And let’s also see how Howie Roseman withers when Chip Kelly, who has turned the Eagles around on the field and in the perception of the fans, decides to play hardball
By Peter Gleason
So, the Eagles’ glorified fantasy football maven/GM Howie Roseman — aka Howie Boy — thinks he has won a round over football man Chip Kelly (see photo above).
He reportedly had a convo with the dreadful New York Jets about their GM opening, which supposedly gave him leverage with owner Jeff Lurie, which led to Kelly BFF Tom Gamble getting fired.
Turns out, it was a head fake.
According to NJ.com — which gets everything from the horse’s mouth and they print it no matter what (remember the leak last March that DeSean Jackson had gang connections, which NJ.com printed as if it were fact? —Roseman did have a conversation with the Jets this week. But that conversation had nothing to do with Roseman inquiring about the Jets’ job, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The Inquirer, citing a pair of league sources, had reported that Roseman had “informal talks” with Jets brass about possibly replacing John Idzik as GM, but that the Jets’ level of interest in Roseman “was unknown.”
But Roseman, the people with knowledge of the situation said, had only talked to the Jets about Rick Mueller, the Eagles’ director of player personnel who is a confirmed candidate to interview for the Jets’ GM gig. The two people spoke to NJ Advance Media on condition of anonymity because neither was authorized to talk publicly. One of them said discussions like the one Roseman had with the Jets are common in the industry at this time of year.
That Roseman did not have any conversations with the Jets about a job for himself was first reported Thursday by Pro Football Talk.
The 39-year-old Roseman was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Marlboro, and began his career as a player personnel intern with the Jets back in the late 1990s. But he has no reason to move up the Jersey Turnpike right now for two reasons:
1. He won his power struggle with Eagles head coach Chip Kelly this week when Tom Gamble—their vice president of player personnel and a Kelly ally—was fired on Wednesday. If nothing else, the move seems to solidify Roseman’s position within the Eagles’ front office.
2. Roseman’s background is in salary-cap management, much like Idzik’s was. And Jets owner Woody Johnson made it unequivocally clear on Monday that he wants his next GM to be someone who made his bones in scouting and personnel. And every other confirmed candidate for the Jets’ GM position thus far fits that mold.
So, now that the spotlight is on the 39-year-old-glorified office boy, let’s see how he does.
And let’s see how he withers when Kelly, who has turned the Eagles around on the field and in the perception of the fans, decides to play hardball.
