Howie Roseman

NFC Notes: 49ers, Eagles, Seahawks, Cowboys

January 24th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by Ben Levine

49ers fans have been waiting for the better part of a month for the organization to hire their next head coach and general manager. The team will seemingly have to wait at least another two weeks to hire frontrunner Kyle Shanahan from the Falcons, and they may be waiting a bit longer to bring in a new general manager.

On Tuesday, CEO Jed York preached patience when it comes to the team’s hirings.

“The message is we’re going to re-establish a championship culture,” York said (via Cam Inman of The Mercury News). “We’re not going to do that by filling a job quickly. We need to be patient. We need to be willing to wait.

“And when we get the right people, we’ll start putting everything into place.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

Last offseason, the Eagles dealt with some turmoil when quarterback Sam Bradford was upset following the team’s draft selection of Carson Wentz. This offseason, the front office is hoping to be completely transparent with their franchise signal-caller. “The way the league rules are, you’d love to be able to bring him down and throw to these guys,” said vice president of football operations Howie Roseman (via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com). “That would be unbelievable. It just doesn’t work that way. But from our perspective, we want to make sure that he’s on board with some of these things, and he’s looking at some … probably more in free agency than in the draft, because it’s hard for him to get caught up on the draft prospects.”
The Eagles traded former second-round pick Eric Rowe to the Patriots earlier this season, and the cornerback proceeded to start seven games for the AFC champs. Roseman provided some logic for cutting bait on the promising defensive back. “When we sat down and discussed the offer, we really started thinking about the likelihood that we had to sign him to an extension,” Roseman said (via Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com).“We want to build this team with some continuity. We felt at that time that we were not going to sign him to an extension and to be able to get that value for him and possibly add someone who would be here for a longer period of time made sense for where we were. ” Rowe’s contract expires following the 2018 season.
Perrish Cox‘s new one-year contract with the Seahawks is worth $855K, reports ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia. The cornerback’s initial cap hit is $680K, and he’ll earn $443K if he suffers an injury prior to the start of the regular season.
Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones said his team would like to keep free agent wideouts Terrance Williams and Brice Butler (via Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News on Twitter). Williams had one of his least-productive seasons in 2016, but he still finished the campaign with 44 receptions for 594 yards and four touchdowns. Butler, a former seventh-round pick, finished the season with 16 receptions for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
Jones also passed along that Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will need back surgery for the second straight offseason (via George on Twitter). The former second-round pick has only played in 32 games over his three seasons in the NFL, including nine games (three starts) in 2016.

Eagles Will Keep Pederson, Roseman

January 2nd, 2017 at 11:22am CST by Zachary Links

The Rams, 49ers, Jaguars, Chargers, Bills, and Broncos are all in search of their next head coach. The Eagles won’t create a seventh NFL head coaching vacancy this offseason. The Eagles will retain coach Doug Pederson as well as executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman and vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas, according to a team source who spoke with Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Although the Eagles were hoping to do better than 7-9 this year, few expected the team to fire Pederson after just one year at the helm. Roseman only recently wrestled back control of the front office after the Chip Kelly ouster and there wasn’t much talk of him getting the boot either. Roseman has been with the organization since 2000 and has a strong relationship with team owners. Of course, the return of Pederson, Roseman, and Douglas doesn’t mean that there won’t be other changes made.

“I’m going to evaluate everything,” Pederson said recently when asked about potential staff changes. “Obviously right now, nothing, but we’re just going to get into the offseason and we’re going to take some time to evaluate, but I don’t anticipate anything.”

The Eagles’ first-round pick (No. 12) is owned by the Browns. However, they’ll be picking at either No. 14 or No. 15 thanks to the pick they acquired from the Vikings in the Sam Bradford trade.

Eagles Notes: Roseman, Graham, Draft

November 19th, 2016 at 9:49am CST by Sam Robinson

Prior to being reinstalled as the Eagles’ top decision-maker following an eventful and dysfunctional 2015 Philadelphia campaign under Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman feared he wouldn’t receive another opportunity to call the shots for a team, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The current Eagles GM met with former executives who made the transition to television, per McLane, before his fortunes changed and the organization ended up siding with him over Kelly.

