The Architect
Birds GM With Another Roster Masterstroke
PHILADELPHIA — Howie Roseman isn’t much of a fan of the word “fine.”
It’s his least favorite word in the world. He detests it.
Roseman, the mastermind pulling the trigger when it comes to the Eagles’ roster configuration, never aims for merely a fine offseason.
Instead, Roseman operates with the intent of launching home runs, with a focus that borders on obsession of priming the Eagles for sustained success.
When Roseman is at his best, executing on shrewd personnel tinkering, navigating draft boards and strategic contract negotiations, it’s no coincidence that his masterstroke offseasons typically coincide with the Eagles contending for a championship.
But beyond the tangible roster enhancements, it’s Roseman’s makeup – unflappable, persistent and steadfast – that has him in the running annually for Executive of the Year.
It’s part of his unique DNA that Roseman casts aside a conservative mindset and scrutiny from the potential blunder.
Regardless of circumstance or footing, Roseman will continue to keep swinging. His batting average supports his unrelenting ambition.
Because he’s willing to take risks that others in his position typically won’t, Roseman breaks the mold of the conventional general manager.
Since his infamous 2015 exile presided over by head coach Chip Kelly, Roseman has thrived, hardly taking any offseason for granted, swinging for the fences on most every transaction.
He’s unapologetically himself, as it should be.
“I’m not concerned about my job security,” Roseman said. “Not because I’m on scholarship. Just because at the end of the day, if you start worrying about that and not what’s best for the team, it changes your focus. What I’m always concerned about is being able to support the people who work here.
“I know that being in this position, it allows the people that I’ve been with for a long time to stay here, their families to stay here. So that’s the responsibility I take. I mean that.”

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles VP of Football Ops Howie Roseman never strives to have just a “fine” offseason.
Roseman insisted he would continue to operate without risk aversion, even if some backfires cost him his job.
“I’m not going to stop taking risks, and at some point, it gets me fired, I’d rather have that than any regrets,” he said. “I don’t want to leave this job with regrets. I feel like I did the first time I did that. And since I’ve been back, for better or worse, I’ve done the things that I thought were the right things to do.
“They haven’t all worked out, for sure. The second part of that is I love this. And when we lose, it hurts. When we win, I’m excited. I’m a little bit obsessed with it.”
Roseman recalled a recent Thursday night when he came back from his son’s basketball game and went right to his home office for Senior Bowl and East-West Game film review.
“My wife walked into my office, and she’s like, ‘What’s going on right now?’” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Hey, we gotta make sure our offseason next year is good, and it’ll be different, and it’ll look different.’
“That for me is the most important part – to be able to look in the mirror, wake up every morning and knowing that I’m giving everything that I’ve got to this team, this organization and our fans.”
That the Eagles flew to New Orleans on Sunday, home of Super Bowl LIX, can be attributed to several reasons.
For starters, Roseman’s championing of head coach Nick Sirianni in the aftermath of an unprecedented late-season skid warrants a mention.
Because Roseman spent so much time with Sirianni and worked alongside him every day, their personal and professional relationships melded together.
While his head coach was being written off by many in the public, Roseman had observed during their time working together the impact that Sirianni had and how much easier he made Roseman’s job.
His belief in Sirianni, despite the common groupthink, never wavered.
Roseman, dating back to last February at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, also mentioned the importance of playing younger talent.
And with so many potential cornerstone players accumulated in the coming months – particularly on defense – it was evident that Roseman’s plan was in place.
The dreaded start-up costs that often accompany playing younger players – and can sometimes deter coaching staffs – wouldn’t factor into the decision.
Instead, the Eagles’ defense showcased greater speed, athleticism and playmaking ability than it had in recent memory.
For reference, Eagles fielded the NFL’s youngest defense with the average age landing at a tick over 25, but Roseman specifically noted that, pedigree aside, nothing would simply be handed to heralded rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
Like everyone else, they’d have to earn their standing atop the depth chart.
