Howie Roseman

Eagles Notes: Kelly, Johnson, Bradford

December 30th, 2015 at 6:53pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson had plenty to say Wednesday on the heels of the Chip Kelly firing, per Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com.

Asked if the players were afraid to take any complaints to Kelly, Johnson said, “Yeah, I mean, to be honest, yeah. There’s always talk in the locker room you don’t quite say to the coach. We’ll say it to the position coaches, but I don’t know if it ever leaves that room.”

Johnson does think Kelly “had good intentions,” but he also labeled him as “standoffish” – particularly toward the media.

Further, Johnson says he and the players knew about the power struggle between executive Howie Roseman and Kelly.

“Chip and Howie weren’t happy together, didn’t deal well. Just a lot of tension up there that didn’t need to happen, because when you throw it up there it does trickle down to the team, and the team knows what’s going on. It’s just a negative energy that doesn’t need to exist.”

On whether Kelly’s practice schedule’s was too grueling, Johnson stated, “I definitely think so … It takes a toll on you.”

Johnson added Kelly’s moves last offseason contributed to the offense’s inability to function effectively in his high-tempo attack.

“The tempo’s very effective whenever you’re able to do it well. I think we did well the first two years. Made a lot of changes this offseason and I don’t know if everyone is the best fit for what it was.”

More on the Eagles as the post-Kelly era begins:

Quarterback Sam Bradford, whom Kelly traded for last offseason, said Wednesday he was “shocked” about Kelly’s ouster, according to Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com. Bradford, who called his relationship with Kelly “great,” isn’t sure whether he’ll be an Eagle beyond this season. “Obviously, I think a lot of it depends on who they hire as a head coach now and what type of offensive system he wants to run,” said the free agent-to-be.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie is making a mistake in handing the reins of the Eagles’ front office to Roseman and Tom Donahoe, opines Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com. Frank cites Roseman’s questionable draft record and inability to coexist with others as reasons for concern. As for Donahoe, he hasn’t been associated with a playoff team since 1997 and had a less-than-stellar run as Buffalo’s general manager from 2001-05. Frank believes the Eagles need a fresh approach, which Roseman and Donahoe won’t provide.
Zach Berman of Philly.com took a look at possible Kelly replacements for the Eagles. Seven current NFL assistants, three of whom have head coaching experience in the league, and three college head coaches are listed as potential successors.
Bob Brookover, also of Philly.com, writes that the Eagles’ best selection to take over for Kelly is interim head coach Pat Shurmur – who went 9-23 with the Browns from 2011-12.

Eagles Notes: Kelly, Front Office, Coach Search

December 30th, 2015 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie addressed reporters today to discuss his decision to dismiss head coach Chip Kelly, and confirmed that, as we heard this morning, he didn’t offer Kelly a chance to keep the job without the control over the team’s personnel (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports).

As Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, Lurie explained the timing of his decision by telling the media that he wanted to get a headstart on the search for a new head coach, allowing Kelly to begin looking for a new job as well.

Perhaps most importantly, the fact that the move was made several days early gave Lurie time to have a players-only meeting today and to plan on meeting with certain Eagles players later today and on Monday as well. As he considers who to hire as Philadelphia’s new head coach, Lurie clearly wants some input from the players, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.

Here are several more highlights from Lurie’s presser….

On the decision to fire Kelly:

Issues between Kelly and the Eagles’ players were a factor in the decision to fire Kelly, but Lurie doesn’t believe that the head coach lost the locker room (Twitter links via Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com and Albert Breer of the NFL Network).
Lurie indicated that a recent conversation with DeMarco Murray had “zero” to do with his decision, noting that he talks to a lot of players (Twitter link via Breer).
Lurie acknowledged something that Kelly had long denied, confirming that Chip had insisted on specific power and personnel control, tweets Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. The end result of giving Kelly that power was “mediocrity,” Lurie said (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post).

On the Eagles’ front office:

Going forward, Howie Roseman will be responsible for making the player personnel department is as good as it can be, while Tom Donahoe will oversee day-to-day operations, Lurie announced (Twitter link).
Lurie is hopeful that the team can employ a “more collaborative approach” between the head coach and the front office, suggesting that no one person will dictate personnel decisions (Twitter link via Breer).
The Eagles don’t plan on hiring a new general manager. Roseman, Donahoe, and the new head coach will be the club’s primary decision-makers (Twitter links via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer).

On the search for a new head coach:

The Eagles’ brain trust spent the morning researching head coaching candidates and making calls, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). At his presser, Lurie confirmed that the club immediately got its coaching search underway last night.
Internal candidates may be considered for the head coaching job, according to Lurie (Twitter link). The Eagles owner isn’t ruling anyone out — college coaches, NFL coordinators, and offensive- and defensive-minded coaches will all be in play (Twitter link via Breer).
Lurie indicated that the team’s next head coach will have to be able to open his heart to players and understand “emotional intelligence.” Mosher tweets that that’s a “clear shot” at Kelly’s inability to communicate with his players.

