Eagles GM Roseman again shows resilience

The “Howie! Howie! Howie” chants at the team’s send-off party in Philadelphia followed Eagles general manager Howie Roseman to Super Bowl opening night.

They were yelling obscenities at Roseman not too long ago. The once-exiled executive who was cast aside for Chip Kelly for a year and returned to lead the Eagles to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title is back again after hitting rock bottom in 2020.

The Eagles (16-3) are one win away from their second Super Bowl title in five years under Roseman’s leadership. They have to beat former coach Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3) to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again.

“You guys have a job to do. Whether I agree or not, that’s the nature of the beast,” Roseman said of the intense criticism he received in Philadelphia in 2020. “It’s a moment to moment league. We had a terrible moment. In that moment, in this market, people pile on. It’s just the nature of it. I’ve been through it before. I understand it. At the end of the day, it’s my job to turn it around as quickly as possible. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”

Roseman, who began his NFL career as a non-paid summer intern in 2000 and rose to youngest general manager in the league at age 34 in 2010, lost control of personnel decisions in a power struggle with Kelly in 2015. Kelly got fired after he bombed and Roseman regained his role as GM and executive vice president a year later. After the Eagles beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl after the 2017 season, All-Pro center Jason Kelce mentioned Roseman’s journey in his famous speech at the team’s victory parade.

“Howie Roseman, a few years ago, was relinquished of all control pretty much in this organization,” Kelce screamed to the crowd while wearing a costume donned by folks who strut in Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day. “He was put in the side of the building where I didn’t see him for over a year!”