Dreams of becoming a NFL GM
Howie Roseman's journey to becoming the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles was atypical. He had dreamed of becoming an NFL GM since he was nine. Then, in high school, he started sending letters to teams in the league to get a job. He would continue to send these letters while in law school. He had sent over 1000 letters before interviewing with the NY Jets in 1999 for an intern position; Howie would not get the internship. Instead, he would successfully become an intern with the Eagles the following year.
From there, Howie would start climbing the corporate ladder, becoming the director of football administration in 2003, the vice president of football administration in 2006, the vice president of player personnel in 2008, and finally accomplishing his dream of becoming a GM in 2010. However, although he became the general manager, he did not have the final say on football matters, as long-tenured coach Andy Reid had that power. After the 2012 season, a new coach, Chip Kelly, and Chip had ultimate control over football decisions.
The Eagles technically promoted Howie in 2015 to Executive Vice President of Football Operations, but it was a demotion in football roles as he lost his general manager powers to Chip. The Eagles would fire Kelly before the last game of the 2015 season after going 6-9. Shortly after, Roseman would regain his GM duties.
Two years later, the Philadelphia Eagles would win their first Super Bowl, and Howie would win the PFWA Executive of the Year award. He would win the award again in 2023 and become only the fourth person to win it multiple times.
Quotes
I didn’t really have anyone around me and obviously I’ve been knocked down a bunch of times. … You had to be passionate and determined to get here. Sometimes I wish I probably was able to take my foot off the gas a little bit. But as my wife reminds me, ‘I am who I am,’ and I kind of dove into it at this point in my life.
Howie Roseman
You know what? He’s not crazy. He’s absolutely determined, and I wouldn’t bet against him. This job opening I have doesn’t really fit him. But if you have an opening, I wouldn’t hesitate to meet with him.
Mike Tannenbaum
References
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Howie Roseman twice overcame setbacks before architecting Eagles’ rise
How can I get into the NFL? Can you help point me in the right direction? I want to be a general manager. Can I come in and work for you?
New York Post
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Vindication for Howie Roseman, again? How the Eagles GM built another contending team
He sent letters to every team; former Eagles executive Joe Banner received daily notes from Roseman. That led to an internship in 2000, and he’s climbed the ladder ever since.
The Athletic
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How Persistent Letter-Writing Got Eagles GM Howie Roseman His NFL Start
We were both wondering, is this guy writing a letter a day to all 32 teams, or is he just writing to a couple of us? Mike and I had some funny conversations about it.
33rd Team
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Banner's hilarious story about how he discovered Roseman
Tannenbaum wound up interviewing Roseman at some point in 1999. Roseman at the time was either 23 or 24 and had never worked a day in the NFL.
NBC Sports
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Howie Roseman Named PFWA Executive of the Year
Roseman previously won the award in 2017 and is just the fourth executive to win it multiple times since the honor was established in 1993,
Sports Illustrated
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The Second Act of Howie Roseman, Superstar NFL GM
From there, Roseman climbed the ranks of the front office at a blistering pace; he was named general manager in 2010 at just 34, then the youngest age of any NFL GM ever. It didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt: In his first full offseason, he set about constructing what was deemed the Dream Team under Reid
The Ringer
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How Howie Roseman Went from Unpaid Intern to NFL's Youngest GM
But because he's so young and because his rise to personnel king in Philly was cloaked by the presence of accomplished headliners such as Joe Banner and Andy Reid, Roseman remains somewhat of a mysterious figure in the NFL community.
Bleacher Report
