Remember just a few years ago? Back when the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi trophy for the first time in franchise history? Back when their quarterback was the 2020 equivalent to Patrick Mahomes before he took the league by storm? Back when Doug Pederson was not only said to be the next Andy Reid, but one who could win in the playoffs? Back when the organization looked like the most coveted location in the entire league? Back when the culture was so healthy and something to be proud of as a fan? Back when you could make fun of the Cowboys for having a super-meddlesome owner in Jerry Jones? Back when “make it happen” Howie was always 10 steps ahead of the league?
Those were the days.
Super Bowl 52 was the crowning achievement of everyone on the Eagles roster that year, and a moment of such happiness for all of the Philly loyals. However, now that we take a look back three years later on this franchise’s regression since then, we see it may have also been the worst thing to happen to this franchise.
It cannot be argued that the Eagles’ current situation seems dire following a 4-11-1 season and an entire coaching staff being ripped to shreds to make room for one with little to no experience at their present positions. This, coupled with uncertainties at key positions such as quarterback, receiver, secondary and special teams (among others), you get a recipe for disaster as far as the next season goes.
We knew that. We knew, following Wentz and Pederson’s departures, that things were going to be dark for at least a season or two. We were willing to endure the growing pains that come with a first time head coach if it meant that a few years down the road, we’d be back in playoff contention. Following recent reports, namely The Atlantic’s in-depth view of the inner workings of Philly’s front office, those wishings of a bright future may have just withered away from even the most optimistic of fans.
Basically, close sources familiar with the front office and former Head Coach Doug Pederson have asserted that ol’ Dougie P. was not seen so endearingly by Roseman and Lurie as he was by the fans. While many fans have been calling for Doug’s head since last season’s utter collapse, Lurie and Roseman’s view of him was reportedly not ideal since 2016! The two executives even wanted to drive the then-offensive coordinator out of town following Wentz’s rookie year. In case you don’t remember who that was, his name is Frank Reich, and he is currently the head coach of the team Carson Wentz just got traded to. Funny how that works, huh?
This was only one example of Roseman and Lurie’s meddlesome hand in Pederson’s ability to choose his staff. They were the ones who made him fire Mike Groh even after he had told the media that his 2018 OC’s job was safe. They were the ones who pushed Pederson not to hire an OC in 2020, but instead, to have a makeshift offensive staff of several advisors concocting a game plan that was never really suited to the current roster. But their iron fist placed on his staff was not the only thing that doomed this team.
As if it wasn’t enough to restrain a coach from making his own staff hires, Lurie and Howie — according to reports from The Atlantic article — would chew him out for things such as not winning by that much, having poor QB play, his decision making, personnel decisions and more on an almost weekly basis. If Doug went for it on fourth down (as he so often did) but the team couldn’t execute, he was questioned about it in all the areas listed above. And it wasn’t that he was simply questioned as many GM’s may do every so often. No, he was treated as inferior to Roseman and Lurie on being a football coach.
Pederson has always been viewed as the inferior option throughout his NFL career. He was inferior to Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre. He was inferior to all other coaching options when Philly hired him in the eyes of Mike Lombardi; you may know him as “some clown,” as Jason Kelce so eloquently stated. Because of this constant climb up the hill and building a reputation out of nothing, he became rugged. He became gutsy. He became a lovable father-like figure to his players. He became a leader of men. He became fearless, but in the eyes of Roseman and Lurie, he did not deserve their full trust.
These — pardon the cliché — rose-colored glasses worn by Howie and Lurie stem from a penchant for arrogance that really blossomed following their victory in Super Bowl 52. Perhaps there may be some leftover scars from a previous era that drove Lurie to disallow his head coach from getting too much leeway so as to prevent another dumpster fire, a la Chip Kelly. However, when the owner hires football coaches to coach football, you should hope he allows them to do their job without meddling. Think of it this way: you would be a bit worried if Lurie just started taking snaps under center because he didn’t think his quarterback was doing well, wouldn’t you? Lurie took a chapter from the locally-despised Jerry Jones by taking too much control over his team. However, unlike his rival counterpart, Lurie lied about it.
Lurie and Roseman wore a facade of tranquility throughout these last few years, making the Eagles’ culture seem so pristine and perfect, all the while spiraling downward until finally the facade came melting off their frowning faces. The pair was successful in 2017 as they constructed one of the deepest rosters in Eagles history, and the achievements of that team prove that they aren’t incapable of making good choices — but with that success they became empowered to tighten their grip of control. As their egos got bigger, so too did their quarterback’s. Wentz, who seemed to think he was smarter than the entire coaching staff (again, placing Pederson as inferior) fed off the duo of Roseman and Lurie as they fed him mistrust in Pederson and a complete dedication to him as ‘the guy.’ These notions by Lurie and Roseman booted Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles out of town (again) and inked their uncoachable and arrogant quarterback to a mega-deal, a deal that would explode in their faces as the monster they created up and left following a dismal 2020 performance.
Now we are left with a general manager who has yet to compile a solid, young roster and an owner who again seems undaunted by his past mistakes, as seen by his recent “demand” that Hurts be the starter rather than letting his staff make that decision on their own. Perhaps, Sirianni and Hurts will prove stronger than Pederson and Wentz and the Eagles can finally make positive moves for the first time since Feb. 4, 2018. Or perhaps, a young coach and an unproven QB are exactly the kind of puppets Lurie and Roseman have wanted all along. Time will tell if they’ll learn from their mistakes. Until then, hang on for the ride, it’s sure to be a bumpy one! Fly, Eagles Fly.
Joseph Gill is a second-year English writings major. JG923276@wcupa.edu