Joe Jets Off

Posted: June 7th, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »

It took longer than it should have, but the NY Jets finally made a smart decision.

Douglas getting the job is not a surprise at all. He was considered the front runner from the time they let their previous GM go. Douglas has a strong reputation around the league and is friends with Jets coach Adam Gase. The move made a lot of sense.

If it was so obvious, why did the Jets wait all week to make the hire?

We can only speculate. But there was a surprise move on Friday that could have affected the Jets thinking.

Houston had previously tried to interview Douglas for their GM job. With Gaine now out of the picture, Houston might have gone hard after Douglas. Within a couple of hours of the Gaine announcement, Douglas got the Jets job. That might be a coincidence, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

Good luck to Douglas. He’s in the AFC so it will be easy to pull for him. He faces the Patriots twice a year so that will also make it easy to pull for him.

The Eagles knew when they hired Douglas that he wasn’t going to be a long term piece of the front office. They felt it was worth it to have someone like him to help build up the scouting staff. Douglas got to learn a lot from Howie Roseman. He saw the Eagles aggressive approach to free agency, trading and dealing with contracts. You can’t learn that stuff from just anyone. Douglas also got to deal with the media, which is tough on some scouts who are suddenly thrown in front of microphones and cameras. Dealing with fan and media accountability is challenging for even the most intrepid souls.

Now the Eagles have to decide how they want to replace Douglas. The good news is that they will have some interesting options.

Douglas carried the title of Vice President of Player Personnel. We don’t know a lot for sure, but it seemed like his primary task was setting the draft board. That meant doing some scouting himself, but also being heavily involved with the scouting staff and putting together accurate grades on hundreds of prospects (after eliminating hundreds more from initial lists). Douglas also had a hand in other areas. He was involved in free agency and grading current players. His specialty was the draft, though.

The Eagles could promote Douglas buddy, Andy Weidl. He is currently the Director of Player Personnel. Weidl has been in scouting since 1998 and has worked for the Steelers, Saints and Ravens. That is a strong trio of organizations. Weidl, like Douglas, specializes in scouting college players. He would be a natural to take over for Douglas. One X-factor there is that Douglas could try to bring his friend to the Jets with him. We’ll have to wait and see on that.

Andrew Berry is currently the Vice President of Football Operations. He has a background in analytics and football, with most of his scouting experience on the pro side. Berry wouldn’t be a natural to handle Douglas’ duties, but if you think of this more as finding a number two for Roseman, Berry would very much fit that role. He would be a very interesting choice.

The Eagles could look outside the organization. They could look at Gaine, the man just let go by Houston. The Eagles have shown some interest in Gaine in the past. While things didn’t work out with the Texans, Gaine isn’t completely to blame. Many people feel Coach Bill O’Brien made most of the decisions for that organization. Gaine was somewhat of a sacrificial lamb.

Scot McCloughan is one of the best talent evaluators around. He’s currently working as a consultant for several teams. He would be a real interesting choice to replace Douglas.

Ryan Grigson worked for the Eagles from 2004-2012. He then became GM of the Colts. That started off really well, but went south in a hurry. Grigson is a solid evaluator, but obviously wasn’t a good decision-maker. Roseman is the Eagles decision-maker. The team is looking for someone to help in player evaluation so Grigson would make some sense.

The Eagles could look around to other teams. There might be someone they think is ready for a bigger opportunity. There is no rush on this decision. Heck, they don’t have to replace Douglas right now. They could go with the current staff for the next year and then hire someone next May (when teams normally adjust their scouting staffs).

It is important to understand that Douglas was an important part of the Eagles front office, but he wasn’t irreplaceable. The team isn’t looking for someone to come in and run the show. The Eagles have built a deep front office with a mixture of skill-sets and backgrounds. One person isn’t going to make or break the situation. The Jets were looking for someone to run their organization. The Eagles are looking for someone to help fill a role as part of a deep front office structure.

It will be fun to see what the Eagles do to replace Douglas. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman won’t feel obligated to make a safe hire. They will look at all the options and do what they feel is best for the organization. Lurie and Roseman are more interested in finding the best answer than sticking with conventional wisdom.

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Additional scouting news from recent weeks.

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2 Comments on “Joe Jets Off”

  1. 1 Eagles News: “Since 2006, only one quarterback has achieved a higher overall PFF grade in their first three y… – Bleeding Green Nation – Special Sale Offer said at 10:30 AM on June 8th, 2019:

    […] Joe Jets Off – Iggles BlitzThe Eagles could look around to other teams. There might be someone they think is ready for a bigger opportunity. There is no rush on this decision. Heck, they don’t have to replace Douglas right now. They could go with the current staff for the next year and then hire someone next May (when teams normally adjust their scouting staffs). It is important to understand that Douglas was an important part of the Eagles front office, but he wasn’t irreplaceable. The team isn’t looking for someone to come in and run the show. The Eagles have built a deep front office with a mixture of skill-sets and backgrounds. One person isn’t going to make or break the situation. The Jets were looking for someone to run their organization. The Eagles are looking for someone to help fill a role as part of a deep front office structure. […]

  2. 2 www.mayileju.com said at 8:46 PM on June 9th, 2019:

    来了一次又一次,总是情不自已!