“Well, first, they got to earn the jobs,” Roseman said. “I mean nobody can be on scholarships. There has to be competition. It was easy for Q just as he came in and through the offseason – and you saw it right away – you saw all the things that you saw in college.
“But you know Coop had a tough offseason, and his ability to make a difference after the bye week is probably one of the stories we don’t talk about exactly how that happened and when that happened. The bye week was a huge turning point for our football team and one of the reasons was Coop getting on the field.”
While Sirianni’s retention and the youth movement were among the more prominent beliefs of Roseman’s offseason mastery, it was his hardened resolve in avoiding the consensus and engaging in headline-generating free-agent maneuvers that put the team over the top.
The biggest signing was running back Saquon Barkley’s mega deal, a move that defied logic as Roseman opened the checkbook for an immensely talented – albeit injury-riddled – player at a generally devalued position.
Barkley, the offense’s driving force all season and now one of only nine players to eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing barrier, is a favorite for league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.
Roseman also added little-known linebacker Zack Baun – who transformed into a Defensive Player of the Year candidate – along with an intriguing reclamation project in offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, who’d run out of chances with the New York Jets.
Becton, of course, revived his career under offensive line guru Jeff Stoutland, transitioning inside for the first time to start at right guard.
Often forgotten, too, is the franchise piecing things back together after losing two all-time greats and locker room pillars to retirement in center Jason Kelce and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.
Roseman, however, had succession plans in place in Cam Jurgens and Jalen Carter, both of whom have handled the passing of the torch masterfully on their respective sides.
But with so much change on the horizon, coming off a season that ended in a flattening demise, it spoke volumes that the trust in Roseman, particularly from veteran leaders, never was in question.
“When you ask that question,” Roseman said, “it takes me back to being outside the locker room in Tampa [after last year’s playoff loss] and knowing that Fletch and Jason were done. I’m feeling like, man, I let them down a little bit personally that their last season ended like that.
“And then, two, going, ‘Alright, two of the greatest players in the history of this franchise, they’re off the roster, and you gotta replace those guys,’ which you can’t really do. So, I think their leadership, their playing personality, they’re a huge part. And really, all I’ve known as a GM are those two guys.
“Certainly, in my second stage of this, and having those guys, and talking to those guys, and really feeling a part of it. I’ve talked about those guys, and Lane [Johnson] and Brandon [Graham], and within all the changes, they’ve always trusted me.
“And I felt that was a huge responsibility. So I felt I let those guys down last year, among other things, and just seeing them around the team this year, and seeing their passion for the team and how proud they are, just tells you what kind of people they are.”
Mostly everything with Roseman’s fingerprints this offseason has turned to gold, though the team’s longtime executive vice president of football operations offered an interesting perspective on many of the factors that must be considered when approaching an offseason.
Sure, he’ll never go into it with the mindset of being “fine,” but the reality is that there are imperfections and complications that alter intentions.
And in the ever-evolving offseason landscape, things are expected to be different this time around.
The belief in the process, however, remains the same.
“I am very confident in our process, but you’re dealing with human error here,” Roseman said. “You’re dealing with people who are 22, 23, 24, 25 years old, who now, you’re putting money in their pocket, you’re changing systems, you’re changing cities. Nobody is perfect in this process.
“And I like our batting average. I think it’s good. But that doesn’t mean anything when we get into next year’s offseason. I think there are years that you have more resources, whether you have more cap room or cash to work with or draft picks that give you more margin for error. I think that’s typical.
“Like, this offseason is gonna look different than last, unfortunately. And that doesn’t mean we can’t have a really good offseason, but those are the moments you strive to find inefficiencies and take advantage of those.
“I’m not saying I go into any offseason trying to make it fine – I’m gonna try to hit on every pick that we make, I promise – but sometimes it works better than others. Just like some players have better years than others, and they’re still good years but they’re not great years. I’m not going into this offseason looking to just be fine. I promise that.”
– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.