Afternoon Notes: On Maxwell and the GM Search

Cornerback Byron Maxwell is high up on many Eagles fans’ wish lists. But will he be available when free agency opens on March 10?

By the sounds of it, Seahawks general manager John Schneider will make a push to keep him in Seattle.

“That quite frankly is one of our first priorities is to talk to Maxie,” Schneider told the Seattle Times. “Now I think he like a lot of our other unrestricted guys, I think he is going to be highly sought after and he should be. But we would at least like to have the opportunity to retain him.’’

One of the less heralded members of the “Legion of Boom” secondary, the 26-year-old has racked up 24 passes defensed and six interceptions over the last two seasons. Given his size (6-1, 207), versatility and style of play, he seems to check a lot of the Chip Kelly boxes. Then again, he’s probably a fit for a lot of coaches and schemes.

A former sixth-round pick, Maxwell has made a shade over $2 million in his first four NFL seasons. This is his chance to cash in. It’s yet to be seen whether Seattle will be willing to pay the going rate for what would be one of the more desirable corner options on the open market.

Here’s a list of potential free-agent cornerbacks, courtesy of Spotrac.

GM Search Update

Geoff Mosher wrote about the personnel executive opening today:

Based on several conversations that took place last week in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl, industry sources believe Eagles executive Ed Marynowitz and Dolphins scout Chris Grier are the leading candidates to be coach Kelly’s personnel chief.

Les Bowen also weighed in on the subject:

Speaking of the Eagles’ front office upheaval, hard information is tough to come by, but it seems the search for Chip Kelly’s new personnel chief might be advancing. There was buzz yesterday about second interviews for both Jacksonville pro personnel director Chris Polian and Miami director of college scouting Chris Grier.

Jeff McLane also mentioned Polian as a “serious candidate.”

Like Mosher, we were told that a second interview between the Eagles and Polian has yet to take place.We have not heard the same amount of buzz about Marynowitz as others have.

There is still some cloudiness to the situation, but it appears that a decision is not far off. (One interested party was hopeful word would come down this week.) And that’s a good thing. As others have noted, there is some confusion right now about how the new set-up is going to work. Agents are unsure who to contact within the organization when it comes to their clients (Kelly? Howie Roseman? The new guy?). With free agency creeping closer and a number of in-house matters to tend to, the sooner Kelly can provide some clarity, the better.