In the NFL, teams are allowed to seek and hire coaches and executives away from another franchise without that organization's permission as long as the move entails a clear promotion.
For the Philadelphia Eagles, they may be struggling to fill their vacant pseudo-general manager position because the job doesn't actually entail the duties and responsibility - namely final say over the draft and/or roster - of a normal GM.
It's an issue that has reared its head at least twice now, as both the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have denied the Eagles and head coach Chip Kelly the chance to interview personnel candidates.
Last week, the Texans chose to promote Brian Gaine from pro personnel director to director of player personnel in order to keep him from jumping to Philly.
This week, the Buccaneers have simply denied the Eagles the ability to interview director of player personnel, Jon Robinson, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports.
With the job not bringing the power of an actual NFL GM, the Bucs were free to deny the request, and more concerning, Robinson actually preferred to stay in Tampa, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
As CSN Philly's Reuben Frank notes, the Eagles odd and perhaps tension-filled front office dynamic may be a factor as well - teams generally allow candidates under contract to interview if they're seriously interested in the job, even if it is a lateral move.
"Robinson is at least the second personnel executive denied permission to interview with the Eagles. Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard was also denied. More than two weeks into this process, there are possibly more."
With GM-turned vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman, still in the building and still holding some kind of unidentifiable power, top outside candidates may be less inclined to join the Eagles and be put in the middle of the Kelly-Roseman relationship.
"Then there's the fact that whoever gets the job could be caught as the liaison between Kelly and former G.M./current executive V.P. of football operations Howie Roseman," writes Florio. "Even though owner Jeffrey Lurie found a way to send them to their separate corners of the building, tension remains - and the new hire will be right in the middle of it."
Some NFL teams will shop the job as having full control while the reality of the situation is very different, so it's to the Eagles credit that they're being up front about what the position entails.
But with Roseman's lingering presence and Kelly taking full control of the player-personnel aspect of team-building, it may severely limit the Eagles' ability to bring onboard a top candidate from outside the organization.
