Jaguars executive Chris Polian, who was promoted to director of pro personnel in Jacksonville this offseason, was surprised when the Eagles approached him in January about interviewing for their general manager job, as he tells Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. According to Polian, his initial interview included Chip Kelly and various members of the Philadelphia front office, while his second meeting was a one-on-one with the Eagles head coach.
“It kind of came out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it,” Polian said. “It was quick getting the information and then getting up there. But I enjoyed it very much, the chance to sit down, talk and present my ideas to Chip.”
Here’s more from the NFC East..
- Dez Bryant needs to be more specific when he says “I will not be there,” if not publicly then at least privately in his communications with the Cowboys, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. That threat could mean he won’t show up at all in this season if he doesn’t get a long-term contract before the July 15 deadline. However, that would only prolong the matter with Bryant still eligible for a one-year, $12.8MM contract in 2016 and the Cowboys still owning his rights.
- The time for Bryant to have held out from the Cowboys was last season, where there was much less at stake financially for him, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap opines. Last season, Bryant played for about $2MM in salary and the fortunes that could have awaited in free agency or an extension would have made it worth sitting out for an extended period of time. Now, Bryant would be giving up ~$754K for each week that he misses in the regular season.
- A handful of players around the league tell Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) that Bryant has a lot of support. Of course, it’s not surprising to hear that other players are standing shoulder to shoulder with the Cowboys star.
- Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter) doesn’t think there’s any chance of Bryant holding out of Cowboys regular season games.