By Paul Macrie, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Vice President of Football Operations Howie Roseman stepped to the NovaCare Complex podium on Wednesday, and at least some were dreading that his words would reflect what Doug Pederson said after the season about the team being close to competing with the upper echelon of the NFL.
Thankfully, Roseman didn't take the bait. Though he was encouraged about the direction the team is heading in, he said the team has a long way to go to be at the level of several perennial powers.
During Wednesday's 30-minute press conference, Roseman also stated that Joe Douglas, Eagles Vice President of Player Personnel, will have the responsibility of building the draft board and leading the draft room in April when the draft is held in their backyard, so to speak.
Douglas' presence is essential to the potential turnaround of the organization, as Roseman said he has "a way of looking and evaluating players that is different from what we have done in the past. And quite frankly, we needed that."
Roseman's words were a breath of fresh air for a lot of people that supports the Eagles. The problem has been the front office has sometimes overvalued its own players, signing them to lengthy extensions, plus there has been too many failed draft picks during the past six years. It was time for a change, and though Roseman will ultimately have the final say on who the team drafts in April, at least he is receptive to collaboration now.
Douglas has an extensive background in the college scouting department for two NFL teams, the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears. He has spent most of his career with the Ravens as a regional scout and eventually a national scout. He played a part in drafting Joe Flacco, Justin Tucker, C.J. Mosley, Marshal Yanda, among others. He worked with well-respected general manager Ozzie Newsome for 16 years, before moving on to be the director of college scouting for the Bears for one season. He was credited to convincing the front office of Chicago to draft Jordan Howard, who just finished a great rookie season, as he was the second leading rusher in the league.
Most importantly, Newsome and Bears' General Manager Ryan Pace offered rave reviews about Douglas. Having an outsider's point of view about the Eagles' organization was essential to moving forward as a franchise. It's isn't to say that the team will progress in the years to come, but it is at least an encouraging sign that Roseman will be giving Douglas significant control of pre-draft and draft day operations — at least more than previously perceived.
April's draft is crucial in the Eagles' continued rebuild, though you can make the case the team remains confused in what direction it has to take to succeed long term, not just for one or two seasons. Roseman did acknowledge that the quick "band-aid" fixes won't work for some needy positions.
He did that this past season with the cornerback spot, and Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll largely failed as a starting duo. They will need to address the position with long-term solutions, whether it is in the draft or free agency.
Wednesday's press conference was almost a confession of past mistakes, learning from them and moving in the right direction. It is one thing to say that there has been flaws in the team-building process, but it is another to go out there and execute a more forward thinking plan.
Yes, Roseman took back control of football operations after the 2015 season and the departure of Chip Kelly, and had a monumental task of fixing the mistakes made by the one-year GM/coach experiment. But, other than solving the quarterback issue with a potential long-term solution, the team remains in neutral without a true sense of direction.
The head coach believes one thing about the team, but the man responsible for building the roster thinks another. Thankfully, the individual responsible for putting depth and talent on the football field has the right frame of mind. It is concerning the coach hasn't gotten the grasp of it yet, but maybe he wasn't telling the full truth to the media after Sunday's season finale.
If Joe Douglas is able to steer the Eagles in a direction similar to the Ravens' organization, than he will be put on Philadelphia's Mount Rushmore in due time. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, however. Douglas has never been the head of player personnel before, but at least it appears he has an extensive resume — spanning 17 years — that indicates he is ready to assume the responsibility of building a draft board and giving Roseman his professional takes on many of the brightest NFL prospects for 2017, and hopefully beyond.
