In the latest edition of my interview series, I was incredibly lucky to have been able to interview Howie Roseman, General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. Before becoming the youngest GM in the National Football League, Howie earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida, followed by earning his law degree at Fordham Law. He quickly entered the business of sports as a salary cap/staff council for the Eagles, and rose through the ranks to the position he currently holds.
Lucas Biebelberg: Ladies and gentlemen, thanks again for joining us today on SportsNetworker.com. Today I’m very happy to be joined by Howie Roseman, General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. Howie, how are you today?
Howie Roseman: I’m doing great, Lucas. Thank you for asking.
Lucas Biebelberg: Great well let’s dive right into the first question. Starting out as a salary cap and staff council in 2000, how were you able to rise through the ranks of the Eagles all the way up to the General Manager position?
Howie Roseman: I’ve been very fortunate to work with people who have empowered me in every area. When I was able to show some proficiency in some areas, they put more on my plate. I always wanted to get on the scouting side, and they had promised me that as long as I did the job well, they would feed me more, and that started after I did the salary cap I did pro scouting, then I went on the road and did college scouting and tied it all together.
Lucas Biebelberg: After the University of Florida, you went on to Fordham University where you earned your Juris Doctorate. How would you say having a law degree has helped you with your sports endeavors?
Howie Roseman: Well we do a lot of negotiating, whether it’s player contracts, player trades, or even internally with your staff trying to figure out the right value. So I think it taught me how to negotiate and how to think analytically, and obviously that is helpful when you are devising a roster and helping to run a sports team.
Lucas Biebelberg: Throughout the season, what are some of the daily team functions that you are directly responsible for?
Howie Roseman: Well it starts with scouting and evaluating players. First on our team, we always say that the only way to correctly evaluate what you need is what you have. We want to evaluate our team first, which is watching practices, watching the games, grading them after every practice and every game, and through training camp as well. And then pro and college scouting. Knowing all the players in the NFL and all the players available to you, whether they’re on the street, on practice squads, or free agents. And then the college draft and evaluating all those guys. We have a great scouting staff that obviously helps me a great deal in all those realms. In addition, salary cap management and managing our cap. Negotiating our player contracts. And also day-to-day administrative functions.
Lucas Biebelberg: What is your relationship like with Andy Reid from a business perspective, and why do you think he has been able to be one of the longest tenured coaches in football?
Howie Roseman: Andy Reid is one of, if the greatest, leader anyone that I know will ever meet. He’s got an amazing sense of calmness amidst a storm, he’s got a presence, people want to do well for him, he’s an incredibly honest, straightforward individual. I feel very fortunate that he is the head coach of this football team.
Lucas Biebelberg: The Eagles are one of the younger teams in the NFL. Would you say that’s just because that’s how it happened, or is that a movement that you are trying to move forward with?
Howie Roseman: Both parts of that question I would probably say are accurate. One, because of the nature of the salary cap, it’s flat and it’s back to levels it was four or five years ago. But yet, salaries of your top players continue to rise. So to supplement those start players, and we feel like we have a nucleus of really good young players that we have signed to extensions, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Trent Cole to name a few, you have to have young players at fix costs. So because we have a group of players that are highly paid and we think are top players, we also have to have young players that are performing.
Lucas Biebelberg: What was the most powerful and influential decision that you either made or were apart of throughout your career?
Howie Roseman: Well I think there are a couple of them. Being apart of the T.O. situation was pretty powerful, both for the positive that came out of it in getting us to the Super Bowl, and also for the lessons you learned after that. At the same time, you also have some decisions with some older players that have gone through. We had a lot of success in the early part of this decade, but those players got older and we had to make a decision whether or not to retain them or move forward. We really changed the nucleus of our team as well as the quarterback situation we’ve been involved in. We traded Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, and Michael Vick is our starter. It’s been an interesting run here in Philadelphia.
Lucas Biebelberg: The last question we have for you today is, as the youngest general manager in the NFL, what advice would you give to those trying to break into the business of sports?
Howie Roseman: I’m trying to be the oldest general manager in the NFL! I think you just had to be persistent and determined to follow through with your dreams. Talk to as many people as you can, do the right thing, and get people to start acknowledging that you have some talents and tools. And just work hard.
Lucas Biebelberg: Thanks again for joining us and for Sports Networker I’m Lucas Biebelberg.
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