A reflective Howie Roseman speaks about year in exile
HOWIE ROSEMAN acted far more professionally than I would have. Had a reporter suggested to my face that I had tried to duck him at a news conference, I would have told him to pucker up to my backside.
HOWIE ROSEMAN acted far more professionally than I would have.
Had a reporter suggested to my face that I had tried to duck him at a news conference, I would have told him to pucker up to my backside.
In fact, if I were Roseman, I can think of a half-dozen times during Tuesday's Doug Pederson news conference when I would have gotten out of my seat and said the same thing to the assembled media - sternly adding, "All of you!!!"
It was Pederson's day. The former Eagles quarterback and assistant coach returned to South Philadelphia to replace Chip Kelly as captain of the Eagles' ship.
Still, there was no denying that through several of the questions directed at Pederson and mainly owner Jeffrey Lurie, it also became a referendum on Roseman - the former general manager who was deposed by Kelly last year in a bloodless coup only to regain the scepter as the vice president of operations.
Much of it was not flattering to Roseman, who has been blamed for everything from failed drafts by the Eagles to the mysterious combustion of the Hindenburg nearly four decades before his birth.
For the record, Roseman said it was his call to draft Marcus Smith and not Kelly's.
"I take responsibility for everything under my watch as general manager," he said.
For 45 minutes, Roseman sat quietly through Pederson's introduction, which included questions about Roseman's competence as general manager, his ability to play nice with others and his future role with the team.
Afterward, for more than 10 minutes, Roseman took questions from a pack of reporters concentrating on the same themes.
When Roseman was done being grilled, a reporter suggested he could have avoided a group interview had he talked to him off to the side earlier.
Roseman shot back, "I'm not running."
Fair or not, Roseman, who at 34 was the youngest general manager in the NFL when Lurie promoted him in 2010, has been branded by many as the primary representative of the ills of the Eagles for the past six seasons.
Many have questioned why Lurie kept him employed in any capacity, much less seemingly giving him back much of the authority that was stripped from him a year ago.
Even the hiring of Pederson is viewed with skepticism because Roseman had a major role in it.
Nobody is feeling sorry for Howie Roseman. Still, consider how you might feel if you were publicly branded a stooge on a daily basis.
Could you bite your lip if you had worked your way up from an intern to get your dream job as an NFL general manager only to have folks dismiss you as a "pencil pusher" who actually knows little about football?
How would you feel if you had kids, as Roseman does, who said their friends told them their dads said you had screwed up their favorite football team.
Wouldn't that be a little tough?
"There's no question things like that are hard on your family," Roseman said. "It's much harder on your family than it is on you because I signed up for this.
"This is the job you have and you take what comes with it. We're big boys and girls in (the NFL business). We understand that with responsibility comes accountability. There comes criticism.
"In today's world, it's hard to keep your kids away from that. That's a hard thing to explain to them, what's going on."
Tuesday was the first time Roseman has spoken publicly about what was the most difficult year of his professional life.
He didn't go into detail about his feud with Kelly, but he accepted some blame.
"I think that when this happened last year, it was something I had to look at real hard," Roseman said. "I was excited as anyone when (Kelly) came here.
"I couldn't say it was everyone else's fault. I felt like I had a role in it and I had to look into myself. I looked internally about things I could have done better.''
There is still a nebulous cloud over what Roseman's power base will be moving forward. Lurie said the Eagles have started a search for a head of personnel and that the organizational structure will be made known after that hire is made.
"First of all, I just care about this team," Roseman said. "I always have. I care about this city, it's where my kids were born and I care about our fans, they are tremendous.
"(My role) I think it's just to help the team. That's all I know in this business - being a part of this organization. I care about the people here.
"You get that perspective when you're away from it for a year. All I can do is try to be better moving forward. You look at people who were successful in this field, gain perspective from them. It's about trying to learn and get better.
"I'm an Eagle. That's all I've ever been. Until they tell me I'm not, I'm going to do whatever I can in whatever role it is to be positive and bring energy and support to the people here."
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