Roseman Officially Tagged GM

Since the departure of Tom Heckert to Cleveland, speculation has surrounded the vacant GM spot and the person most likely to fill the position, Howie Roseman. The 34-year old joined the organization back in 2000 as a salary cap/staff counsel, where he began a steady rise through the organization. His most recent gig as V.P. of player personnel had him working as Heckert’s right hand man.

Roseman has earned the respect of Andy Reid and other members of the organization despite not coming from a football background. He is a relative unknown around the league, but has proved to be a shrewd and creative negotiator, according to some agents. PE.com’s Dave Spadaro wrote that Roseman has become “an expert in the salary cap, in player personnel matters, in dealing and forging productive relationships with agents”.

At his introduction Friday, the new GM seemed confident and grateful for his promotion:

“When I got here 10 years ago, I was fortunate enough to have people who took me under their wing, allowed me to watch film, analyze some of my reports,” Roseman said at his introduction on Friday. “That started really right away. I grew in my role. I watched more pro tape. I watched more college tape. I’ve really been doing it since day one.”

….More after the jump

In 2009, Roseman ran the draft for the Eagles, so that will not be anything new for him. He already has been the guy who traveled to schools around the country to scout the top college players. Combine that with him being a so-called “cap expert” and you have a well-rounded GM, despite the non-football background.

Reid did mention that he interviewed other candidates, including internal options Louis Riddick, the assistant director of pro personnel, and Ryan Grigson, the director of college scouting. But ultimately it was Roseman, whose drive to succeed impressed the long-tenured coach:

“I love Howie’s energy and I’ve loved it since I’ve been here with Howie,” Reid said, “his eagerness to grow in the profession. You’ve seen how we’ve done it on the coaching side; you’ve seen how we’ve done it on the player personnel side of it. His eagerness to learn and then his ability to evaluate are second to none. Then you can add in that Howie mentioned here about being a cap expert and all of those things. That’s just icing on the cake from that side of it. His effort and energy, I think you will find out over time here that it is second to none.”

Tags: Andy Reid, Howie Roseman, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Tom Heckert