Additional Eagles notes:

Asked about Kelly’s dismissal today, Eagles lineman Lane Johnson said that the former head coach was unapproachable, and also cited tension within the front office as a problem for the team (Twitter links via Breer and ESPN’s Ashley Fox).
Director of player engagement Marcus Sedberry is among the Eagles execs no longer with the team after yesterday’s shake-up, tweets Berman.

Eagles Part Ways With Chip Kelly

December 29th, 2015 at 6:52pm CST by Luke Adams

6:52pm: While the Eagles didn’t announce it publicly, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) believes Roseman will return to the head of the team’s personnel department.

6:19pm: With one week left in the regular season, the Eagles have announced in a press release that they’re parting ways with head coach Chip Kelly. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will serve as the club’s interim head coach in Week 17.

“I have made a decision to release Chip Kelly this evening,” owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. “I spent the last three seasons evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team. As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change. As we move forward, the search for a new head coach will begin and will be led by myself, Don Smolenski and Howie Roseman. To the extent that we are able, we will try to keep you informed as we go through this process.”

The move comes as a surprise, particularly given the timing, since teams making head coaching changes typically wait until after their season ends to announce them. Since Kelly also served as Philadelphia’s de facto general manager, overseeing the construction of the 90-man roster in the offseason, the team figures to be making several new hires in the coming weeks.

One executive that has already been replaced is vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz, who has been let go along with Kelly. When the club re-assigned Roseman earlier this year, Kelly was tasked with picking a new personnel executive, and ultimately decided on Marynowitz, who received a promotion within the organization. Former NFL GM Tom Donahoe, who had been serving as a senior football advisor for the Eagles since 2012, will take over Marynowitz’s old role, at least for now.

In addition to the changes coming to the Eagles’ front office and coaching staff, the roster figures to be retooled this offseason, after Kelly’s overhauled it and brought in his own players. It was Kelly, of course, who orchestrated this year’s trade for Sam Bradford, so with the former first overall pick eligible for free agency this winter, it’ll be interesting to see if Philadelphia’s new decision-makers attempt to lock up Bradford, via the franchise tag or a longer-term deal.

During his three seasons as Eagles head coach, Kelly had a solid 26-21 record. However, after consecutive 10-6 seasons, the wheels came off a little this year, as the new-look roster, which was supposedly tailored to Kelly’s vision, struggled to produce on the field.

Although Kelly only took over final say of Philadelphia’s roster moves from Roseman a year ago, he influenced the team’s moves before then as well, and many talented players left town after not always seeing eye to eye with the head coach. DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, and Evan Mathis are a few of the players that have departed within the last couple years.

As Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets, Kelly still had two years and at least $12MM left on his contract, so he doesn’t necessarily have to rush into any decisions on a new job this offseason. But it’s worth keeping an eye on the Titans, who will be in the market for a new head coach, and have Kelly’s old Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota on the roster. With Mariota and possibly the No. 1 overall pick this spring in play, the Tennessee position could definitely be of interest to Kelly, though it’s not clear yet if the Titans would reciprocate that interest.

The Eagles, meanwhile, join the Dolphins and Titans as teams that will definitely be hunting for a new head coach this offseason, with the Lions, Giants, Saints, Browns, 49ers, and Rams among the teams that could potentially join them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, McFadden, Eagles

December 3rd, 2015 at 1:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite a 3-8 record, the Cowboys have not been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and it would be crazy for them to tank, David Moore of The Dallas Morning News writes. The Cowboys are still unlikely to make the playoffs, but coach Jason Garrett would be going against his principles if he were to tank for a higher draft pick, Moore argues. The final games left aren’t about making the playoffs or draft position, he says, but rather they’re about competing at the highest level possible.

Here’s more on the Cowboys and the NFC East:

Babe Laufenberg of The Dallas Morning News envisions the Cowboys‘ backfield consisting of Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar, and a rookie to be named later in 2016. Still, Dallas will have to wait and see how Dunbar’s knee responds and there is no guarantee that he’ll be 100% next year. There will also be veteran running backs available to Dallas in the offseason.
No matter how Sam Bradford performs over the final five games of the season, the Eagles will have to make a franchise-altering decision at the quarterback position next offseason, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Eagles have whiffed on quarterbacks in the past, but sources tell McLane that Kelly did not have complete control over the position in the 2013-14 offseasons. In those offseasons, Kelly and ex-GM Howie Roseman both had to be in agreement on any QB decision. Now, of course, it’s all Kelly’s decision to make.
On Wednesday, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said that he would like to finish his career with Big Blue.

