New Report Details Eagles Dysfunction, Mismanagement Since 2017 Super Bowl Win
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)- How did we go from the Super Bowl to this? It's a question that many Eagles fans have asked themselves over the last few years, reaching a fever pitch in the 2020 season when the team posted a 4-11-1 record, it's worst finish since 2012. A new report from The Athletic's Sheil Kapadia, Bo Wulf and Zach Berman shines light on just how dysfunctional the organization has been, leading to a precipitous fall from grace.
The report, drawing on conversations with sources inside the organization, details an increased involvement from owner Jeffrey Lurie in football operations, an opaque draft evaluation process and rifts between the team's scouting, analytics and coaching departments.
Starting with Lurie's involvement in football operations, the owner along with Roseman had weekly Tuesday meetings with former head coach Doug Pederson in which the coach was questioned about his game management in the prior week's game.
"(Pederson) was ridiculed and criticized for every decision," one source told The Athletic. "If you won by three, it wasn't enough. If you lost on a last-second field goal, you're the worst coach in history."
That involvement extends to the draft as well, where Lurie remains a "active participant" in the pre-draft process. The report notes that Lurie was known for being a "draftaholic" when he bought the team in 1994 but, unlike many of the other owners in the league, the team is his "top business and personal interest," as he attends most practices and has gone to private workouts and Senior Bowls in the past.
While the passion and drive to win from can be a great thing, there is the question of whether he is now too involved. In the 14 seasons that Andy Reid was the head man in Philly (arguably the most successful stretch in franchise history), weekly Tuesday meetings discussing game management weren't part of the equation.
The organization's draft process overall appears to be a key point of tension based on the reporting. While Lurie has his input, the team also has an analytics staff which has its own set of rankings, scouts were reportedly unsure of the team's drafting methodology and Roseman is said to have his own draft board which can lead to lack of collaboration from a team that espouses the wonders of it in public. From the report:
"Roseman is known to keep his own draft board, and scouts who spend months on the road evaluating players can feel marginalized when the rankings they've helped assemble are not followed. One source described Roseman pushing an assistant coach to give playing time to a recent draft pick while the assistant balanced conflicting recommendations from senior members of the coaching staff. Lurie, who regularly attends practice, inquired about a reserve's playing time. There's been confusion about why certain players were active and others were inactive on game days, with speculation centered on Roseman's outsized influence on the game-day roster."
The whole report is well worth the read as it dives into the fall of the franchise from every angle. The hope is that the team is able to fix some of the issues detailed within going forward. The 2021 season is likely to be rough considering the state of the roster and a new head coach learning on the job. Whether or not they're improving in 2022 and beyond depends on what lessons they have learned from the last few years.
