News
PhiladelphiaEagles.com » News » Story
Change Font Size - SmallerChange Font Size - Larger Corrections Button Podcast Send To A Friend Print This Page RSS Feed
 
 


 
Eagles Strengthen Front Office: GM Heckert Extended
 
May 30, 2008 | Last Updated: 5/30/08 2:46 PM ET | Comments (6)
By: CHRIS McPHERSON

The Eagles strengthened their front office Friday as they extended general manager Tom Heckert to 2011 and promoted Howie Roseman to Vice President of Player Personnel.

"I feel we have strengthened our personnel staff today by extending Tom's contract and by promoting Howie Roseman," said head coach Andy Reid. "Tom's leadership and work ethic has continued to impress me over the years. Tom has also done a great job of nurturing and incorporating Howie's talent into the personnel side of the organization. Howie has demonstrated a sharp eye for talent evaluation along with a knack for creative draft and free agent strategies. Both Tom and I feel Howie will be an excellent addition to the Philadelphia Eagles personnel staff."

Now is in his eighth season in Philadelphia, Heckert works closely with Reid in all player personnel matters while managing the player personnel department. He originally joined the Eagles as the club's director player personnel in 2001, and was promoted to vice president of player personnel 2003 and to general manager in 2006. Prior to arriving in Philadelphia, Heckert served a 10-year stint as a member of the Miami Dolphins player personnel department. Over his 17-year career in the NFL, Heckert's teams have experienced just one losing season, won their division eight times and made the playoffs 12 times, including five in Philadelphia.

alt
GM Tom Heckert
His first draft with the Eagles produced Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, Brian Westbrook and Sheldon Brown, the first three earning Pro Bowl selections. In 2004, the Eagles added two-time Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews and another Pro Bowl player in Trent Cole in 2005. Prior to the 2004 draft, he also engineered the trade of 3rd-string QB A.J. Feeley to the Dolphins for their 2nd round pick in the 2005 draft, which was used to select wide receiver Reggie Brown.

The 41-year old Heckert has also shown a knack for finding key rookie free agents (safety Quintin Mikell, center Jamaal Jackson, wide receiver Greg Lewis and linebacker Akeem Jordan among others) who not only earned roster spots, but have been solid contributors to the Eagles recent success.

A rising star in the Eagles organization, Roseman is in his ninth season with the Eagles.

In his new role, Roseman, 33, will work closely with Reid and Heckert in all aspects of the player personnel department. He will manage the college scouting staff, organize and run draft meetings and scout the top college prospects throughout the country. Roseman will continue to play a large role assisting Reid and Heckert with unrestricted free agency and roster moves throughout the year.

In his previous role as the team's vice president of football administration, Roseman spent a significant amount of his time working with Heckert in the personnel department evaluating players around the National Football League and for the draft. He also represented the team to the NFL on contract, salary cap, and player personnel matters. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Roseman earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida before earning a JD degree from Fordham Law School.

Eagles Strengthen Front Office: GM Heckert Extended
   
EaglesGuy5
05/31/08
11:00 am ET
I couldn't agree with you more critic ! This move has Andy Reid's finger prints all over them....and that's not always a good thing ! The Heckert extension is butt covering...cause' Licht was his sidekick going way back. I'm reading in the Philly papers that Roseman and Licht had a fight...Licht lost....and this is what we get .It seems like a downgrade...another questionable move by what's looking more like "Bronze Standard" of the NFL.
innominatedoc
05/31/08
10:44 am ET
This front office is so full of self serving propaganda, it's becoming more and more difficult to remain a fan. After 50 years of following this team, I won't be going anywhere....but do they really think we're that stupid?
Blade44
05/30/08
4:10 pm ET
Thses things happen! I agree that replacing Licht with Roseman is more about Heckert asserting himself behind Reed. Don't think it matters much if everything runs through one man anyway.
gelang@...
05/30/08
3:45 pm ET
Attention new front office higher-ups and muckety mucks: Congrats on your new positions and status. Now go win us some Super Bowls instead of just talking about it! We've only been waiting 48 years while the other teams in our division each have won multiple Super Bowls!!!
sarasotaphil
05/30/08
2:57 pm ET
After reading the article, the first thought that came to mind was that basic courtesy required mentioning that Roseman was replacing Jason Licht as the vice Presidnet of Player Personnel. Even though Licht apparently had a falling out with others in the front office, he's not a "non-person" and shouldn't be treated in the manner "non-persons" were in the former Soviet Union. Second, it would have been informative to know Roseman's background in football personnel, as opposed to football administration. For instance, did he himself ever play the game, even at the college level?
critic
05/30/08
2:46 pm ET
I am fine with extending Heckert's contract but how is it strengething the FO when an experienced scout is fired and replaced by an attorney, who may be experienced in negotiation, but has no background in scouting?



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
08/13/10   vs. Jaguars
08/20/10   @ Bengals
08/27/10   @ Chiefs
09/02/10   vs. Jets

 
 
Date   Program Time (ET)
7/31 Training Camp Live! Noon
8/1 Training Camp Live! Noon
8/2 Training Camp Live! Noon
8/3 Training Camp Live! Noon
8/4 Training Camp Live! Noon