Dave Uram
Dave Uram is a weekly contributor to Philly Influencer. You can follow him on Twitter (@MrUram).
Jeffrey Lurie is going into his 24th season as Philadelphia Eagles CEO and Chairman. He’s always been praised for being one of the NFL’s better owners, partly because of his assumed hands off approach.
If an ESPN report is correct, though, that has changed and he’s much more active, which won’t work unless he finally holds one of his most trusted decision makers accountable.
Tim McManus posted a story Thursday morning that Lurie’s involvement increased since the dismissal of Chip Kelly in 2015. Apparently, the 65-year-old is tormented that he hasn’t won a Super Bowl since buying the team in 1994, which is completely understandable.
Robert Kraft’s Patriots are winners of four, and very possibly five based on what happens over the next three weeks. Not to mention, the Broncos have won three, Giants, Steelers, Ravens and Packers two and Cowboys, Seahawks, Saints, Rams, Colts and Buccaneers one.
McManus also wrote that since firing Kelly, Lurie is dealing with head coach Doug Pederson more frequently and had a major say in important decisions such as re-signing Sam Bradford before the 2016 season and blocking quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo from interviewing for the New York Jets offensive coordinator vacancy.
The reason why it’s risky to assume Lurie’s increased influence will help in a positive manner is because of decisions he made in the past.
These include allowing Chip Kelly to gain complete control over personnel just days after insisting Howie Roseman’s job was safe. Then, there was re-instating Roseman into the mix after Kelly was ousted, despite Roseman’s rumored difficult mannerisms and his lack of success as a general manager overall. This eventually ties into not holding Roseman accountable despite numerous moves that backfired on the Birds such as the Danny Watkins and Marcus Smith draft picks, as well as the infamous “Dream Team” off-season signings.
Lastly, if Lurie did in fact push for the re-singing of Bradford before 2016, that further drives home his lack of football knowledge, because having Bradford on the team with Carson Wentz would’ve been counter productive to the development of the North Dakota State product. The Eagles got lucky by an unfortunate injury to Teddy Bridgewater. Keeping Bradford on the team as the starter would’ve been a guaranteed distraction all fall and winter long.
Putting these concerns aside though, the one benefit to Lurie being more hands on is maybe Roseman will finally be held accountable for unsuccessful decisions.
Let’s be honest, for the most part Roseman hasn’t drafted well and he’s given unproven players who still haven’t delivered, such as Vinny Curry, massive contracts. It’s a big reason why the Birds cap room is limited before they likely cut ties with some veterans.
The combination of Lurie and Roseman hasn’t worked out for the Eagles. They haven’t won a playoff game during that tenure and have made the playoffs only twice since 2010.
If Lurie being more involved means Roseman’s seat is getting a little hotter, than that out weighs all the risks associated with this reported development.
It might be just what this struggling franchise needs.