This turned out to be the second straight eventful offseason for the franchise after it made trades to acquire Carson Wentz and deal away Sam Bradford, and McLane estimates owner Jeffrey Lurie being patient with Roseman this time around. Both the 41-year-old GM and Wentz’s deals expire after the 2019 season, although the rookie quarterback has a fifth-year option, and McLane envisions neither being permitted to enter their walk years without an extension. Under Roseman’s direction from 2010-14 and this season, the team is 47-42 with three 10-win seasons — but no playoff victories — so the exec’s future is inextricably tied to Wentz, who is the fourth Eagles QB to start a season in the past seven years.

Here’s more coming out of Philly as the team prepares for a crucial tilt against the Seahawks.

As the Eagles venture to Seattle, their top pass-rusher could find himself in the same position the Seahawks’ best option does. Brandon Graham will enter the third season of what now looks like an incredibly team-friendly four-year, $26MM deal agreed to during Kelly’s run, and NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks argues the team should reward Graham with a new deal in 2017. Michael Bennett‘s regretted the four-year, $28MM pact he agreed to in 2014, and Graham — currently the third-highest-paid edge-rusher on his own team behind Vinny Curry and Connor Barwin — potentially could soon after breaking out upon being moved to defensive end. Only Von Miller and Aaron Donald have more pressures and sacks combined than Graham’s 46, and with the spree of extensions Roseman’s handed out this year, the franchise has shown it’s willing to reward its own. While redoing a contract less than halfway through it would set an interesting precedent during the Roseman 2.0 era, Shorr-Parks writes a new accord could lessen the 28-year-old Graham’s $7.5MM cap hit next season for a team that’s seen those 2016 re-ups leave it with barely $5MM in cap space come 2017.
Philly’s still gunning for a playoff spot despite low expectations for 2016, but Shorr-Parks notes cornerback is squarely atop the team’s needs hierarchy going forward. The Eagles traded Eric Rowe to the Patriots and will see Nolan Carroll‘s contract expire after the season, leaving the team with Jalen Mills, an aging Leodis McKelvin and UDFAs at the position going forward. Although the Eagles selected Rowe in the second round, Philadelphia hasn’t taken a corner in the first since Lito Sheppard in 2002.
Roseman’s extension string continued with the team locking up three role players — special-teamer Chris Maragos, punter Donnie Jones and long snapper Jon Dorenbos — on Friday.
Bennie Logan could be next in line for one as well in a scenario that would make it easier to list the Eagles who didn’t receive an extension.

Eagles Notes: Sproles, Bradford, Dawkins

July 30th, 2016 at 11:44am CST by Ben Levine

The Darren Sproles extension follows a trend by the organization to extend their veteran players. As Jeff McLane of Philly.com writes, the team has already wrapped up 31-year-old tight end Brent Celek and 34-year-old offensive tackle Jason Peters this offseason. However, executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said the team isn’t following any set rules.

“I think we’re more looking at each individual case as it comes,” said Roseman. “When you talk about those guys, we know what they can still bring to our football team on and off the field. And when you’re implementing some young players it’s good to have a nice mix of guys who have done it before and understand what it was like when teams have had success.”

Instead, Roseman believes extending his veterans sends the right message to their younger teammates.

“I think it’s the message that you’re sending to the team and the players. . . . You do the right thing here, and you’re productive, and you got a chance to stay here,” Roseman said. “And we want people to feel that way on and off the field.”

Let’s take a look at some notes out of Philly…

Sproles may have signed a one-year extension yesterday, but the running back is already eyeing the end of his career. “When I’m done playing, I’m going to be an Eagle,” the 33-year-old told Zach Berman of Philly.com. When asked how many productive seasons he has left in the tank, Sproles replied “this year and next year.”
The Eagles are slated to have the least amount of cap room in 2017 and 2018, leading some to assume that the team would eventually move on from quarterback Sam Bradford. However, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com explains why the team could keep Bradford in 2017, with the writer citing a recent quote by Roseman. “We’re not in the business of losing good players,” Roseman said. “That’s our job to figure out scenarios and figure out ways to do that, and we’ve gone through all those scenarios. It’s tighter than it’s been since I’ve been here, but we also felt like it was an opportunity now with where our players were that the longer we waited, the more players we’d probably have to lose. Time is never helpful in these things. We went into it knowing that, but, for sure.”
Longtime Eagles safety Brian Dawkins has joined the team’s scouting department, tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Zach Berman of Philly.com notes that Dawkins is the “inaugural recipient” of the Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, a program that “introduce[s] former players to scouting.”

