Fuss over Eagles New Power Structure Much Ado About Nothing?

There’s an elephant in the room as we begin to examine the pivotal offseason ahead for the Philadelphia Eagles. Just as we were flipping our calendars over to 2015, the team announced major changes to their front office structure.

Head coach Chip Kelly was awarded full control of player personnel decisions. Ousted from his role as general manager, Howie Roseman was “promoted” to vice president of football operations. Among other duties, he will be tasked with managing the salary cap.

Meanwhile, Kelly has begun the process of searching for a new GM to head his scouting department.

Apparently, there was some sort of friction between Kelly and Roseman. Why else make the changes? There was even some collateral damage from the supposed power struggle in the form of former VP of player personnel Tom Gamble being let go.

It’s all a bit of a mystery, but not necessarily the big deal some observers are making it out to be.

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

For starters, Kelly was already seemingly running the show. At least, he was getting what he wanted a lot. His fingerprints are all over the roster. That’s why the roster is packed with so many players Kelly recruited, coached or coached against while at Oregon, isn’t it? That’s why DeSean Jackson was released coming off a career year at the age of 27—a contract Roseman negotiated.

Whatever the divide, it made sense for Roseman to step aside for the time being if Kelly was already running roughshod over him.

The situation isn’t all that unique for Philadelphia, either.

Leaving the head coach in charge of personnel and an executive in charge of the checkbook is the same situation the Eagles had for nearly a decade under Andy Reid and Joe Banner, a period during which the franchise appeared in the NFC Championship Game on five occasions. For many of those years, Reid even had his own hand-picked GM in Tom Heckert.

Reid was also granted that power after just two seasons as head coach, with Tom Modrak being the collateral damage. Granted, Banner wasn’t asked to take a step back like Roseman was, but there was a shakeup in which the coach came out on top.

That dynamic worked before. It could work again under Kelly, provided he does a good job. However, even if he doesn’t, what did the Eagles have to lose by giving him more power?

Kelly is going to succeed or fail as head coach, and after back-to-back 10-win seasons that have failed to produce a playoff victory, his tenure still could go either way.

He could do very well and go on to be the next Bill Belichick, who’s been calling the shots for the New England Patriots for over a decade.

Or Kelly could fail, walk away or get fired within the next year or two, and Roseman would presumably resume his old role in personnel.

It would appear that’s at least one reason why he wasn’t axed, and also why he chose to stay in an apparently lesser position.

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Roseman being in control of the money means there are some checks and balances on Kelly, too. He may not have any say in the draft room come April, but theoretically Roseman could veto contract extensions, free-agent signings and even trades for financial reasons. You think Banner and Reid always got along and agreed on everything?

Roseman didn’t seem to do a bad job as general manager, while Kelly is still unproven as a personnel man in the NFL, so some apprehension over the changes is justified. However, the Eagles wanted their innovative head coach. Now that they have him, they have to appease him.

Otherwise, there would be a line of NFL and college football teams wrapped around the NovaCare Complex in Philly to obtain Kelly the day he walked out of the team facility a free agent.

He knows that, Roseman knows that and owner Jeffrey Lurie knew that.

It’s Chip’s way or the highway for now, but if that doesn’t work out, there appears to be a succession plan in place with Roseman. As for the new dynamic between head coach and GM, it may not work that way in many other organizations, but it has in Philly for most of the last 15 years. Is it really that grave a concern?