I've always said the life of an NFL general manager is a roller coaster — lots of ups and downs.
But you'd better have more ups, or you'll be out.
There's no better recent example than Eagles GM Howie Roseman.
Roseman at one point (age 35 in 2010) was the youngest GM in the NFL. He worked with owner Jeff Lurie to hire Chip Kelly as coach in 2013, and two years later, Kelly gained full control of football operations at Roseman's expense. Stripped of his GM title, Roseman was demoted to cap and contract guy.
A year later, Kelly was fired amidst a 7-9 season, and Roseman was back in the saddle as GM — from the penthouse to the outhouse and back. Only this time, Roseman found a coach in Doug Pederson who just wanted to coach and not play GM as Kelly did. But Lurie made it clear: Roseman had to produce a playoff team in short order, or he would follow Kelly out the door.
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Opportunity knocked in the form of the quarterback-clueless Browns, who traded the 2016 second overall draft pick to the Eagles and Roseman. Philadelphia trading several high draft choices in order to gain the right to select Carson Wentz was a bold move, as he was a talented quarterback but was questioned for coming out of a non-Power 5 school in North Dakota State. But Roseman and his player personnel staff, led by Joe Douglas along with Pederson, believed in Wentz to the extent that they traded starter Sam Bradford to the Vikings late in the preseason to open the door for their young QB.
After the Eagles finished last season a lackluster 7-9, Roseman was on the hot seat, but he was granted another year because he had a coach and quarterback in their rookie seasons. Now, Wentz is blossoming and leading the team's dramatic change in fortune. The Eagles are coming off their bye week at 8-1, the best record in the NFL.
Howie Roseman (Getty Images)
Roseman, meanwhile, has gone from that hot seat to the catbird seat. He is my choice for midseason NFL Executive of the Year.
More important to Roseman is that his Eagles can virtually clinch the NFC East after just 10 games with a win Sunday night at Dallas, which would put them four games ahead of the Cowboys with six to play.
The Eagles will catch the Cowboys in a vulnerable position this week due to the absence of Ezekiel Elliott. Even if All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith returns from his groin injury, he may be limited. After Smith's replacements gave up six sacks to the Falcons' Adrian Clayborn alone last week, the Cowboys better hope Smith returns against a solid Eagles defensive line.
Trading up and drafting Wentz is the most visible move Roseman has made, but as with any winning GM, he has made many other key decisions to turn around the Eagles’ fortunes.
They signed Alshon Jeffery in free agency this year (34 catches with five TD receptions) and traded for a top corner in Ronald Darby. Two weeks ago, they acquired running back Jay Ajayi, who ran for 77 yards on eight carries in the win over Denver, in a trade with the Dolphins.
But Wentz is leading the charge with 23 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He looks cool, collected and mature in his second season. He has a live arm, is aggressive but smart with his throws, and is a better runner than most realized. Wentz ranks third in the league in passer rating, and he is one of the leading candidates for league MVP.
Other astute Roseman draft picks paying big dividends this year are wide receiver Nelson Agholor and tight end Zach Ertz on the NFL's fourth-ranked offense, plus defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, end Brandon Graham and linebacker Nigel Bradham on the league's 10th-ranked defense.
I have a keen understanding of what Roseman has gone through in recent years. As Vikings GM in 1998, I had helped build a highly successful team that had been to the playoffs seven of the eight prior seasons. (Roseman and Kelly had a division winner in Kelly's first season). But like Roseman, I had a coach in Dennis Green who wanted to be coach and GM, plus a new owner in Red McCombs who let it happen even after we had a great organizational dynamic as we built a 15-1 team.
So I was off to Tennessee and, fortunately, was part of a Super Bowl team the next season.
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Perhaps Roseman will have a similar fate and wind up in this season's Super Bowl. He knows there will be plenty of tests throughout the rest of the regular season. Besides the Eagles’ two games against the Cowboys, they have tough road games back-to-back against the Seahawks and Rams in early December. They also host the Raiders on Christmas night.
Roseman knows a great regular season is nice, but the demanding fans in Philadelphia have a deep playoff run and a Super Bowl trip on their minds.
He does, too.
Jeff Diamond is a former president of the Titans and former vice president/general manager of the Vikings. He was selected NFL Executive of the Year in 1998. Diamond is currently a business and sports consultant who also does broadcast and online media work. He is the former chairman and CEO of The Ingram Group. Follow Jeff on Twitter: @jeffdiamondNFL.
