Philadelphia Eagles SHAKEDOWN

Nov 10, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman reacts against the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Eagles SHAKEDOWN: Let’s Make A Deal

So one man loves “the deal”, one man loves “the plan”.   For two years, it seemed that the deal and the plan were indeed compatible.   But…. much like the lyrics of the Bob Seger song ….

Shakedown, breakdown, takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded light
This is a town where everyone
Is reaching for the top
This is a place where second best will never do
It’s O.K. to want to shine
But once you step across that line
No matter where you hide
I’m comin after you

And so, after the season ended in disappointment, the house of cards began to tumble.  Was it the draft selection of Marcus Smith II, the outside linebacker who never saw the field despite the team’s need for an infusion of talent at the position?    Was it the backslide of quarterback Nick Foles, whose production went from 2013’s superman to 2014’s clark kent?  Was it the talks of who goes and who stays on the roster in 2015?  Whatever the discussions, it did not go well, particularly for Vice President of Player Personnel Tom Gamble.

While the official statement was that there was mutual interest in parting ways, the followup stories painted anything but a pleasant agreement to go different directions.  Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweeted:

Now the firing of a front office position happens in football, and any business for that matter, but this was not just any position.  Tom Gamble was lured away from the San Francisco 49ers to augment the Eagles talent search.  What Howie Roseman did not have, Tom Gamble did.  It was a good plan.  Howie ran the checkbook, and Tom focused the scouting department on players who could work in the Eagles system.  So in the beginning, it was a good plan.  But as is often the case, things change.

Whatever the reason for the dismissal veiled as a mutual parting of ways, its results were clear.  General Manager Howie Roseman was, temporarily, in charge of all things football NOT on a field of play.   The shakedown began and Howie Roseman had scored the first blow.