NFC Notes: Kelly, Kaepernick, Carter, Packers

November 30th, 2015 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Responding to a Monday report that suggested he met recently with USC officials, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly adamantly denied that such a meeting took place, telling reporters he has had “no contact” with USC or other colleges, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

Kelly had made a habit in the past of shooting down this sort of report, even when it’s hard not to believe that the report is true — for instance, he claimed this spring that he hadn’t had trade talks involving any of his players during the first day of the draft. In this case though, I’m inclined to believe that the details of today’s story – that Kelly met with USC officials in Philadelphia on Friday – are off. Still, it seems unlikely that Kelly or his agent have never spoken to anyone from USC at all, even if it was just to politely turn down an inquiry.

In any case, Kelly isn’t going anywhere for now. As we wait to see if he can get the Eagles back on track after a disastrous Thanksgiving loss, let’s check out some others notes out of Philadelphia and the rest of the NFC….

We’ve heard recently that the Eagles‘ struggles this year actually reflect relatively well on former GM Howie Roseman, who lost control of personnel decisions after the 2014 season. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, perception is shifting outside the Eagles’ building as well, with talk around the league suggesting that Roseman could draw interest elsewhere this winter. As Garafolo writes, it’ll be a delicate situation for owner Jeffrey Lurie, who has a good relationship with Roseman and will likely make an effort to keep him if other clubs come calling.
According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), the 49ers were able to track how much time players spent studying game plans and plays on tablets assigned by the team, and found that Blaine Gabbert studied about four to five times more than Colin Kaepernick did. While Kaepernick’s lack of preparation was an area of concern for the team, players aren’t thrilled with teams’ ability to track their studies, arguing that it may take some players less time than others to learn the same things. According to Cole, there’s a chance the NFLPA could take up the issue with the league.
Having been placed on IR with the designation to return in September, Lions cornerback Alex Carter won’t be activated to the 53-man roster and will remain on IR for the rest of the year, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Carter, selected in the third round by Detroit back in May, will have to wait until 2016 to make his NFL debut.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers admits the Packers need to improve their preparation on offense after losing four of five games, but denied that the club has reached the point where a players-only meeting is required, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. During NBC’s Thanksgiving telecast, Cris Collinsworth alluded to the club holding a players-only meeting, but Rodgers said no such meeting happened.

Latest On Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman

November 29th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Rory Parks

It was not that long ago that Eagles executive vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman, was essentially demoted from general manager and relieved of most of his personnel duties while head coach Chip Kelly was given the reins as de facto GM. Now, however, the tide may be turning in Roseman’s favor. After Philadelphia’s blowout loss on Thanksgiving, Kelly, according to a tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, was “despondent,” “feeling the heat,” and “considering all options.” Although Kelly remains intent on fixing his team’s struggles, the odds that he remains in Philadelphia beyond this season are growing slimmer with each passing day.

That is not to say that he will definitely not return. After all, he guided his club to 10-6 records in each of his first two years in Philadelphia, and if the team is able to acquire a quarterback that has the skill-set to excel in his offensive system–like Colin Kaepernick, for instance–there is no reason to believe that the Eagles cannot return to the top of the NFC East in 2016. If we were talking simply about Kelly the coach, it would be almost foolish to think that he would not remain with the team next year.

The problem is, Kelly the coach is also Kelly the GM, and as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, that means that Kelly is fully responsible for what has happened to the Eagles this season, including the predictable struggles of the Sam Bradford-led offense. Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that Kelly the GM took gambles on players with extensive injury histories who unsurprisingly have missed time with injury, he chose the wrong veteran players to send packing, and per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kelly’s behavior concerning injured players has left much to be desired.

If Kelly is to leave Philadelphia, voluntarily or otherwise, he would immediately become the most sought-after option among college programs looking for a new head coach, and that may be an increasingly tempting possibility for him. Indeed, Rapoport tweets that USC has reached out to Kelly to express the school’s interest in him, and the Trojans are just one of a number of teams that could be a nice landing spot for the embattled coach (although Rapoport does add that the Titans, who are committed to the quarterback that Kelly tried to draft in May, Marcus Mariota, could make a run at Kelly if he becomes available).

Should Kelly depart, Florio speculates that Roseman could be on the verge of seizing a level of control over the Eagles that he has never had before. After all, as Kelly rightfully has borne the brunt of the blame for his club’s struggles in 2016, Roseman has, by comparison, come out smelling like a rose. Although there are plenty of writers both inside and outside of the Eagles beat who believe Kelly will remain in Philadelphia next year, it would be very easy for owner Jeffrey Lurie to move on from Kelly and restore Roseman to the GM role. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but if the Thanksgiving debacle was a harbinger of things to come, Roseman could once again be running the show in Philadelphia in a couple of months.

