Howie Roseman has been the general manager and/or executive vice president in the City of Brotherly Love since 2010, when he was just 35. In those 14 years, the Eagles have made it to three Super Bowls, winning one (and possibly another come Sunday). In the 40 years prior to that, dating back to the NFL merger in 1970, they had reached just two Super Bowls, with no wins.
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Roseman is a more well-known name than most GMs, but he still doesn’t get enough credit. The truth of that can be seen in how he’s spoken about by his peers.
Just this week, while speaking on Super Bowl media day, legendary Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called himself a “fan” of the Philly GM. Respect from someone like the “Walrus” is no small thing.
“I’m a Howie Roseman fan. I think he’s done a great job replenishing his team.”
Chiefs HC Andy Reid:
"I’m a Howie Roseman fan. I think he’s done a great job replenishing his team" pic.twitter.com/2fWJHCts9v
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) February 5, 2025
While Roseman was born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, he’s a Philadelphia Eagles man through and through. He has spent a quarter century with the organization. He’s never worked for another NFL franchise since coming on as a front-office intern in 2000.
He didn’t stay an intern for long, however. He moved from salary cap staff counsel in 2001, to director of football administration in 2003, to VP of football administration in 2006, to VP of player personnel in 2008, before landing the big GM role in 2010. Roseman is still not even 50 years old, yet he is the third-longest tenured non-owner GM in the NFL right now. And there’s a reason for that.
Former Howie Roseman colleague calls him a “genius”
Roseman came on as a wunderkind in 2010, but with experienced head coaches Andy Reid and Chip Kelly in the facility for the first few years, he was more of an advisor. After Kelly’s departure in late 2015, Roseman became the man. He proved his worth right away.
He brought in Doug Pederson, drafted Carson Wentz, and brought Nick Foles back into the fold. That trio of moves would serve as the catalyst for the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win following the 2017 campaign.
However, as former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said, Roseman is never satisfied and is “always working on his craft”, which has led to continued success since that Super Bowl LII win.
“He’s got great people around him, in no way is he paranoid or insecure about having good football people around him. Obviously, Howie’s very smart… Inside the building, they rave about the fact that Howie comes in… and he works diligently on evaluating. He’s always working on his craft. That’s a big thing for a general manager who doesn’t necessarily have scouting at the core of his background.”
Roseman has made big-time trades for players like star receiver A.J. Brown and veteran cornerback Darius Slay. He’s been able to play the salesman in attracting both elite free agents, like running back Saquon Barkley, as well as diamonds in the rough, like All-Pro linebacker Zach Baun. And he’s shown a knack for nailing it on Draft night, with 13 first-round picks littering his roster.
But it’s where he’s used those premium picks that stand out the most. Three players on their defensive front four were selected in the first round, and three of their starting offensive linemen are also homegrown picks from the first two rounds. Champions are built in the trenches, and Roseman understands that.
He also identified issues in the passing defense from last year’s collapse. He responded by using his top two picks on the extremely difficult cornerback position. Both Quinyon Mitchell (1st round) and Cooper DeJean (2nd round) have become key cogs in the Eagles’ No. 1 defense.
He has also nabbed a few steals over the years. Most notable of these was QB Jalen Hurts, who was the 5th QB drafted in 2020 (in the 2nd round, No. 53 overall). He will now be starting in his 2nd Super Bowl in three years.
The players make the difference on the field, but Howie Roseman deserves a massive amount of credit for how shrewdly and nimbly he’s gone about constructing this elite roster. As always, he has maintained an eye to the future despite this success in the present: 50.9 percent of his roster is still aged 25 years or younger.
