Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie addressed the media today in an attempt to explain his shocking decision Tuesday to part ways with head coach/personnel czar Chip Kelly. Lurie said a lot of interesting things, too much to parse in one article - like that he handed Chip the keys last offseason because Chip was "adamant" that he needed to be able to make certain decisions and Lurie wanted him to be held accountable for those decisions, which, in the end, he was - but Lurie also made it clear that Howie Roseman, the deposed Eagle GM, pushed aside as Kelly took over the top role for the organization, will once again be a prominent figure within the Philly power structure.
Only, it won't be as GM. Why? Because the Eagles won't have a GM.
"Howie Roseman will remain as Executive Vice President in charge of football operations, Tom Donahoe will run the day-to-day player personnel department, which is a crucial hire and a crucial position in terms of player personnel," said Lurie, per Tim McManus of Philly Mag. "Howie will be responsible for making sure our player personnel department is as good as it gets in the NFL and be accountable for that. That's pretty much the way it would go. A new head coach, executive vice president of football operations and a player personnel head, they're all partners to collaborate. That's the structure."
Lurie didn't dismiss the idea, when broached earlier by a reporter, of giving final say over personnel to the next head coach, as he had with Chip and Andy Reid, but it sure sounds like that's a situation Lurie will actively be attempting to avoid moving forward.
Roseman, for all the negativity surrounding his transition away from personnel last offseason, did find some significant success during portions of his tenure as Philly GM. He of course oversaw the abysmal 2011 Philadelphia Dream Team, comprised of high-paid veteran mercenaries from across the league, including Vince Young and Nnamdi Asomugha, but he also helmed the 2012 draft, which netted Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, Vinny Curry, Brandon Boykin and yes, even one-time Eagles starter, Nick Foles.
While there won't be a GM to speak of in Philly, it seems Roseman will oversee personnel and Donahoe, a veteran of NFL front offices and a long-time consultant for the Eagles, will take care of day-to-day business.
