Philadelphia Eagles Fans: In Lurie, Roseman We Trust?

For the better part of 14 years in the city of Philadelphia, the majority vote among Eagles fans was “in Andy we trust”. Due to the numerous campaigns Reid led the Eagles organization to fans grew comfortable in the fact that the former head coach would do what was necessary to take this franchise to the playoffs more times than not. Now that the 14-year run is officially over and Reid has been named the new head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, how much trust are Eagles fans granting team owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman to find, and hire, the next head coach to bring back a winning mentality to this organization? Two candidates that were said to be at the top of the Eagles wish list to fill their head coach vacancy either are or could be off the board in the coming days. Penn State’s Bill O’Brien is off the board after he made the right decision to stay put in Happy Valley. Many believed it would have been wrong of O’Brien, who told PSU players that he was not returning to the NFL in order to retain them, to change his mind and accept a head coaching vacancy. And Oregon Duck’s head coach Chip Kelly has interviewed with the Cleveland Browns and there are reports circulating that the seven hour meeting was “very positive” per ESPN. The same report confirms that Kelly will not make a decision until his interviewing tour is complete which includes stops at the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles. So for the fans out there hoping Kelly becomes the successor to Andy Reid, there’s still hope. The pressure is on Lurie and Roseman to find the right candidate. Fans are unwilling to go through an experiment phase with the next head coach. They want a guy who has various attributes. And while most have the trust in Lurie to sniff out and pull the trigger on someone who is able to bring back a winning mentality to Philly, Eagles fans are extremely weary when it comes to Roseman. Since becoming GM for the Eagles fans have become brutally honest when discussing Roseman, holding nothing back. The most common feeling is the fact that he’s an accountant and has never played the game of football at a college or NFL level. Roseman has spared no expense when signing high profile players, many of whom have not panned out. Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (via trade), Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin — although Babin was a monster player in 2011. Any GM can throw money at a player who has success in this league when the owner of the team is willing to open their bankroll up. But did Roseman, who evaluated each of these players prior to signing them, take into consideration each players skill set and strengths in various defensive schemes? Even from the outside the answer is obvious. Hence two seasons of misery in Philadelphia. Clearly there was a lapse in judgement in some of the recent acquisitions. So how are Eagles fans to trust his judgement when it comes to hiring a new head coach? However Jeffrey Lurie did hire Andy Reid back when he was an unknown with the Green Bay Packers. So there is a sliver of light at the end of this tunnel. Philadelphia’s brass has interviews lined up and there are some pretty solid names coming in to meet with both Lurie and Roseman. They’ve already interviewed Atlanta Falcons DC Mike Nolan and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong. They did briefly meet with Bill O’Brien before he made his decision to stay at PSU.  And there are more to come, although there is a waiting period until many of them get through the wildcard round of the playoffs. Those individuals are as follows. Mike McCoy – Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Bruce Arians — Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Gus Bradley — Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Others such as Syracuse’s Doug Marrone, Cincinnati Bengals OC Jay Gruden, ESPN’s MNF analyst Jon Gruden, have also been linked as possible targets for the Eagles. The biggest question is who exactly is evaluating these prospects…and do Eagles fans have faith in that person’s decision?