Eagles Notes: Long, Roseman, Kelly

August 3rd, 2015 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

We took a look at the Eagles this morning and now we have your evening update from Philly..

Eagles outside linebacker Travis Long tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee a year after suffering the same injury, NFL sources told Jeff McLane of Philadelphia Inquirer. The Eagles, who have since confirmed the news, were already light at outside linebacker. Long was expected to compete for the third spot behind starters Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham. In a recent interview, Long said that he nearly retired in the past due to his string of injuries.
Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter) expects the Eagles to go pick up a veteran outside linebacker after cutdown day rather than moving Kiko Alonso or Mychal Kendricks outside.
Eagles exec (and former GM) Howie Roseman was on the sideline watching practice today, Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Roseman, by most accounts, wasn’t on the field in the spring after some organizational reshuffling transferred most of his power to coach Chip Kelly.
John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com wonders if Chip Kelly‘s decisions hurting the Eagles‘ depth. Over the weekend, Kelly shipped cornerback Brandon Boykin to the Steelers and it’s not clear who will be able to step up and take his place. Kelly also bounced other players this offseason including Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans.

NFC Notes: Jones, Peterson, Eagles

May 4th, 2015 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

There have been no contract talks between Julio Jones‘ agent and the Falcons, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes. Still, GM Thomas Dimitroff says that the star wide receiver is a priority. “There is no question that our focus in the future will be on Julio Jones and where we are,” Dimitroff told ESPN.com. “I don’t want to get into specifics about the timing of that, obviously. But now that the draft is over and we continue to build this football team, we understand that Julio is a very important part of our building and evolving as a championship-type team.” Dimitroff also claimed that Jones’ foot problems were not an issue for him. Here’s more from the NFC..

Recently, the agent for Adrian Peterson hinted that the Vikings running back wanted extra financial incentive to continue playing with Minnesota. When asked about whether he’d meet those demands, GM Rick Spielman declined to comment, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Peterson is under contract for the next three seasons but none of his money is guaranteed.
After the Eagles fired three members of their scouting department, there has been speculation that former GM Howie Roseman will be the next to go, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
When asked if the Rams may be trying to copy the Seahawks’ with strengths in defense, the running game, and the passing game, GM Les Snead acknowledged that wouldn’t be a bad strategy, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.

Eagles’ Front Office Creating Confusion

January 25th, 2015 at 11:54am CST by Rory Parks

When the Eagles announced new roles for head coach Chip Kelly and GM Howie Roseman earlier this month, with Roseman elevated to the role of executive vice president of football operations and Kelly appointed to oversee the player personnel department, there were bound to be some growing pains as Philadelphia’s front office adapted to its new structure and other teams figured out how to interact with that structure.

However, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says there may be more to this situation than the expected transitional hurdles. Roseman was conspicuous only by his absence at the Senior Bowl, which has led some league insiders to wonder about Roseman’s true role with the club. After Kelly was granted complete control over personnel, Roseman was expected to be in charge of the salary cap and contracts. But a number of agents who represent Eagles with possible contract situations have said they were unsure who would be handling negotiations, while others said they still expected to work with Roseman.

Meanwhile, director of football administration Jake Rosenberg met with agents representing players both on and off of the Eagles roster last week, and he is currently conducting contract talks with impending free agent Jeremy Maclin. At the same time, Kelly gave his phone number to two agents with Eagles players, which represents “another indicator of his increasing say over all facets of football operations.”

The fact that Roseman was vacationing with his family while Kelly was scouting college all-star practices has created the perception that the front office restructure was not as peaceful as initially thought, and that Philadelphia is currently a hostile, divided organization.

Citing ESPN’s Adam Caplan, Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com writes that at least two people turned down the chance to interview for the Eagles’ vacant GM post, with one of the candidates saying he wanted to work for an organization in which the coach, GM, and owner were on the same page. This is not to say, of course, that the team will be unable to hire a quality GM, or that the key players in Philadelphia’s front office cannot overcome whatever turmoil there might be. But it does make one wonder if the organization’s internal dynamics will detract from its ability to navigate through the offseason as smoothly as it would like.

Eagles GM Search Notes: Fitterer, Dungy

January 10th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Eagles are still searching for their next general manager since announcing new roles for head coach Chip Kelly and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman.

Kelly will have more control over the roster and the draft, and will also have a hand in choosing the team’s next general manager.

The team is expected to interview Seahawks director of college scouting Scott Fitterer sometime next week, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter).
Kelly has reportedly reached out to a number of football people for advice as he continues to look for a general manager. One notable name that is advising Kelly is former Colts coach Tony Dungy, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
McLane also notes that Fitterer was the director of college scouting when the Seahawks selected current stars Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor, and Russell Wilson.
Dungy could push Kelly towards Lions general manager Martin Mayhew or someone close to him, based on his ties to him and coach Jim Caldwell, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

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