Philadelphia Eagles Hire Joe Douglas as VP of Player Personnel

In a much-anticipated move, the Philadelphia Eagles have hired Joe Douglas to be their new Vice President of Player Personnel.

Douglas will report to Vice President of Football Operations (and de-facto General Manager) Howie Roseman, who has seemingly retaken the reigns since Chip Kelly’s firing at the tail end of last season.

The team will also bring in Andy Weidl to be their new Assistant Director of Player Personnel.

To complete their scouting and player operation staff the Eagles also made the following moves: Alec Halaby has been named vice president, football operations and strategy; Tom Donahoe senior football advisor; Anthony Patch senior director of college scouting; Trey Brown director of college scouting; Mike Bradway assistant director of college scouting; and Rick Mueller player personnel executive.

Joe Douglas spent years as a scout for the Baltimore Ravens, dating back to 2000. He has been credited with finding many of the Ravens draft day gems and is known for being a branch of the Ozzie Newsome tree.

Douglas was more recently the Chicago Bears Director of College Scouting.

Andy Weidl played at Villanova University in Philadelphia during his college days before scouting for the Steelers, Saints, and Ravens. He spent the past 11 years with the Ravens and was their primary scout in the northeast.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie praised both Joe Douglas and Andy Weidl on their successful careers in the NFL and their promise looking towards the future:

"“It’s imperative to me that we have a player personnel department that is not only top-notch and innovative, but has excellent communication with all phases of our football operations. It’s a crucial part of the success of an NFL franchise and it will always be a priority for me. I’m very pleased how thorough and patient we were with the search process that began in January. With the additions of Joe Douglas and Andy Weidl, along with the other changes we have made, we all feel that we will have a strong department of talent evaluators that will work well with all facets of football operations to make the best decisions for our franchise and for our fans.”"

The Eagles have been searching for new player personnel and scouting leaders since the end of last season. Roseman said the team would wait till after the NFL Draft to hire their guys, a move that originally caught many off guard.

With no first round pick next year and no second round pick in 2018 following the trade up for Carson Wentz, the Eagles will certainly need the experience of Douglas and Weidl from their time digging up diamonds in the rough for the Ravens.