New Ownership
Ever since the turn of the century the Eagles have been one of the NFL’s most successful franchises. This is in part thanks to the owner of the team. Jeffrey Lurie bought the team in 1994 for $195 million. Today, the franchise is worth $4.9 billion, according to Forbes. Not only is the team worth a lot more, there has also been plenty of winning in Philadelphia since Lurie took over. Lurie has owned the team for 29 years. 18 of those were winning seasons.
Decades of Success
The Eagles are 285-205-3 under Lurie. Lurie’s best move of his tenure was hiring Andy Reid. In 29 years as owner the Eagles have a 285-205-3 record. They have been to the playoffs 16 times since 1994. They are 17-15 in those playoff games. Sunday marked the seventh time the Eagles have been to a conference championship game under Lurie, with five at home. The Eagles are 3-4 in those games. Lurie finally got over the hump and won the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 2018. They will go for a second one in two weeks.
Lurie deserves tons of credit for the success of the franchise. He has made 3 similar hires that have all worked out. Andy Reid, Doug Pederson, and Nick Sirianni were all initially criticized. None of those coaches were seen as great hires, yet each had success coaching the Eagles. Each coach came in with offense experience but no head coaching experience. Reid turned into the greatest coach in franchise history. Pederson won a Super Bowl and Sirianni is about to coach one in his second season. Even Chip Kelly made it to the playoffs during his tenure. Whoever Lurie has hired as the head coach has had success.
Jeffrey Lurie is a fantastic owner and the city should be proud that he is leading our team. He has brought success to this city and can add to that in two weeks. Before, he owned the team the Eagles had only been to one Super Bowl. Now we are on set to play in our fourth and third since 2004. Hopefully, the Eagles can continue to have success and bring a second Lombardi to the city. But it is time to give Mr. Lurie the credit he deserves for the success of this football team. If he can continue winning big games for the Eagles Lurie is well on his way down the path of Ed Snider and being one of the great owners in Philadelphia sports history.
Photo Credit: Michael Bryant/Staff Photographer