Getty Eagles GM Howie Roseman has pushed all the right button so far during the 2023 offseason.
Maybe it’s time to start building a statue for Jeff Stoutland outside Lincoln Financial Field. The snarly offensive line coach — yes, that’s a compliment in this instance — for the Philadelphia Eagles has earned his spot in the pantheon of the all-time greats. Stoutland is arguably the greatest position coach in the NFL.
His legend keeps growing with each 6-foot-8, 365-pounder (see: Jordan Mailata) that he turns into a franchise left tackle. Stoutland might be the best offensive line coach in the history of the league. More importantly, his personality fits the City of Brotherly Love like no one before him. He proved it once again by inadvertently crashing a recent interview between Howie Roseman and Jason Kelce.
Jeff Stoutland called Howie Roseman before going on New Heights with Jason Kelce:
“Are you done with the fuckin podcast and the fuckin media and you ready to find fuckin players again Howie!?”
The world needs a Jeff Stoutland interview on the podcast this summer.
Stoutland never appears on camera, but Roseman can’t help but share bits and pieces of their conversation during an all-encompassing interview he recently did on the “New Heights” podcast. It’s raw. It’s loud. It’s 100% why people love attending classes at Stoutland University. Anyway, let Roseman take it from here (h/t Inside the Iggles):
I said this yesterday, I try to zig a little bit when people are zagging, you know? And, just thinking about the group, literally 10 minutes ago I got a call from Stout, ready, this is how it goes: Are you done with the f****** podcast and the f****** media, and are you ready to find f****** players again, Howie? Or is this what you’re going to be doing the rest of the off-season?
“I’m literally explaining to him, I’m like I’m doing it for f****** Kelce, you want me to stop? I’m literally trying to rationalize it like I’ve done 210 reports on college guys, do you want to talk about the offensive linemen? Because you need to catch up to me. He’s like, are you f****** kidding? I’m busting my a**. I’m like, me too, just busting balls.
Stout is a national treasure!
Howie Roseman Fires Back at ‘Rebuilding’ Term
Trust the Process isn’t in Howie Roseman’s vocabulary. With all apologies to the viral catchphrase that came to be the motto for the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuilding plan, that isn’t the way the Eagles do things. Roseman prefers to tinker in spurts by plugging holes with undervalued veterans and former top picks, then using the draft to maximize talent. He doesn’t know how to tell guys that this year is a wasted season.
“The word rebuild kind of rubs me the wrong way, right? We’re about competing,” Roseman said. “So how do you tell that to your players? How do you tell players that this year doesn’t really matter? Three-year plan — you can’t build a culture like that because how do you turn it back on? Like, how do you tell these great players that it’s going to take two to three years and then say, ‘Now we’re ready.'”
It’s a really great point. The Eagles went from a Super Bowl championship in 2017, endured a 4-11-1 nightmare season in 2020, and then went back to the Super Bowl in 2022. With a different starting quarterback and head coach. They were the first franchise ever to accomplish that feat. There was no massive rebuild or 0-17 record mixed in.
Roseman said: “You gotta take a chance and say if I’m doing the same thing everybody’s going to do, then I’m probably losing any competitive advantage.”
Keanu Neal Now Available in Free Agency
The Eagles are still looking to add a starting safety and a really good one just became available on the open market. The Seattle Seahawks withdrew the restricted free agent tender from Keanu Neal, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Seahawks have withdrawn the restricted free agent tender from S Ryan Neal, making him a free agent and eligible to sign with any team.
He stepped up for the team with a career season in 2022, posting 66 tackles and 8 passes defensed.
Philadelphia already brought Neal in for a visit earlier this offseason. He’d be a perfect fit as a hybrid linebacker and safety to help fill the void left by C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
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Eagles Assistant Challenges Howie Roseman: ‘Are You F****** Kidding?’