Seth Vigdor
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who is also notable for throwing shit at a wall to see if it sticks, lamented earlier today of how Howie Roseman could be on the rise once again in Philadelphia. Last January, Jeff Lurie gave Chip Kelly full control of personnel decisions for the Eagles – a job that was previously held by Roseman. With every gamble like that, there’s a double-edged sword. It could work out and we could all be on the Chip bandwagon, and on the flip side, it fails miserably and there’s hell to pay. That’s where we are today.
Chip Kelly is not only on the hook now for what happens on the field, but off the field as well with decisions that he’s made regarding personnel and lord knows that he’s certainly made some questionable decisions.
The LeSean McCoy trade…
Filed to ESPN: Bills have notified LB Kiko Alonso he is going to be traded to Philadelphia for RB LeSean McCoy. Trade official next week.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2015
…to letting Jeremy Maclin go because of a “miscommunication”…
#ChiefsKingdom https://t.co/qpJVC9dZkK
— Jeremy Maclin (@jmac___19) March 11, 2015
…to acquiring Sam Bradford, who hasn’t exactly worked out as hoped…
#Eagles acquire QB Sam Bradford, '15 5th round draft pick from St. Louis in exchange for QB Nick Foles, '15 4th round, '16 2nd round picks
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 10, 2015
Juggling two jobs can be difficult in general. In football, though, it can prove as an obstacle that’s unable to be overcome. Which, in turn, makes Florio believe that a Roseman return is closer than we all think.
While Lurie opted in January to find a way to keep Kelly and Roseman around in a way that would allow them to coexist (a process that included physically moving the new executive V.P. of football operations out of the football operations location), it was clear that Kelly was now fully in charge of the team. Which means that Kelly is fully responsible for what has happened this season. Which means that Roseman necessarily has no responsibility for what has happened this season.
Which means that Roseman could be poised to seize a level of control over the team that he has never previously enjoyed.
So as Kelly’s future continues to be the focus in Philly, the second rise of Roseman can’t be overlooked. Unless Lurie decides to hit the reset button or pursue a head coach who will want to keep Roseman away from the football operation the same way Kelly has, Roseman will be back in the mix.
Prior to Kelly’s arrival in 2013 to Philadelphia, Roseman had been Jeff Lurie’s go-to guy. If Lurie and Kelly work together in the offseason to fix the team’s problems, Lurie needs to really take control of the situation to restore some order to this team. The question remains though, if Lurie brings Roseman back in the loop for personnel decisions, does Kelly decide to walk away from the job? It certainly didn’t appear that Kelly and Roseman could work together. However, with Kelly’s demeanor being completely different after the Lions loss, it’s quite possible that he now believes he may need Roseman to help him, something he’s never had at the college level.
Only time will tell.
Ed. note: I love how Florio based an entire article out of what may or may not happen. But, that’s why he does it – it gets people talking.