By Matt Lombardo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Few figures within the Eagles organization have experienced a more dramatic turnaround over the last three years than executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman.

Roseman was once the laughing stock of Eagles' fans, some members of the media, and ultimately was banished to the business side of the organization after losing a power struggle with former head coach Chip Kelly.

Now, five days from the Eagles' Super Bowl showdown against the New England Patriots, it is Roseman who is having the last laugh after emerging as the toast of the NFL and Executive of The Year Award winner thanks to a renewed philosophy in terms of targeting young but established players and re-signing them before they hit the open-market, and working in collaboration with Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

During Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday at the Xcel Energy Center, Roseman spoke for over 40 minutes about how this 2018 team came to be, and the challenges he's overcome to help the Eagles get to the precipice of winning the first Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.

Here's a look at what Roseman had to say, and key takeaways from his extensive media availability:

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Kirby Lee | USA TODAY Sports

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Could Eagles be poised to become a dynasty in the NFC East?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I think we've got to take it year-by-year. After this game, we have a challenging offseason, like we always do. We have a lot of tough decisions to make. We just have to kind of capitalize on this moment right now."

TAKEWAY: This is the right approach from Roseman. The Eagles are in the Super Bowl since the first time since the 2004 season, and despite the fact that 21 starters are projected to return next season, and rookie cornerback Sidney Jones played only a half of football this season underscores the quality depth and youth on the roster, the focus should be on beating the Patriots on Sunday.

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What does this mean to Roseman personally just two years removed from being reassigned to the business side of the organization?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I haven't thought a lot about it. I can honestly tell you that the greatest gift will be winning the world championship. That will be for our organization, for our players, our coaches, and Philadelphia. Right now we have this opportunity here. Let's capitalize on it. The offseason's going to come quick. We met today, about how quick that's coming. I'm happy for our organization, I really am."

TAKEAWAY: From losing a power struggle with former head coach Chip Kelly -- and being forced to relinquish any personnel control to him -- to building a roster that was able to make the Super Bowl despite losing Carson Wentz, Jordan Hicks, Darren Sproles, Jason Peters, and Chris Maragos for the season underscores the remarkable job that Roseman has done in increasing the talent level throughout the roster. It would be easy for Roseman to view this season's success as a testament to his foresight and moves, but he takes the high road and dedicates the Super Bowl run to Philadelphia, and Eagles fans.

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On the philosophy of trading middle-round picks for young, but established NFL players

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I think you're just looking for opportunities. It's hard to acquire good players in the league. There's more salary cap room than there's ever been. You've got to get creative in ways to acquire players, and sometimes you're just fortunate where your needs match other team's surpluses.

"I think that happened with Buffalo [in the trade that sent a third round draft pick and Jordan Matthews to the Bills for cornerback Ronald Darby], and with Miami [in the trade of a fourth round pick for Jay Ajayi], but I think they're happy with what they got from the trade, too. I think when we look at it, it's going to be hard to not have a second or third round pick in this draft, but hopefully the end results hold up well.

"It's hard to compete in the free agent market. There's a lot of money in free agency. If you have the opportunity to get to know these guys and live with them day in and day out, you kind of know where you're spending the money and you feel better about it. There's no guarantees about it. Having Timmy [Jernigan] and Alshon [Jeffery] around have really helped our football team, and we wanted to keep them around."

TAKEAWAY: Rather than utilizing draft picks in unproven college prospects, Roseman and vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas struck gold in acquiring the likes of Darby, Jernigan, and Ajayi this season, who all have tremendous upside while also a track record of proven success at the NFL level.

The result is a roster that from top to bottom has players that will be under team control and have a chance to continue to develop together while simultaneously mitigating some of the risk of not knowing how a player will respond to the transition from the college to pro game ... And many ways, that philosophy is what won Roseman the Executive of The Year Award

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On Why the Eagles blocked Joe Douglas from interviewing for the Houston Texans GM job

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "We were during the season. I think that the way the league rules are, that during the season, it's not expected that you'd allow people to interview with other teams. That's the way the rules are written. We're going to abide by the rules that are written.

