Eagles Wake-Up Call: Another Chance For Lurie

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BOCA RATON, FL — Today is presumably the day where “accountability will be 100 percent acknowledged” by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.

The last time Lurie spoke, he refrained from clearly defining Howie Roseman‘s role and level of authority, saying that he did not want to telegraph the team’s intentions given the “competitive nature” of their search for a new personnel head. That search, as we know, set off on a path to nowhere. Even if it had netted someone, it was evident that the new hire would have answered to Roseman and not the other way around. The candidates were aware of this. There was no real need for evasiveness, other than perhaps to kick the issue down the road where the PR hit might be less severe.

To that end, mission accomplished. The idea of Roseman being back in charge was eased onto the fan base thanks to the initial cloudiness. Now Lurie gets to endorse his guy after a series of moves that have been generally well-received by the public.

But the chosen approach is not without its consequences. By electing to be vague when it comes to Roseman, Lurie has furthered the narrative that he is unwilling to hold him accountable the same way he has held others accountable — like Chip Kelly, for instance. There was no gray area there. But with Roseman, there always seems to be. Whether it’s absolving him of blame for previous drafts-gone-wrong or giving him the type of cover that comes with terms like “collaborative approach”, the owner has created a perception that Roseman is Teflon. (That perception was reinforced ten-fold when Roseman lost a power struggle, got a raise and a title bump out of it, and returned with even more clout just months later.)

It’s always good to have the backing of the boss, but really, such protection does Roseman no favors when it comes to how he is viewed. There is no need to insulate someone that is doing their job. If he is your chosen head man, embrace it, reveal it and allow him to stand on his own merit. Any other course of action leads to questions about employee and employer both.

Today, Lurie has a chance to clearly define Roseman’s role, the expectations that he has for the position and how he will ensure that those expectations are met. It’s about time for some transparency on the matter.

WHAT YOU MISSED

“…when you look back at the last 10 years of guys that are really in the top 10 in rushing, those guys are high picks.” Round-Up: Roseman At Owners Meetings.

Josh gets you set for all that is the annual owners meetings with his Wake Up Call: NFL League Meeting Primer.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

The Eagles are reportedly interested in running back Alfred Morris. Tommy Lawlor offers some thoughts.

This could be real or this could be a agent trying to create a market for his player. Morris is a good RB and would make some sense at the right price, but he really thrived in the Skins one-cut run scheme. When Jay Gruden took over and put in the WCO, Morris was less effective. From that standpoint, he wouldn’t make sense. As a situational runner for the right price, Morris could be a good fit. I’m leaning toward this being an agent using Schefter, but we’ll see.

Jimmy Kempksi of Philly Voice predicts that the Eagles will not be drafting a lineman with the eighth overall pick.

In speaking with a variety of NFL people, one thing that NFL talent evaluators generally agree on is that the 2016 NFL Draft has exactly one elite offensive line prospect, Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who is not expected to make it anywhere near pick No. 8 and could very well be the No. 1 overall pick. After that, there is a small cluster of offensive tackles who are in the next tier. It appears that most evaluators believe that Stanley should be rated similarly to Michigan State’s Jack Conklin and Ohio State’s Taylor Decker. Asked if the Eagles were likely to feel the same way, one remarked, “If they know what they’re doing.” He added that typically, there isn’t a huge variance in opinion from team to team about the top players in the draft each year. Logically, if Stanley, Conklin and Decker are all rated similarly, it shouldn’t make a huge difference which of the three the Eagles wind up with, if they had interest. Since at least one of those three players are extremely likely to make it to pick 13, the Eagles’ urgency to trade up from 13 to 8 to target Stanley wouldn’t make much sense if he’s rated similarly or just marginally better than Conklin or Decker.

COMING UP

Lurie will address the media around noon.

Asher Dark contributed to this post.