How Howie Roseman met LeSean McCoy: Eagles GM shares hilarious story
If you’re having a hard time locating a loved one and he or she is a die-hard NFL fan, here’s some free advice. Try searching for them in Indianapolis. There’s a chance they’re somewhere around Lucas Oil Stadium preparing for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Coaches, free agents, scouts, and representatives of all 32 franchises, including the Philadelphia Eagles, are in attendance. There have already been a few Howie Roseman sightings.
Philly’s vice president/general manager met with the media in Indy on Tuesday. The Birds announced five coaching staff changes including the hiring of new offensive and defensive coordinators. On Wednesday, Howie hung out with NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. A conversation that lasted just under ten minutes gave us several intriguing nuggets including one every Birds fan will appreciate.
Howie Roseman remembers the first time he met LeSean McCoy at the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine.
It’s hard to find former Eagles who are as much fun as LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy. Just tune in to FS1’s Speak Monday through Friday if you need evidence of that one.
On Tuesday, Howie Roseman remembered the first time he met Shady, an encounter that led to Philly drafting him 53rd overall, during Round 2 of the 2009 NFL Draft. Here’s some of what Philly’s G.M. had to say.
"I think one of my favorite stories that I thought of this week was (when) the interviews used to be in Crown (Hotels). These are one-bedroom motel rooms that you’re trying to stick a lot of people in. I remember LeSean McCoy came in. He wanted to be an Eagle, and we had a lot of love for him. We’re very fortunate that we got him in the second round. I was the personnel director at the time. He comes in, and he kind of goes to give me a hug, and he starts sneezing. And, I’m like ‘What are you doing man?’… He’s like ‘Man.. Man… I’ve been sick for like two days.. 103 fever”. And, I’m like sitting there ‘Is he serious right now?’"
Apparently, Howie would wind up contracting a few sniffles of his own thanks to whatever was hampering Shady on that day, but it was worth it. He would wind up landing a young man that would turn out to be one of the best tailbacks the Eagles have ever seen. Here’s more on that first meeting.
"The ironic thing was because he was so weak and so sick, he didn’t run as well. He didn’t test as well. And, so he kind of fell a little bit. I remember that moment of that one key piece. I just saw Shady at the Super Bowl. What a gift. We got Maclin at 20 that year (Maclin was actually taken 19th overall, but you get the idea), and we were thinking about Mc and LeSean, right? And, so we tried to trade up the whole second round to get him. Sometimes, we get lucky, and we got lucky. Of course, I leave the Combine and I’m sneezing, and I’m like ‘Freaking LeSean McCoy!’. Unbelievable…"
Prior to Shady’s time on Speak, the 12-year NFL veteran racked up over 11,000 rushing yards, just under 4,000 receiving yards, and two Super Bowl rings, but make no mistake about it. It was his run with Philly from 2009-2014 that allows us to state with confidence that he should be in some Pro Football Hall of Fame discussions.
Yeah, we said it. Deal with it. Perhaps we’re being a tad biased, but this is one of the greatest tailbacks we’ve seen in a while. Six Pro Bowl nods (three in an Eagles jersey), two First-Team All-Pro nods (2011, 2013), an NFL rushing title (2013), the NFL’s top rushing touchdowns total in 2011, and a spot on the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team prove that.
The best part is this. It all started when he gave Howie Roseman some sort of flu. Who would have thought, huh?
