When the Eagles announced new roles for head coach Chip Kelly and GM Howie Roseman earlier this month, with Roseman elevated to the role of executive vice president of football operations and Kelly appointed to oversee the player personnel department, there were bound to be some growing pains as Philadelphia’s front office adapted to its new structure and other teams figured out how to interact with that structure.
However, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says there may be more to this situation than the expected transitional hurdles. Roseman was conspicuous only by his absence at the Senior Bowl, which has led some league insiders to wonder about Roseman’s true role with the club. After Kelly was granted complete control over personnel, Roseman was expected to be in charge of the salary cap and contracts. But a number of agents who represent Eagles with possible contract situations have said they were unsure who would be handling negotiations, while others said they still expected to work with Roseman.
Meanwhile, director of football administration Jake Rosenberg met with agents representing players both on and off of the Eagles roster last week, and he is currently conducting contract talks with impending free agent Jeremy Maclin. At the same time, Kelly gave his phone number to two agents with Eagles players, which represents “another indicator of his increasing say over all facets of football operations.”
The fact that Roseman was vacationing with his family while Kelly was scouting college all-star practices has created the perception that the front office restructure was not as peaceful as initially thought, and that Philadelphia is currently a hostile, divided organization.
Citing ESPN’s Adam Caplan, Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com writes that at least two people turned down the chance to interview for the Eagles’ vacant GM post, with one of the candidates saying he wanted to work for an organization in which the coach, GM, and owner were on the same page. This is not to say, of course, that the team will be unable to hire a quality GM, or that the key players in Philadelphia’s front office cannot overcome whatever turmoil there might be. But it does make one wonder if the organization’s internal dynamics will detract from its ability to navigate through the offseason as smoothly as it would like.