Eagles Executive Joe Douglas Hired as Jets GM
The inevitable has happened: Eagles vice president of player personnel has been hired by the New York Jets to be the teams next general manager. The Eagles made efforts to retain Douglas, but the Jets ultimately lured Douglas, who was viewed as the teams top candidate for the position.
Over the past few months, the Eagles had been bracing themselves for the loss of Douglas, which is going to be a costly one. Douglas was a key factor in the teams scouting department, and he also had an influence on the team’s success in free agency. Most notably, Douglas played a role in the Eagles signing Alshon Jeffery and Timmy Jernigan, and he also discovered Cre’Von LeBlanc, who had been cut by multiple teams and eventually developed into the Eagles’ starting slot cornerback after being signed midway through last season.
As mentioned before, the Eagles had done what they could to try to keep Douglas in Philadelphia. Douglas even turned down the Jets on multiple occasions to stay with the Eagles, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets upped their offer every time. Eventually, Douglas was forced to take the Jets offer, which turned out to be a six-year deal and will likely give Douglas full control of the team’s operations.
Along with the loss of Douglas, the Eagles could lose other members of their front office, who could take on higher roles by joining Douglas in New York.
Now, the Eagles will begin life without their star executive. However, over the course of the offseason, the Eagles had brought in insurance policies in the event Douglas took on a job with a new team. This is something Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie touched upon back in March.
“At some point, we are going to lose executives. When you’re winning, you’re going to lose executives,” Lurie said. “I think we’re in a great position to be able to deal with that. We don’t want to put a cap on how many good executives we have in football operations. That would be a competitive mistake.”
Most importantly, the Eagles will have to bring somebody in to take over Douglas’ role. However, that guy may already be in the building.
Andrew Berry, who previously had been with the Cleveland Browns, was brought in by the Eagles this February and was given the role of vice president of football operations. Berry has been praised by many throughout the league for his innovative thinking in football analytics, and he even worked alongside Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman during this year’s free agency and NFL Draft.
Berry beginning to develop a track record with Roseman is key as well. Douglas and Roseman worked hand-in-hand over the course of the last few years and seemed to always be on the same page regarding the direction of the team and the moves that needed to be made.
The Eagles will likely look at multiple candidates to be safe, but Berry seems to be the most likely guy to take over for Douglas.
The loss of Douglas certainly hurts, and it would have been hard for him to stay in Philadelphia forever considering how well of a job he did with the Eagles, but the team would be in good hands with Berry. The team’s search for their next vice president of player personnel should begin right away.
Featured Image: Jessica Griffin/Philadelphia Inquirer
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