"Joe's a valuable part of our organization. We love having him in Philadelphia. But, again, during the season we're going to focus on playing."

TAKEAWAY: Douglas' influence over the personnel department has been monumental, as illustrated by leveraging his past relationships with Jeffery, and Jernigan while also serving as a driving force behind identifying and selecting Derek Barnett in the first round of last April's NFL Draft.

In all likelihood, it is going to be a struggle for the Eagles to keep Douglas within the organization long-term, without giving him a promotion in title and a raise, because he is one of the more highly respected and coveted personnel men across the NFL.

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The value of having 21 projected starters signed through 2018 ... Does that mean Eagles can compete for a Super Bowl every year?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "We hope so. But, at the same time, we're not going to stop. Our job is going to be trying to improve every year. We're going to keep looking for ways to get better. We owe it to our fans. We want to win a Super Bowl. After we get this opportunity, we're setting out to compete.

"We have a lot of young core players that are under contract, and we're not going to sit on our hands. We're going to try and go out to improve on that."

TAKEAWAY: Roseman should get high marks for this response. It would be easy to get complacent with a roster built around a second-year franchise quarterback and quality depth across the board, but there are 30 other teams knee-deep in offseason preparation aiming specifically to build their teams to knock off the Eagles and Patriots. Even if the Eagles win the Super Bowl on Sunday, getting complacent as an organization and resting on the talent currently in the building is a quick way to get surpassed.

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On why depth matters

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "We knew all along that we didn't want one injury to derail the team. We didn't want to worry about if a key guy got hurt, which they did, we wanted to make sure that we had enough depth to keep going, and have this next man up philosophy."

TAKEAWAY: Again, the M*A*S*H unit of players lost along the way by the Eagles this season would likely fill a Pro Bowl roster. Roseman and the front office are plenty deserving as a group of the Executive of The Year Award for the job done in building a roster that could sustain an outbreak of injuries that would derail just about any competitive team in the NFL.

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What would his advice be to the 2015 version of himself?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I think that I'd make sure to make a point to take care of the priorities. Make sure that you're not short-changing what the right way to build the team is, and what you believe in. Even if that means taking one step back in order to take two steps forward.

"You can't be happy to be 10-6 and be in the Wild-Card round, as opposed to knowing that the best chance of getting into this game and this environment is getting a bye and having a team capable of doing that."

TAKEAWAY: This is a philosophy that Roseman has often spoken about in recent years, that shooting beyond simply making the playoffs needs to be the organization's ultimate goal. The aggressiveness shown over the last two offseasons in treading up to draft Wentz and this past year adding game-changing weapons on both sides of the football along with quality proven leaders has fueled this Super Bowl run.

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On whether it has sunk in how quickly the trajectory of the Eagles' franchise has changed since drafting Carson Wentz

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "We really haven't had a chance to think back on all that. Even last week, when you thought you'd have a chance to sit back and kind of get your bearings and go, the logistics that you're dealing with with the Super Bowl ... I'm hoping to one day get on a beach to reflect back on this season and reflect back on it in a historical way, and not just in a special way that it's been at this point."

TAKEAWAY: Clearly all of the focus is singularly on beating the Patriots, and looking ahead to Super Bowl Sunday ...

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Did he ever think about leaving the Eagles when things went south with Chip Kelly?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "There's always a process when you're kind of adjusting to a new role, and probably not the role you envisioned yourself going in. At the same time, it was a great learning experience. It was a great experience for me both personally, and professionally. Looking back on it, it was probably one of the best things that's happened to me.

"It gave me a chance to step back. When you're in this job, there's not a lot of time to reflect back on where you are in the season or where you are in your career. When you have a year where you're away from the daily grind of what you're doing, you have a chance to think differently about your relationships or what you're doing on a daily basis."

TAKEAWAYS: This isn't the first time that Roseman has suggested that being banished from the day-to-day football side of the organizations was beneficial to his career. Clearly, that time spent away seems to have sharpened his focus on what it requires to build a championship organization from the coaching staff on down to the scouting department and players.

