Eagles talk: Is Jim Schwartz too involved in roster and hiring decisions?

The curious case of coaching and roster moves and Schwartz’s ties to many of them

Again, none of us can speak for the Eagles organization, but here’s what we know. Schwartz loves Jalen Mills. Philly fired their defensive end coach after the end of the most recent season, and the defensive line didn’t do a bad job by any means. Still, when the replacement was named, it was Matt Burke, Schwartz’s guy.

Ever since Jim Schwartz has been with the Eagles organization, we’ve seen Philadelphia bring in Leodis McKelvin, Nigel Bradham, and Ron Brooks, three guys that played for Schwartz when he was with the Buffalo Bills. We keep hearing how great Derek Barnett is from Schwartz in every presser he has with the Philly media, and we keep hearing that even though everyone can see that Barnett has largely even a disappointment so far.

Oh, and look. The Eagles have four linebackers on their roster, and Philly’s made no attempt to add any. You do know Schwartz has never valued the linebacker position, don’t you?

You do know that Schwartz once said his daughters wear Barnett’s jerseys to the game, right? With that being said, we can probably throw out any rumors of a Barnett trade. If it never comes, don’t rule out the possibility that Schwartz’s affinity for him is one of the reasons why.