NFC Rumors: Kelly, Eagles, Randle, Cowboys

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Chip Kelly told Philadelphia-area media, including Jeff McLane of Philly.com, he didn’t communicate directly with Howie Roseman last season before being fired by the Eagles. The current 49ers coach said owner Jeffrey Lurie constructed an arrangement where the then-demoted Roseman sent messages to the then-empowered Kelly through player personnel VP Ed Marynowitz.

Kelly also asserted he didn’t control the contracts given to Byron Maxwell and DeMarco Murray, with the three-year Eagles coach telling media Roseman, who has since traded both players, constructed those deals.

“I wasn’t the personnel guy. I was in charge of the 90-man roster,” Kelly said. “But I didn’t negotiate and say this guy gets this amount of money and that guy gets that amount of money. And Ed was the one who ran our personnel department. That really fell on Ed’s shoulders in terms of how he handled everything. And Ed communicated with him all the time.

Here’s some more on the Eagles and news from some additional NFC teams.

Former Eagles first-round linebacker Marcus Smith will move to defensive end in Jim Schwartz‘s 4-3 scheme, Zach Berman of Philly.com reports. Doug Pederson told media, including Berman, his linebackers right now will consist of Mychal Kendricks on the weak side, Jordan Hicks in the middle and Nigel Bradham on the strong side.
The Vikings inquired about Rueben Randle early in free agency, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets, but no substantial interest materialized prior to Randle choosing to trek to Philadelphia.
The Giants, however, had no interest in re-signing Randle, Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger tweets. John Mara said last week the Giants were going to seek receiving help, but the market has been mostly raided in terms of notable first-time free agents. Veterans Roddy White, Marques Colston and Percy Harvin remain unsigned.
The Cowboys are expected meet with Paxton Lynch again before the draft after doing so in a productive meeting today, NFL.com’s Rand Getlin tweets. Dallas is allotted 30 visits with prospects.
Washington safety Kyshoen Jarrett‘s status is uncertain for this season, with Jay Gruden telling media — including JP Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com — he’s “very concerned” about the lack of strength in Jarrett’s shoulder presently. A key backup and part-time starter as a rookie last season, Jarrett was injured in Week 17 against the Cowboys.

Zach Links contributed to this report

Eagles Halt Search For Personnel Chief

February 2nd, 2016 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

After having announced last month that they intended to hire a new front office executive to serve as their head of player personnel, the Eagles have put that search on hold for now, reports Geoff Mosher of EagleScoutingNest.com. According to Mosher, the Eagles aren’t expected to hire a personnel chief until sometime after the 2016 NFL draft.

Having parted ways with head coach Chip Kelly and top personnel executive Ed Marynowitz several weeks ago, the Eagles are seeking a high-ranking senior executive to lead the scouting department, but the timing of their search may have limited their list of potential candidates. As Mosher explains, most NFL teams are currently “knee deep in the pre-draft process” and would be hesitant about allowing a top personnel executive to leave.

The team did meet with several candidates, including Brandon Hunt, Morocco Brown, Dwayne Joseph, and Mark Dominik, tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. And as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, it’s possible that the team has already reached an agreement with a candidate who isn’t free until after the draft.

For now though, Philadelphia looks poised to head into free agency and the draft with Howie Roseman making many of the key decisions. Tom Donahoe and new head coach Doug Pederson also figure to be involved in the process, but as McLane writes, Roseman will be the one making the final decision on roster moves.

Even if the team intends to resume its search after the conclusion of this year’s draft, there’s some skepticism around the league that the Eagles will be able to attract top candidates for the position, says Mosher. While Philadelphia doesn’t currently have a general manager, the team’s front office opening isn’t exactly a GM position, and Roseman figures to maintain final say on personnel decisions, so rival executives may not view it as a significant promotion.

As Mosher notes, Kelly was in a similar position last year when tasked with replacing Tom Gamble, and had difficulty attracting an outside personnel exec — he ultimately promoted Marynowitz.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles Notes: Ertz, Celek, Bradford

January 27th, 2016 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a busy week so far for the Eagles, who signed a pair of tight ends to new contracts and are still looking to hire a key personnel executive for their front office. Let’s check out the latest out of Philadelphia….

Using the contracts signed last winter by Julius Thomas and Charles Clay as points of comparison, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap breaks down Zach Ertz‘s new deal with the Eagles. Fitzgerald also explains why Brent Celek‘s extension has plenty of value for Philadelphia, assuming the team had already decided to carry the veteran tight end on its roster for 2016.
The new deals for Ertz and Celek show that – after ceding power to Chip Kelly for a year – Howie Roseman is re-committing to building an atmosphere in which players drafted by the Eagles feel valued by the organization, and stick with the team for the long term, writes Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. “It’s an important message to your team, that if you play really well and you do the right things and you’re drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, you’ve got a chance to stay for a long time,” Roseman said. “I think it’s important for the organization.”
Josh Paunil of PhillyMag.com spoke to former agent Joel Corry about the likely value of potential extensions for players like Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, and Vinny Curry. Corry also explained why he thinks Sam Bradford may ultimately sign a one-year contract this offseason rather than a long-term deal.
If the Eagles know whether they plan re-sign Bradford or let him walk, they’re not tipping their hand yet, as Bowen details in a Daily News piece.
Bowen and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links) are both hearing rumblings that the personnel executive ultimately hired by the Eagles to work with Roseman will be a retread, rather than an up-and-comer.
The Eagles have hired Missouri’s Chris Wilson as their defensive line coach, Doug Pederson said today, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

Eagles Notes: Bradford, Pederson, Coaches

January 19th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Eagles introduced new head coach Doug Pederson today at an afternoon press conference, and announced during that presser that former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz will be Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator for the 2016 season. However, that was hardly the only item of interest from the session. Let’s dive in and round up some of the other highlights….

According to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, the team started with a pool of about 25 head coaching candidates, then reduced that total to about 10 (Twitter link Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). That list included head coaches on other teams, per Lurie, so I’d expect John Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin, and Sean Payton were among the Eagles’ names. Ultimately though, no one besides Pederson was going to be offered the job, Lurie said (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Pederson said today that personnel decisions will be made collaboratively, with Lurie breaking any ties. Pederson and Howie Roseman figure to be involved in those decisions, along with the club’s new head of player personnel — Lurie confirmed today that the Eagles are looking to hire someone for that position (Twitter links via McLane).
Asked about Sam Bradford, Pederson said a decision on the free-agent-to-be hasn’t been made, but he praised the QB as one who could fit into his system (Twitter link via Berman).
The Eagles haven’t yet decided on an offensive coordinator, Pederson said today (Twitter link via McLane). Frank Reich is reportedly the frontrunner for the job, though the new head coach said he’ll consider incumbent OC Pat Shurmur too (Twitter link via McLane). Still, it’ll be Pederson, rather than the OC, who will call the team’s offensive plays, tweets James Palmer of the NFL Network.
Special teams coach Dave Fipp and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will be retained, tweets McLane. Pederson is still deliberating on the rest of the staff.

Latest On Eagles’ Coaching Search

January 7th, 2016 at 8:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo interviewed for the Eagles’ head coaching job Thursday, the team announced (link to press release). McAdoo, who talked to the Giants about their head coaching vacancy earlier this week, is the fourth different candidate to interview with the Eagles, joining two in-house names – interim head coach Pat Shurmur and running backs coach Duce Staley – and Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

One obvious similarity McAdoo, Shurmur, Staley and Gase share is that they’re all offensive-minded coaches. The same holds true for longtime head coach Jon Gruden, who has expressed interest in the Eagles’ job to owner Jeffrey Lurie through an intermediary, Paul Domowitch of Philly.com reports. Gruden has a fan in Lurie, according to Domowitch, but Lurie is unsure if Gruden and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman would be able to work well together. Gruden has told people he and Roseman would be able to get along, per Domowitch, who notes that ex-Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said the same thing before taking over in 2013. That didn’t turn out well, of course, as Kelly and Roseman were at loggerheads during Kelly’s short run in Philadelphia. Regardless, Domowitch writes that Lurie’s focus right now is on the assistants the Eagles have interviewed and the ones they’ve yet to interview.