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On why the collaboration with Doug Pederson works so well when it comes to personnel

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I think when you talk about Doug's role, there's no decision that we make, where he's not involved. There's nothing that we're doing ... We never just say 'Hey coach, here's a guy. He's on your team now.' The communication is multiple times a day. We're really taking directives from him and his staff about what they're looking for in their players.

"It's not necessarily what I, or Joe Douglas, or anyone on our staff wants. It's what the coaches are looking for at each position, and we narrow it down to give them a small list of guys to look at. Doug and his whole staff are incredible people, incredible workers, and we're fortunate to have them.'

TAKEAWAYS: This is rather revealing.

The assumption has always been that Roseman and Douglas identify and pick the players, and Pederson simply focuses on coaching them. However, Roseman seemed to peel back the onion a bit in terms of the process that the front office uses in terms of how much input Pederson provides and while he doesn't have the same personnel power as Reid or Kelly ever did, he's also not a bystander to the moves the organization makes on his behalf.

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The moment he realized Doug Pederson had met or exceeded expectations

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I think it's really last year. When we were on that losing streak last year. It was his consistency during that losing streak. He acted the same way when we were 3-0, as he did when we were 5-9. That's a true testament to his character. That's when we really knew ... When we saw the team fight back and win those last two games, when it would have been easy for the to mail it in, about how they responded to him and what kind of leadership he had."

TAKEAWAY: In just two short seasons, Pederson has dramatically changed the culture within the Eagles' locker room by granting ownership shares in the team's success to his players, and leveraged his 14-year playing and coaching career into getting veteran and young players alike to buy into his philosophies and schemes. Nowhere is that more evident than the Eagles finishing 13-3 this season but also in never yielding to what amounted to nearly endless adversity on the injury front. In many ways, Pederson's 2017 season is the reason why he is a worthy adversary on Super Bowl Sunday to Bill Belichick.

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Did this year's Eagles team exceed expectations?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "If you would have told me in August that we'd lose Jason Peters for most of the season, Darren Sproles, Jordan Hicks, Chris Maragos, and Carson Wentz, I'd think you'd temper your expectations. This next man up attitude, really starts with Doug.

"It's interesting, because being a backup quarterback, that's how Doug lived his life. That's been his whole career. When he's able to talk to the players about 'this is how you have to prepare, if you get the opportunity,' Doug's speaking from his experience. I think that kind of is reflected in how our guys have played."

TAKEAWAY: They say that football teams take on the personality of their head coach, and if nothing else, Pederson has lived the life of a backup quarterback and walked in the shoes of the players in his locker room. It shows in the way that they have responded and fought for him this season.

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Super Bowl MVP: Handicapping each Eagles' chances of winning it

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What has Joe Douglas meant to the success of the Eagles?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "One, he's a great evaluator. He's got a great feel for players, and what he's looking for in players. He's a really good person. His personality fits perfectly in our building. He also gives us a different perspective from a different organization. We had a lot of people come up through the ranks in our organization and that's a good thing, but that different perspective has been key.

"Joe's also not afraid to voice his opinion, or even disagree. Disagreement is good, as long as it's productive and you come out on the right end. It's been really fun working with Joe and the people he's brought in."

TAKEAWAY: Roseman gives a much deeper dive into what has made Douglas so valuable in terms of influence and acquisitions over the last two offseasons ... And yet another reason why the Eagles did not allow Douglas to interview with the Texans.

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What makes him most optimistic about the future?

HOWIE ROSEMAN: "I think what makes me most optimistic about next year, is how young our group is. Our second-round pick [Sideny Jones] only played a half of football this year, and he's an incredibly talented guy. There are some things where you look at our team, and even some of the guys that are on IR, and you realize they're coming back. That's exciting. But, not more exciting than our opportunity on Sunday ... "

TAKEAWAY: The Eagles are among the youngest teams in the NFL, built around a young MVP caliber quarterback, with a chance to potentially get even better next season by being both better-served by the adversity suffered through this season and the chance to get many of those healthy players back.

Sunday marks the Eagles' best chance to win a Super Bowl, but this is a roster that's fully capable of ensuring that this isn't the last opportunity for this group of players.

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Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoPHL.