Eagles

The Eagles’ Search for Personnel Man Has, Predictably, Failed

By Kyle Scott

Published: Feb 2nd, 2016 · 10:44 AM EST

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OH HEY LOOK JEFFREY LURIE OUTSMARTED HIMSELF AGAIN!

Speaking to reporters last month during Doug Pederson’s introductory press conference, Jeffrey Lurie played the worst hand of poker in history when he told Jeff “The Hammer” McLane that he wouldn’t speak any further about his search for a new personnel head yada yada yada competitive advantage. Some might have interpreted his response as “he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” If you were one of those people, you would be correct.

Geoff Mosher, reporting for ESN, a site with text on a dark green background (whyyyyy?):

The Eagles have tabled their search for a personnel chief and aren’t expected to hire until after the NFL draft, according to several league sources familiar with the situation.

The Eagles, who have no scouting chief after firing coach Chip Kelly and top personnel executive Ed Marynowitz, are looking for a high-ranking senior executive to lead the scouting department and determine the fate of current scouts, per sources, but they opened their search at a time when NFL teams are knee deep in the pre-draft process and would be reluctant to allow a top personnel executive to leave.

…

Industry sources also believe Lurie and Roseman will face the same challenge of finding a qualified candidate as Kelly did last year in looking to replace vice president of player personnel Tom Gamble, who was fired right after the season.

Several candidates turned down the chance to work under Kelly, who eventually promoted Marynowitz.

The Eagles have been plagued by turnover and instability in the front office, especially during Roseman’s rise to power, and league sources believe the team’s reputation for fostering a toxic environment signals a red flag to potential candidates.

That is absolutely mind-bending. Mosher points out that the top three ranking personnel folks now employed by the Eagles are, in order: Howie Roseman, Tom Donahue – who, according to Mosher, “hasn’t done much field scouting across the country” – and Doug Pederson. Awesome.

Of course, it’s no surprise that Lurie, who decided to cut bait on Chip Kelly at least a year too early, wasn’t able to outfox the league in his not-so-secretive quest for a top personnel man. I mean, does this sound like an owner who had a grasp on what he was doing?

McLane: So you haven’t made the decision on that yet?

Lurie: Can’t reveal any decision on that beacuse it would impact our ability to find the right people that we’ve designated in the search … As soon as we finish the search, accountibility will be 100% knowledge.

As it turns out, Lurie underestimated how difficult it would be to pry a big-time GM-like figure from the clutches of NFL teams in the months leading up to their busiest time of the year. So, we’re left with Howie Roseman. Again. Happy Groundhog Day. This offseason is gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey – like Doug Pederson hair – and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.