While Gruden could be a Plan B option if Lurie doesn’t end up smitten with any of the other candidates, the owner is currently bullish on Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson – who is scheduled to interview Sunday – and Gase. However, contrary to a previous report, the Eagles won’t conduct a second interview with Gase this weekend, according to Les Bowen of Philly.com.

Gruden hasn’t coached since 2008, having served as an analyst instead, but he had a successful tenure from 1998 until then atop the Raiders and Buccaneers, respectively. The 52-year-old compiled a 95-81 regular-season record, five playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title with Tampa to cap off the 2002-03 season. He also won eight-plus games in eight of his 11 seasons at the helm in Oakland and Tampa. Immediately prior to his time as a head coach, Gruden worked in Philly as its offensive coordinator from 1995-97.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Bills, Jets, Eagles

January 1st, 2016 at 7:48pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Given his 2016 cap hit ($19.9MM) and apparent inability to fit into head coach Rex Ryan‘s scheme, there’s a strong likelihood defensive end Mario Williams will play his final game with the Bills on Sunday. The 30-year-old has totaled just 17 tackles and a career-low four sacks this season, grading a terrible 94th out of 107 edge defenders by Pro Football Focus’ standards (subscription required). Williams’ downturn in performance could be symptomatic of his attitude, as an anonymous teammate alluded to (Twitter link via The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne).

“We could easily have 5 solid players contributing than 1 guy who doesn’t give a s—,” the player stated.

Williams issued a retort (Twitter link via Dunne).

“I could just literally not be out there,” he said. “When I get my opportunity, do it. Everybody who said that, they’ll see.”

More from the NFL’s two East divisions:

Running back Bilal Powell‘s offseason decision to re-sign with the Jets on a one-year deal is paying dividends for both him and the team, the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta writes. Powell had to choose between the Bills (and Ryan, his ex-coach) and Jets, whose backfield was less crowded than Buffalo’s at the time. Powell ended up staying in New York, and has been an important dual-threat weapon for a club that could be headed to the playoffs. Powell is averaging 4.5 yards per rush this season and, as Mehta notes, leads all NFL backs in receiving yards (299) and broken tackles on passing plays (12) since Week 11. In assessing Powell, head coach Todd Bowles said, “He’s been more of a complete back than even I thought he was coming in. He can block. He can run. He’s not just a pass catcher. He does a bunch of things for us.” Of course, what’s bittersweet for the Jets is that, as a pending free agent, Powell’s success could lead him to a raise and a different uniform in the coming months.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie needs to clarify vice president of football operations Howie Roseman‘s role and hold him accountable for it – just as Lurie did with Chip Kelly – submits Jeff McLane of Philly.com. Lurie should give full control of the Eagles’ personnel department to Roseman and sink or swim with him in that position, according to McLane. Roseman’s say over the roster diminished when Kelly took the reins, which is ironic when you consider Roseman was key in the hiring of Kelly. He now has some of that power back with Kelly gone, but Lurie said that Roseman’s work with the personnel department will be “as a collaborator.” That isn’t enough for McLane, who believes someone needs to be in position to take the lion’s share of responsibility for building the roster. McLane also notes that Roseman could drive away potential head coaching candidates because he doesn’t have a scouting background and is perceived as a difficult person with whom to work. Nevertheless, Lurie and team president Don Smolenski will follow Roseman’s lead with respect to Philly’s coaching search, McLane reports.
Earlier this week, after the Eagles fired Kelly, offensive tackle Lane Johnson claimed strife between Kelly and Roseman took a toll on the players. Johnson also stated players were hesitant to approach Kelly. Safety Malcolm Jenkins, Johnson’s teammate, disagrees. Regarding Johnson’s opinion on the Kelly-Roseman feud, Jenkins said (per Les Bowen of Philly.com) that Johnson “reads too many articles.” On Johnson’s notion that Kelly wasn’t approachable, Jenkins added, “I think the perception was not necessarily the reality.”

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