, Dimitroff still has ultimate control of the draft and the 53-man roster. Dimitroff might focus on certain issues so there’s some more defined division of responsibilities, but this seems more like a move to satisfy critics in the media(and possibly potential HC candidates) that a “shakeup” was needed than much in the way of concrete change.
The telling part is that they’re having the new coach report directly to the owner.
According to rotoworld, which got this info from the falcons themselves, they were considering firing Dimitroff before stripping him of his former position. How a dude that runs a draft board like its Madden or first-pick.com keeps a job that long I beyond me.
Maybe he helps Blank pick out cool clothes or something, so he didn’t get fired.
Now that I can see happening since old Arty over there like to always look pretty stylish when he walks on the field during every falcons game.
Rex is going to help that out.
Could you give me some details about what the criticisms of Dimitroff are?
Bad drafting. Misses in free agency. D-bagish demeanor. Bad drafting. Failure to address weak spots on the roster.
Constantly mortgaging the franchise to trade up for certain players. In some cases that isn’t the worst thing to do but when it comes with having no depth on defense whatsoever and a non functional offensive line. Overall just terrible drafting is my criticism of him.
Though a Julio Jones trade is probably the reason he’s still employed. Julio has brought a lot of $$ (and won games) to that franchise.
That is true but to me the trenches are more important then one stud wideout.
agree 100%
Julio is also a two time loser in terms of his foot breaking in half. That might not go away long term.
http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2013/10/16/4844324/julio-jones-roddy-white-injury-recovery-timetable-falcons
What do you have against Carolina?
Bad QB / Bad DC.
So that’s why we despise teams? You must really hate the Titans…
Dimitroff’s duties read a lot like Roseman’s, now.
@AlbertBreer: Houston has granted #Eagles permission to interview dir of pro personnel Brian Gaine for their GM spot.
Best option IMO.
Agreed.
we obviously like what they do on defense…maybe we can get a certain aging WR from them as well.
He seems interested in restructuring with them.
Would love to get Andre Johnson retire here in Philly.
be a great mentor for a WR corps.
Indeed. Plus he’d be a huge upgrade over Coop.
In fact a WR trio of Mac – Andre – Jordan would be arguably top 5 in the NFL.
Who’s the deep threat? Maclin’s ok at it, but I think he’s at his best if you feed him the ball. Andre surely isn’t the guy now. Jordan’s got potential, but I’m not sold. I know DJax had his limitations, but I still miss his ability to force safeties to play deep.
I would say Maclin is more then just ok as a deep threat. How many times this year did he get behind the defense and was either under or overthrown by Foles and Sanchez? Many times.
Sanchez was awful throwing the deep ball. Nick was just starting to finally hit those deep passes again when he got hurt. Whether it was the QB or WR’s, missing deep ball hurt us this year.
yeah Marky Mark barely threw it, thought he did against TX (Who is terrible at guarding the deep ball). But Foles was aweful at it too.
That said i don’t think the deep ball is a huge deal for the offense Marky Mark looked surgical for the first few weeks until the wheels fell off.
Sammies Coates.
Antwan Goodley/Stefon Diggs
Really? You would take those 2 over Coates?
Cooper and Matthews already have questionable hands. I don’t want a 3rd guy that has bad hands.
Well Cooper’s hands are the hands of a 4th string receiver. So really for a starting line up, Matthew’s are the only that’s “questionable.”
Cant believe we were bamboozled into thinking he was a #2.
We really really were. I can not believe his pure crappiness this year. I pray to god Huff can still much of his snaps next year or perhaps Kevin White? If he is there in the first, do you pull the trigger?
I guess, personally, I would like someone with a bit more size and Diggs is a bit of a head case.
Id still take Devin Smith
If either of them are there for our second pick, I would pull the trigger in a heartbeat.
I hear people talk about DeSean and a deep threat all the time, but do people realize he is the best deep threat in the game. How are all of these other good offenses good without DeSean Jackson? Maclin would be the best deep threat on the majority of teams.
He’s a solid deep threat. He doesn’t do the greatest job fighting for the ball on jumpballs and he doesn’t have that extra gear that the best deep threats have. I think that his combination of hands and smooth routes are his biggest asset. This season he did a much better job with RAC, but it’s still not his primary strength. All in all, he’s a good but not great receiver.
Thought I’d share this. Saw it on reddit.
http://i.imgur.com/EKoZw4i.jpg
Just read on BGN that Shurmur rocked the Raiders interview and he’s on the short list. Whether he gets it or not, I don’t know why he’d take that job if it was offered. I think he’s got one more shot at HC. If this doesn’t work out, he’s failed with 2 teams and I don’t know if he gets a 3rd.
If he does leave, that’s 2 coaches gone.
It’s the Raiders. Any improvement would look good. (I can’t stand that team). However, they do have some promising talent, don’t they?
