General manager Howie Roseman has his plan, and when Ryan Grigson left to become the GM in Indianapolis, Roseman had to fill the void. Promoting Patch, a hard-working and diligent scout who has done a lot of good things in 10 years here, and bringing Mueller on board is the first step for Roseman.
The moves, however, do not mean Roseman has finished. Grigson, the team's director of player personnel at the time of his hire by the Colts, has not been replaced. The Eagles are preparing for the 2012 draft, and then, as the timeline likely plays out, Roseman will take a look at his personnel staff and evaluate at that time.
This time, between now and the draft, is when the Eagles have to get it right and organize their board and conduct their interviews and line up their scenarios. The draft is the bread and butter of the NFL's offseason. I know free agency is fun and sometimes productive, but the Eagles have to make those three picks in the first two rounds, and the entire seven-round process, a huge hit in late April. Free agency, I say right now, is a chance to fill in here and there.
If I'm Roseman and Andy Reid, I'm focusing on trying to sign the key unrestricted free agents-to be on the current roster, planning out the salary caps of the future as they pertain to players like LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin and approaching free agency with caution.
There is no doubt the Eagles have some needs, and we can identify most of them together and have done so since the 2011 season ended. The Eagles must fill those needs mostly through the draft and go from there.
Friday's moves to promote Patch and add Mueller, a long-time personnel evaluator in the NFL, give Roseman ample brain power around him as the crux of the draft preparation work arrives. Roseman has done a fine job leaning on veteran evaluators -- former NFL general manager Phil Savage has worked with the team for years in a consulting/scouting role -- and he knows the opportunity the Eagles have with 10 draft picks in April.
The Eagles need to score big in April, and they hope they have added in a positive way to the evaluation process now. There isn't a whole lot more to read into it, even if we have that obsession. We want answers now. We extrapolate every word, every action, every sleight of hand.
This one seems pretty cut and dried. Roseman had a chance to reward a hard-working, productive scout in Patch, and he did that. Roseman had an opportunity to add a set of experienced eyes to the personnel evaluation team with Mueller, and he did that.
There is so much more to do here, of course. We all must be patient as the offseason takes it course. The Eagles understand the urgency involved here, and so the step-by-step process, as agonizing as it is for us, must be addressed every day with tremendous gusto and precision.
Read into the moves as you wish, but they were, as they say, what they were. Straight forward.
- No word still on a replacement for cornerbacks coach Johnnie Lynn. Still waiting for that one.
- Good luck to the Pro Bowl Eagles and keep your fingers crossed for good health. The Pro Bowl attracted record numbers last year and Sunday should be no different. The NFL is running away from the field in terms of fan popularity and I'm sure the country will tune in on Sunday (7 p.m., EST, NBC).
- Just to remind you, the offseason conditioning program doesn't begin until April, a month later than it had prior to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Players are permitted to work out at the NovaCare Complex on their own before then, but they can't engage in any structured activity with the coaching staff.
- Free agency starts on March 13. Tick, tock. Which free-agents-to-be will the team re-sign? It seems so far away, but I know how quickly that time is going to fly between now and March.
- Defensive ends ... Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Darryl Tapp, Phillip Hunt and Brandon Graham all under contract already for next year. Juqua Parker scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent. Can Graham become the player the Eagles think he can be? You see how vital he is to the big picture here. I think I'm obsessing on Graham this offseason. Sorry.
- So there's a Pro Football Weekly on a desk here at the NovaCare Complex and somebody gives it to me and I'm looking through and it lists teams and their chances to make the Super Bowl next year. Total nonsense, I know. But the Eagles are listed as the third-best team in the NFC, behind Green Bay and New Orleans. I find that interesting.
- And finally, until next time, who is the best Eagle at his position in the NFL? It's something to think about this weekend. This long, slow, boring weekend ahead ...
