{"id":698,"date":"2020-08-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/howie-roseman-on-rethinking-leadership-at-the-philadelphia-eagles\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:12","slug":"howie-roseman-on-rethinking-leadership-at-the-philadelphia-eagles","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/howie-roseman-on-rethinking-leadership-at-the-philadelphia-eagles\/","title":{"rendered":"Howie Roseman on Rethinking Leadership at the Philadelphia Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Aug 21, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Howie Roseman on Rethinking Leadership at the Philadelphia Eagles<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/howie-roseman-on-rethinking-leadership-at-the-philadelphia-eagles\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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How the pandemic has upended the usual NFL front office power dynamics and shone a light on the collective.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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Howie Roseman knew there would be serious repercussions for the NFL when the NBA first shut down in March.<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

\u201cI remember being at home late at night and seeing the NBA suspended,\u201d recalls the Philadelphia Eagles Executive Vice President and General Manager. \u201cI realised that if the NBA is shutting down then we\u2019d better get moving here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a matter of days, as Roseman tells the audience during his appearance at July\u2019s Leaders Meet: Total High Performance<\/u><\/a>, he had gone from being the perceived as an OCD \u2018germophobe\u2019 for suggesting all Eagles\u2019 personnel move to fist bumps to the clued-up leader of an organisation heading into unprecedented territory.<\/p>\n

He freely admitted taking advantage of the NFL\u2019s \u201cbenefit of being last\u201d to return to action, using that extra time to seek as much advice and insight as he could. A regular point of contact was the man whom he was speaking alongside, the San Antonio Spurs GM Brian Wright, who spoke of his organisation\u2019s preparations for the NBA bubble and the provisions being made for the wider Spurs family<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a long-time relationship with the Spurs\u2019 leadership RC Buford and Brian,\u201d said Roseman. \u201cWe\u2019ve always talked about player development, health and safety, everything that goes into wellness in the performance area; so it\u2019s very natural.\u201d The duo have been in touch with other teams across the US major leagues and even beyond in the case of Wright.<\/p>\n

There are, however, some challenges unique to the NFL, as a bubble-type scenario is practically impossible for rosters the size of those in football, with the attendant support staff.<\/p>\n

The Eagles went into training camp shortly after Roseman\u2019s appearance and a matter of weeks before college football was suspended for 2020. The NFL Drafts and Combines became remote, video events earlier this year, but the impact on college scouting in the months ahead is going to require some astute planning, even if the team looks set for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve been able to pick players really high,\u201d said Roseman. \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to pick players in the top 10 in our league who have only been playing for two years. We have that tape and I think we\u2019re talking about issues that we can deal with, that we can figure out, and that\u2019s why we make contacts with these people, to get the background information and make sure they\u2019re the right fit for our organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roseman, now in his twentieth year with the franchise, speaks with the confidence of someone who continues to ride the momentum of the Eagles\u2019 triumph at Super Bowl LII in 2018. The team have been regular contenders for the playoffs throughout the tenure of Head Coach Doug Pederson, who joined in 2016, the same year that the team struck gold with the drafting of North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz.<\/p>\n

Beyond the coaching staff, Roseman proudly points to the hiring of Joe Douglas as GM of the New York Jets in 2019 and Andrew Berry who, at 32 years old, became the youngest GM in NFL history upon his appointment by the Cleveland Browns in January. Both came from the Eagles\u2019 front office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat says a lot about what we\u2019re made up of,\u201d he observed. \u201cWe\u2019re one of four teams to make the playoffs for the past three years and I think it\u2019s down to our owner having a vision for how it looks and the continuity; building relationships with people in the organisation, trying not to change everything in one year and sticking to a plan. I think you see that in good organisations across sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Roseman found that the pandemic altered the typical power dynamic. \u201cIt highlighted how important your people are,\u201d he explained. \u201cI know people look at general managers for the talent they put on the field but what I am most proud of is the people we have on our staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this process did is that it put people in positions where they were really able to take leadership roles that they hadn\u2019t before; because in our sport it\u2019s usually the head coach and the GM at the forefront.\u201d<\/p>\n

The virtual NFL Draft, Combine and free agency presented different challenges, as did the fact that the Eagles had so few of their players in the building when education, health and safety and the establishment of Covid-19 testing protocols were of paramount importance. The organisation needed to be astute and listen to its people, as neither Roseman nor Pederson could plot a course on their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s our head of technology or our head of football operations, when you have these people answering questions from everyone in the organisation; from answering to ownership, our head coach, it just highlights how important your entire staff is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the engagement process was regular video calls to replace the walkarounds that Roseman had typically favoured. \u201cFor us, what was really important was that everyone felt a part of this, not only the people at director-level spots because the people that we\u2019re most likely going to be worried about their jobs and potential pay cuts were people at the lower levels and try to work their way up through the organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt it was important to reach out individually to each of those groups and check in with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond that level of engagement, there was also Roseman\u2019s realisation that time spent in the office might be better spent at home. \u201cWe realised we could spend more time with our families; that guarding our desk was part of our culture. We realised that we have these great setups at home and that it was ok, especially in the offseason, to go home and have dinner and maybe work later at night; that we didn\u2019t have to spend all this time in the office when we could do the same things at home and be a big part of our family and be a big part of raising our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are the beginnings of a pattern here, with Roseman\u2019s fellow GM Thomas Dimitroff<\/u><\/a>, of the Atlanta Falcons, citing a trend. \u201cEvery new wave of young general managers and head coaches that come in thinks \u2018I\u2019ve finally got my gig, I\u2019m not letting it go. I never want to be perceived by the head of football operations or the team builder or the head coach as someone who\u2019s not putting in crazy hours and not burning the candle\u2019,\u201d he told the Leaders Performance Institute.<\/p>\n

Dimitroff added: \u201cI realise more and more that I\u2019m unbelievably focused when I eat well, exercise well, get the right sleep. If I don\u2019t do that, I could spend 10, 12, or 14 hours in the office and be nowhere near as productive as doing those other things and being much more eight hours of focus there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable and I fight it, which I get a little upset with myself thinking I should know better than this. This is my 13th year as a general manager, almost 30 years in this business and the fact that I don\u2019t have a real strong grasp on this or haven\u2019t until now to me is something that really affects me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roseman predicts a permanent shift. \u201cI think that\u2019s something that we\u2019re not going to take for granted going forward,\u201d he said, \u201cthat we\u2019re going to try and make the time that we can because our season is so labour-intensive that, during the offseason, it\u2019s trying to make time to balance that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The session concludes with Roseman reflecting on his pride on the Eagles\u2019 approach to handling the pandemic. \u201cOur biggest success was the communication and the openness that we had with each other and the feeling of connection. That\u2019s what makes me most proud; having people who continue to do their job, communicating with one another, caring about one another, checking in with one another. When you see that you know you have a really strong organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Looking for more performance insight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Performance<\/em> 21<\/em> is available for download now and leads with a selection of insights lifted from our At Home With Leaders podcast series, which has featured the likes of England Rugby\u2019s Eddie Jones<\/strong>, the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Mark Shapiro<\/strong>, and Chelsea\u2019s Emma Hayes<\/strong> speaking directly from their home offices.<\/p>\n