Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni were giddy on Friday night. The Eagles had just used their second- and third-round picks on Cam Jurgens and Nakobe Dean after landing Jordan Davis and veteran A.J. Brown the day before.
To their right sat a man largely responsible for the success.
The draft is a collaborative process and in the last two years, it appears that the Eagles have hit their stride. But now they might be in danger of losing a key component: Vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl.
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Weidl is a candidate to be the next Steelers general manager, replacing the legendary Kevin Colbert, who is stepping down now that the draft is over. This would likely qualify as a dream job for Weidl, a Pittsburgh native.
“You know what, we always talk about, ‘Be where your feet are. Be where your feet are and focus on the task at hand.’ And that's what we did,” Weidl said on Saturday.
“I think our group as a whole, coaches, scouts, everybody, really locked in on this process, and I think you saw the results the last three days in the draft class that we brought in. So really fortunate to be part of it and love what we do, what we’re doing and where we're heading.”
Weidl joined the Eagles in 2016 as their assistant director of player personnel and was in that role for two years under Joe Douglas. When Douglas was hired as the Jets’ general manager, the Eagles promoted Weidl to his role as the director of player personnel in 2018. The next year, they added a VP title next to his name.
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When Howie Roseman was reinstated to power back in 2016, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie made it clear that it was largely contingent on the Eagles’ adding a head personnel person. They really got two when they hired Douglas and Weidl, who both came up under Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore. And having Weidl allowed the Eagles to keep their front office and scouting departments moving smoothly when Douglas left.
But this offseason, the Eagles have already lost both of their directors of player personnel Ian Cunningham and Brandon Brown. And now Weidl is reportedly believed to be the “front-runner” for the job in Pittsburgh, according to the Post-Gazette.
Losing Weidl would be another huge blow. And as much as the Eagles like to promote from within, they might be forced to hire some outside help if Weidl leaves.
“Well, yeah, you talk about some of the things here that have happened since the end of the 2019 draft,” Roseman said. “We've lost a lot of really good people and we still have a lot of really good people.
“Obviously, because of that, we're going to have to continue to make additions and continue to fortify that group. I think we have a good process for that. I think we're in a situation where we want to continue to grow talent in the building. We have good people in the building and, just like our football team, we're always looking to add good people, and I think you're only as good as your people. We have really good people and obviously Andy is one of them.”
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