No, I'm Not Giving Jeffrey Lurie Any Credit

Holy $%*&:

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — He hasn’t been wrong too often. His body of ownership proves he’s been more right than wrong, and it’s a fact that often gets lost in the constant quest for the missing bauble—a Super Bowl.

In 22 years owning the Philadelphia Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie has only witnessed six losing seasons. He’s arguably the city’s best pro owner over the past two decades and though the Eagles have not been to the playoffs since January 2013, Lurie’s track record shows he knows how to win.

In Lurie’s tenureship as owner, the Eagles have been to the playoffs a dozen times. They’ve been to five NFC championship games. The franchise has won more under Lurie than any previous owner.

Stop it, stop it, and stop it. No. Jeffrey Lurie is a nice enough guy on TV (I don't know him personally), and I think he does care about the team winning, so I give him that. I also give him this- he doesn't have a Super Bowl title. He's had one Super Bowl loser in his 22 seasons. One. Carolina has had two. The Giants have been to three, and won two. Pittsburgh has been to three, and one two. Traditional juggernauts in New Orleans, Tampa, and Seattle have a title. Seattle has actually been in three since the Eagles lost the Super Bowl. Get on an interstate in Philadelphia and drive to the next city- their football team has had more success in the Lurie era. He tries hard, I support that. Don't tell me he's a winner. Don't tell me he's arguably the best owner during his time in Philadelphia- the Phillies had a parade and a couple of World Series appearances in that time. They have a title to point to.

Then there's this:

And think about this: have you ever heard a departed Eagle complain about how they were treated during their time in Philadelphia? It doesn’t happen.

Terrell Owens? DeSean Jackson? C'mon, let's not go there.

I like the off-season the Eagles have had. I like the hiring of Doug Pederson. I like that Jeffrey Lurie gives a damn about his fans, the city, and his team. Really! I am hopeful that this is the time we get it right, as I was hopeful for Ray Rhodes and Andy Reid, and while I was a 100% skeptic of Chip Kelly from the start, I was hoping against hope then too. It just wasn't happening. This time, I hope it will, and the start has me excited- but please, don't start the stupid "Eagles hype" in March. This franchise has not been a winner, and it needs to prove it can win before it can start talking about how great it is. That includes the owner, who has zero titles in his 22 years. You play the game to win the title. If you're not winning it, you're losing. Losing one Super Bowl in 22 years does not make one confident in the results ahead. Let's hope for a course correction in the Pederson era.

I Don't Trust the Eagles

Yesterday, Jeffrey Lurie and his braintrusts went to Kansas City to interview Doug Pederson. Now, to be clear, I actually like Doug, and appreciate what he did in the past for the Eagles franchise (including taking one for the team in Donovan McNabb's rookie season). I would be fine with the team hiring him, and I'd be much more enthusiastic than I ever was in the Chip Kelly era. He's also not my first choice though. Nor was Adam Gase, or really any offensive coach they have interviewed.

I want a defensive coach. I want someone who is the "anti-Chip," a coach who does not want to "change the game." I want someone who gets it's about defense first. As you can see above, the top teams in defensive "points per game" are basically all playoff teams (besides the Jets, who did win ten games). That's not what the Eagles have been interviewing, for the most part.

This hire will tell us much about Jeffrey Lurie. I'm glad he fired Chip Kelly, who I never thought was a good hire. I'm still concerned that he hired Kelly, and seemed really intent on hiring him last time. I'm concerned about Lurie's obsession with offense. I'm concerned that Lurie doesn't get the distance between his team and the teams still playing in the playoffs. I'm concerned that he'll give a lot of power to another unqualified and unprepared coach, or hire someone who won't build the team right.

I have a hard time trusting the guy who hired Chip Kelly to hire the next football coach of the Eagles. I'm very willing to support a hire, even a less-than-perfect hire like Pederson would be on paper. I just am very skeptical that things are going to get better in any kind of fast manner.