Eagles Owner Jeff Lurie Gives The State Of The Eagles & NFL Address
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Jeff Lurie stood there on Friday at the NovaCare Complex, amid all of the jutting microphones, mics, cameras and a few low-hanging booms, full of confidence. The winningest and longest owner in Eagles' history was in the middle of the media moshpit talking about the state of the Eagles, the NFL, his rockstar head coach Chip Kelly, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and he even mentioned a rock band. As he spoke, you couldn't help but sense in the back of Lurie's mind he held the feeling that this is the year his team breaks through the Super Bowl threshold and wins.
It marked the first time Lurie spoke publicly since the NFL owners meetings in March.
One of the first subjects Lurie addressed—and dispelled—was the criticism former players, like LeSean McCoy, levied at Kelly that race was behind the decisions Kelly made in trading McCoy and DeSean Jackson, and opted not retain former Eagle and assistant coach Tra Thomas.
"Some of it has just been beyond ridiculous," Lurie said of the criticism of his coach. "Chip's a leader in our organization and he's held to a very, very high standard. I watch him both on the field and how he relates to players, and his door is always open. I've never even seen that before. He cares about the people and the players and I have complete respect for him, as a person and as a coach. I know Chip's situation really well, and listen, LeSean and Tra are both really good alumni of our organization. People say things sometimes when they're in a sense, quote-unquote, 'rejected.' They get dejected because they're rejected. And then they say things. I know the way Chip is. I'm very proud of the way he is."
Lurie spoke about the "Spygate" issue that still hasn't gone away. He doesn't feel as if the Eagles were cheated out of the 2004 Super Bowl.
"There's a lot of ways to approach that," Lurie said. "Factually, I personally don't have enough information to make that determination. I look back on that game and the Super Bowl as missed opportunities. We turned the ball over and I tend to focus on that. There's always been talk of that since the game finished and continued until now. I've moved way on since then.
"I have a lot of confidence in Roger [Goodell]. There are a couple of things that a commissioner in any sport has to accomplish and one is growing the business, and that's been great, but two is really important aspects like improving the health and safety of the sport, and number two, making sure we have a level playing field. This is one of the most underrated aspects of any league office. I don't care, whatever sport you want to talk about. We as a team, because it relates to a lot of things, as a player, as an owner, as a coach, we don't have control of the information to make it a level playing field. We all rely on the leagues. Not just the NFL, the NHL, whatever league it is. We're very much dependent on the NFL being a strong investigative body, because we all want to play on a level playing field. We don't know. We just don't know. We have a sport that levels the playing field like no other sport financially. So it's the only sport that's not driven by regional economics and local television, driving how much you spend.
"That's the beauty of the sport. It's a great sport, but we make it so the Buffalos and Green Bays can compete with the Chicagos and the New Yorks. The next step is, we have to absolutely try and figure out what all 32 teams, if there is any advantage being taken, and sometimes it falls on the commissioner in an unpopular way to manage that process. That's not an easy thing. Whatever evolves, we must have a strong league office to investigate everything. We depend on the league."
Lurie said if it ever came down to studying labor law and the Grateful Dead, he'd rather listen to the Grateful Dead. He also "fully supports Roger in that (the NFL has a level playing field)," Lurie said. "You have to have a strong league, because we're dependent on that. We can't investigate ourselves."
Lurie is also a proponent of finding and securing a Hall of Fame-level franchise quarterback. He feels the potential is there with Sam Bradford and hopes the relationship evolves. Lurie said Bradford is everything the Eagles want.
Lurie also can't help but be excited over this year's Eagles. During the off-season, the front office was drastically turned over, from Howie Roseman to Kelly and Ed Marynowitz, the Eagles' new 30-year-old vice president of player personnel.
"It's been great, you make a significant change and you never know, but the eight months have been terrific," Lurie said. "It's been that seamless kind of overlay of player personnel and coaching we've hoped for. That's what it takes to build a roster, to have that overlay, to reflect what the vision is."
Lurie downplayed some of the hype that's been swirling outside the NovaCare Complex about the Eagles and their Super Bowl aspirations this year. One early supporter is former Eagle president Joe Banner, who predicted the Eagles would win the Super Bowl this year.
"When you play very well in the preseason, you probably expect that, but again, it doesn't mean much at all," Lurie said. "When teams go 0-4 in the preseason and people think they're going to miss the playoffs and they go 12-4, and visa-versa, it's just noise to me. I'm on to Atlanta, and that's about it. That's a tough one. Matt Ryan is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. He's 7-0 in opening games. That's a tough first one.
"I'm very positive. It's great when you're able to integrate so many key players, because that you don't know. You're always going to have 12-to-16 new players, but we have them in certain key positions. They're major players in the league. How do you integrate them right away, what's the chemistry going to be? It's been superb. With Chip getting so many repetitions in the summer and the OTAs, it's made it much easier for us than for say some other teams. That's been gratifying. It's a great group of people. Chip doesn't need to prove anything. He's the builder of a roster, culture builder, he's everything we all thought when we interviewed him and more. This was a pretty grueling process. Interviews were eight hours, sometimes more and follow-ups after that. It wasn't just about hiring X's and O's, we know Chip is very dynamic and very smart. We wanted someone who could see the big picture at all times, help build a roster, help build the culture the way we wanted it. He had a vision and wasn't afraid to make unpopular decisions. That's all come to fruition. Now we have to remain somewhat healthy and play really well."
