Howie Roseman Addresses Gamble Rumors, Talks Vick's Future
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Eagles VP of Player Personnel Tom Gamble is reportedly a "top candidate" for the vacant Miami Dolphins general manager position. If that's the case, they haven't informed the Eagles yet.
A report from the National Football Post suggested on Tuesday that Gamble was a strong candidate for the Miami job.
"No [Miami hasn't asked for permission to speak to him], we haven't heard anything," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Wednesday. Gamble joined the Eagles in his current position prior to the 2013 season. "One of the good things about having some success, is people are going to come after your people. So hopefully we continue to have some success and there will continue to be guys that people are targeting from our staff, but right now we haven't heard anything. We're happy to have Tom [Gamble]. He knew this was a possibility when we went out and got him last year, so right now it's business as usual."
The subject of the talk with Roseman moved on to both the future, and the past.
One thing Roseman regrets about the past is letting go of legendary safety Brian Dawkins.
"I'd be lying to sit here and say Brian Dawkins shouldn't have retired as an Eagle and every time I see him, and I have had a chance to visit with him a bunch---I call him and ask him questions about safety play," Roseman said. "To me, it's a great resource for the Philadelphia Eagles. He's an unbelievable guy, but he was a hall of fame player. When you look around the league, it's hard to find safeties who can cover, who can blitz, who can play the run. I mean, he was an unbelievable player and I think the more we get away from him, and we knew what a great player he was when he was here, but the more you get away from him you find out how special he really was. He's probably a once in a lifetime kind of player."
Michael Vick said after the Eagles loss on Saturday that he still believes he can start in the NFL, and that is his ultimate goal. Roseman reiterated that belief.
"I think the biggest thing for Mike [Vick] is we can't offer him what he wants, and that's a starting job," he said. "He's been very clear about that. I've got a chance to meet with all of our free agents before they left and he wants to be a starter. He looks around the league and he looks at his skill set and he thinks he deserves it. So, right now it's hard to even have a discussion because he's so determined to go find that role."
The obvious difference between this year's Eagles and the team of the last two years is the on-field success. But the Eagles have been different off the field as well. They've been more available, and more open. Roseman said that's by design.
No question about it [there was a conscious effort to become more fan friendly]. I think that Don [Smolenski] and I have been together for a long time and we'd always sit there and talk about how we'd do it if we ever got the opportunity and part of it was our belief that we're really shareholders for the fans right? These jobs are going to come and go," he said. "We're not going to be here forever. This team is the team of the fans, it's the team of the city of Philadelphia and we really feel that way. We feel that the passion that our fans have for this team is really unmatched in the National Football League. That's a huge advantage for us. We have a 12th man. A lot of teams, you talk to your friends around the league, and they're going, 'we can't get guys to come to the games, we don't have passionate fans.' For us, that's a huge asset for our football team and a huge asset for all of us."