They perennially pick tin the top half of the draft. I would hope so. LOL. I’m just leary about the organization as a whole starting w/the owner.
I do believe the icky father might have been smarter than the icky son, though.
Good looking young QB. A good looking young back. Wisnewski and Gabe Jackson are solid young guys up front. Rivera is a good flex TE.
Mack and Moore are playmakers up front. They have Travis Carrie, DJ Hayden and Keith McGill at corner.
There’s some talent in place. Another good draft or two, and some smart FA moves and when Denver loses Peyton they may be able to make some noise.
That being said I hope Shurmur stays.
If Shurmur does leave, it will be curious to see what all he brings with him from Kelly’s toolbox. If he goes back to running a typical WCO, I’ll be a bit surprised.
I would imagine the two things he would take would be packaged plays and play names/signalling.
Yes. Whatever people here and elsewhere have to say, Kelly hired Shurmer to give advice on NFL practices and to be the offensive coordinator. Coordinator does not necessarily mean coach. It should be closer to administrator. Keeping things organized so the HC can flit from practice field to sidelines to podium. Kelly doesn’t necessarily flit, but apparently does like to keep his hand in everywhere.
If he leaves, I’d prefer that they don’t just promote Musgrave. I question the job as QBs coach he did last year because of the significant increase in QB turnovers compared to 2013, but in general he’s done a lot better job as a QBs coach in his career than as an offensive coordinator. Of course, he wouldn’t be calling plays here. Guys I’d look at that have some connection to Chip: Dirk Koetter, OC, Atlanta; Greg Roman, OC, SF(rough year but good resume overall), Scott Frost, OC, Oregon. One other name with no known connection to Kelly: Alex Van Pelt, QBs coach, GB.
Wasn’t thrilled with Musgrave at all. The deterioration of Nick’s mechanics was the most disturbing factor. He actually got somewhat decent play out of Sanchez. Bout all that could be hoped for to be honest.
I love it that big Red has not given the Redskins permission to interview the Chiefs DC. In your face, Snyder boy!
Gibbs isn’t the Chiefs’ DC. He’s their LBs coach. He used to be their DC before Reid was there.
I meant to say did not grant permission to be interviewed for the Redskins DC vacancy.
Apparently Gibbs was not blocked by Reid, he just wasn’t interested in the position.
even better. With that last name too much pressure in WAS.
Then one tweet was simply wrong.
Chiefs signed Terrell Pryor to a 1 year deal.
andy’s going to try to do his QB whispering? Could be a valuable asset if they can trot him out during pre-season or a game or two and have him look good handing the ball to J. Charles, then pitching to j. Charles, then screen passing to J. Charles, then throwing dig routes to J. Charles.
Plus they have that TE that can catch batted balls in the end zone.
By Dan Hanzus
You’ve gotta pull for the Texans right?
1. JJ Watt
2. Quality Coach
3. QB battle
4. David Quessenberry battle with cancer
[…] The Candidates – Iggles BlitzThe Eagles need a personnel guy to work with Chip Kelly and help him run that side of things. Before we talk names, let’s understand the job a bit more. This isn’t going to be the GM job. The new person won’t have control of the roster or the draft. This is a stepping stone position. Established candidates who have some power now will not want this job. The Eagles asked for permission to talk to KC’s Chris Ballard. He’s got no interest in this job. He’s done this kind of thing already. Ballard is looking for a GM job. He wants control. As I’ve mentioned before, Kelly is looking for his version of Tom Heckert, someone looking for a promotion, but who knows he’s not quite ready to run his own show. […]
I was kind of sorry that Dan Snider grabbed Scot McCloughan, because that is a guy who is proven, and he is in need of a second chance. I think the Eagles should keep an eye on that Redskins FO because down the road, should McCloughan re-work that roster, he will probably want out of town. One thing Dan Snider has proven time and time again: he’s the head honcho and don’t even think about butting heads with him. By contrast, Jeff Lurie looks like a dream owner.
When I think of Bill Parcells, talent evaluation is not the first, second or third thing I think of. Somebody posted that he was not interested in LT, and the Giants FO had to get the message to him that Taylor was going to play, whether he liked it or not. I think the Eagles may be trying to do what Seattle did with Carroll hiring Schneider, which could be very good if they can find a young guy who has good instincts. I don’t know anything about the names on that list, but the Packers have been a mother lode of future FO personnel guys.
[…] I mentioned Fitterer in a recent post I did on candidates. He makes a ton of sense for the Eagles. Fitterer has been in the business for more than 15 years so he’s got the kind of experience that Kelly needs around him. Fitterer works for a team where the coach runs the show so he’s see up-close how that model works and what it takes to succeed. Fitterer also works for a team that is unorthodox and does things in their own way. That would help him to work with Kelly, who isn’t exactly Mr. Conventional. […]