Eagles Wake-Up Call: Roseman Offers Hint At QB Plan

Soon after the Eagles find their next head coach, the attention will turn to the quarterback position.

And while Andy Reid’s replacement is poised to make the call at QB, he’ll no doubt get input from others within the organization, including general manager Howie Roseman.

Roseman met with reporters earlier this week and was asked if he thinks the Eagles are in good shape at quarterback.

“Nick [Foles] has a lot of promise,” Roseman said. “But I think the analogy I would draw there is that when you watch baseball, you see sometimes young starting pitchers go through the lineup one time and get them out pretty quickly because there’s no book on them. Or play their opponents, and the same thing. They go through the first time pretty well. So we’ve got to just make sure that we’re evaluating Nick, the full package of Nick. He’s got a lot of good tools. But that and the coach are obviously the two most important things for the franchise.”

Foles had ups and downs in his six starts, completing 60.8 percent of his passes, but averaging just 6.4 yards per attempt. He was surrounded by backups on offense, but Roseman makes a good point in that teams can now game-plan against his weaknesses. The GM’s stance seems like a smart one: Develop Foles, but leave open the possibility of upgrading or at least bringing in competition.

You’ll also notice that Roseman was asked specifically about the QB position, not about Foles. Yet he made no mention of Michael Vick. Vick is still under contract, but the Eagles can get out of paying him a $3 million bonus by cutting ties before Feb. 6. Asked if the team has made a final decision on Vick, Roseman simply replied, “No.”

Earlier in the day, when talking about the team’s future, Jeffrey Lurie never mentioned Vick, but spoke optimistically about Foles.

“Nick is obviously very promising,” Lurie said. “I think when you bring in a new coaching staff, you have the opportunity to really get to know him and evaluate him. He has only played six games behind an offensive line that’s been really battered. I think they’re going to have a great opportunity. I know Andy was very excited about Nick, and that’s an understatement.”

While Roseman and Lurie’s opinions are worth noting, the new coach is going to have to make the final call.

“Nick has every opportunity, and everyone in the building thinks the world of him in terms of his promise and potential,” Lurie said. “This is going to be a decision made by the new head coach, not by the owner.”

WHAT YOU MISSED

The Cardinals could be closing in on hiring Reid.

Penn State’s Bill O’Brien is “strongly considering” interviewing with an NFL team, according to a report.

Tim takes a closer look at Mike Nolan as a potential candidate, with the help of Dan Reeves.

Our special head-coaching tracker lists every reported interview for the seven teams that have job openings.

“I think the lack of respect that maybe some guys have for other guys definitely hurt us,” said wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.

What kind of coach is Lurie looking for? McManus takes a look.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Clark Judge of CBSSports.com thinks five of the six other openings are more attractive than the Eagles:

You have promising young players in DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy, plus tackle Jason Peters returns from an Achilles injury. But you still might have to overhaul the offensive and defensive lines, find new safeties and junk cornerbacks who never lived up to reputations. Then there are those 75 turnovers in the past 32 games. This club needs discipline and an overhaul, which means it looks more like a teardown waiting to happen.

SI.com’s Bryan Armen Graham offers his take on the end of the Reid era:

What’s more, Reid’s famously hermetic news conferences were the perfect fit for Philadelphia’s hyper-tempered fans — the highs were never too high, the lows never too low. Yet that demeanor grew from curious to maddening as evidence of the Eagles’ lack of blueprint mounted — and the perception changed from Belichickian poker face to self-denial borne from thinly veiled desperation. For years, the Eagles were thin at the skill positions but reliably deep on the offensive and defensive lines: Jim Johnson’s wildly creative defense kept scores low enough for McNabb to get it done in the end. By the end, the team was laden with burners at running back and wide receivers, yet was undone by the neglect in the trenches. The team’s loss of identity, a fate sealed by Johnson’s untimely death, ultimately proved fatal.

COMING UP

There are no slow days around here. Nothing planned, yet much to cover. Come back early and often.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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