WHEN Dave Spadaro tells you not to worry or not to panic ( http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/dave-spadaro/article-1/No-Need-For-Worry-Eagles-Fans/73999a63-837b-49af-9e76-f17ee11983d3 ) , it's officially time to yell "We're all gonna die!", set your hair on fire, and jump out of a window. The man is simply not to be believed when it comes to ANYTHING regarding the Eagles Front Office.
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No need for worry they say, as they get blown off FOR THE THIRD TIME IN TWO WEEKS, by a college coach. Jeffrey Lurie has even gotten on a plane to court at least one of them. When was the last time a company owner brought the interview to YOU? It reeks of desperation.
We're now past embarrassing at this point. Full-on humiliation looms ahead.
Look, either Lurie is too dumb to see he's REPEATEDLY being played for leverage; or Lurie already knows nobody top-shelf would come here because of Howie Roseman; or football people see this franchise is about to go over a cliff and they don't want to get their fingerprints on the coming train-wreck. So we almost have to expect an underwhelming signing. I'd love a Gus Bradley or Vic Fangio, since we can't get Bill Cowher or the GOOD Gruden (instead of his brother Jay.), and if the Eagles get either guy GREAT! I just don't see them being able to pull it off.
We will get someone. And when we do, the Eagles will roll out that old chestnut "This was our guy all along" line of BS they're so good at parroting when they screw the pooch on Draft Day. It'll be interesting to see how fast they throw "their guy" under the bus, if he doesn't make them look like geniuses for hiring a dark horse.
I think they may have had a plan of action, but they (as an organization, not as a team) just don't look to outsiders they way they see themselves in the mirror.
The Eagles have an EXCELLENT business model. They are highly profitable; socially responsible both as an organization and as a roster; their players are quality people as well as players. All aspects of the Eagles franchise are marketable, and laudable.
As a football operation on the other hand, they have a model that jettisons players due to age; frequently redefine or reassign who has what power in the F.O.; and (aside from McNabb) star contract extensions (T.O., DJax, BWest, Trotter, and Dawkins come to mind) are fought for til near bitterness, if they are ever granted at all! There is also a premium put on character over talent during the Drafts.
Those things may be good for business, but they make it harder for a coach to motivate his players (whose performances affect his job status) when the rubber meets the road. When players see their relationship to the F.O. as adversarial, they have less desire to just "go out and ball". Instead you get players focusing on not getting hurt, so they won't ruin their negotiation position. (Like DJax said 2 years ago, and like Maclin was doing this year.)
I think an experienced coach will want to be somewhere that doesn't set him up to be the fall guy, and that will give him not only a chance at winning, but enough faith to have some job security even when things get bumpy.
So far we've proved to not be that place, and are right now reaping what we have sown.
That's why I've been keeping my posts centered on the coaching search. Looking forward, not backward. I'm itching to get a coach so I can get around to having a REAL discussion of the future as opposed to avoiding talking about Reid.