From Good to Great

Jeff Lurie was well-scripted – and well-rehearsed – at Tuesday’s grilling by members of the Philly media at the annual NFL owner’s meeting in Phoenix. If Charles Manson had testified as glibly at his Helter Skelter murder trial way back in 1970, he just might’ve beaten the rap and be walking around a free-man today.

Yesterday, several of the voices asking the questions sounded familiar on the radio, but the two that stood out to me belonged to Howard Eskin and Sheil Kapadia. And the thing I noticed most about all of Jeff Lurie’s answers was his refusal to answer yes-or-no questions with a “yes” or a “no.”

Instead of giving a straight answer, he launched into essay answers, talking and talking, hoping to eventually hit all the right notes. Hence my assumption about his being well-scripted.

That – plus it sounded to me like Jeff was speaking out both sides of of his mouth.

Of all the questions asked, only one mattered to me: Whose idea was it to demote Howie Roseman?

Please take your memory for a short ride back to December 28.

The Eagles beat the New York Giants 34-26 to finish the season with a mark of 10-6. The record was identical to the previous year – but the Eagles made the playoffs in 2013 while missing them in 2014. That was a bitter pill after sitting at 9-3 after thrashing the Dallas Cowboys 33-10 on Thanksgiving and looking like the crème de la crème of the NFC East.

After the game, Jeff Lurie was questioned about Howie Roseman. Would Howie remain as the Eagles general manager heading into the off-season and beyond?

The motivation for the question was a rumor about discord existing between Chip Kelly and his general manager. Lurie said straight out that Howie Roseman would definitely continue as the Eagles GM.

But just five days later, Lurie demoted Roseman – and put the whole ball of Eagles wax into Chip Kelly’s hands.

What could’ve possibly happened in five days to change Lurie’s mind?

To most Eagles fans, and media members alike, the scenario possessed all the earmarks of a power-play between Roseman and Kelly. Let’s follow the chain of evidence . . .

• On New Year’s Eve, three days after getting Lurie’s vote-of-confidence, Howie Roseman announced that Tom Gamble was leaving the Eagles. Gamble was the Eagles VP in charge of player personnel. Moreover, he was looked upon as Chip Kelly’s right-hand man. Kelly and Gamble had working relationships dating all the way back to Chip’s days as head coach at New Hampshire.

• Roseman spun Gamble’s departure as a “mutual parting of the ways.”

• But don’t buy that. Howie Roseman fired Tom Gamble – and the power-move didn’t sit well with Chip Kelly. To begin with, Howie and Chip never got along because Chip never considered Howie to be a football-man. The best that could be said of their relationship was that Chip tolerated Howie. But as soon as Howie fired Tom Gamble, Chip’s tolerance vaporized.

• Howie had assumed the power over player personnel in the organization – the same power that Chip Kelly coveted.

• Nothing happened on New Year’s Day.

• But the next day, an announcement came from the Eagles about a restructuring of the front office. Howie Roseman was “promoted” from GM to executive VP of football operations. It was a promotion in that Howie got a raise, but it was a demotion in regard to everything else.

• In effect, Howie was out in regard to player personnel – and Chip Kelly was in. Chip Kelly suddenly controlled coaching the players and picking the players he’d coach.

So on Tuesday in Phoenix, Jeff Lurie was available for questions for the first time in 2015 – and he got hit with a bunch.

Q – What happened?

“I changed my mind,” Lurie said, with a laugh, hoping to keep things loose. He said that it was all his call.

But the more Lurie talked, the more he painted himself into a corner. The more Lurie talked, the more obvious it became that Chip Kelly’s power-of-suggestions changed Lurie’s mind for him. The more Lurie talked, the more you heard about Chip’s vision of transforming the Eagles from good to great.

It made so much sense to Jeff Lurie, he not only demoted Howie Roseman, but he also exiled him away from where the football operations are performed. He moved Howie to a part of the complex where Chip Kelly wouldn’t have to lay his eyes on him.

Q – What is Chip’s vision?

Chip’s vision now includes Ed Marynowitz being involved in matters of player personnel. Marynowitz is a football-man and a capable one at that. He’s definitely an upgrade over Howie Roseman.

But a lingering question remains:

How clear is Chip’s vision?