SI ranks Philadelphia Eagles' Jeff Lurie 4th among NFL owners

by JasonB on May 13, 2009 9:42 AM EDT in News Comment 17 comments

This has been brought up several times over in the fanposts but I figured it deserved a quick mention here. Sports Illustrated ranked the 5 best and 5 worst owners in each of the four major sports. They used the following criteria.

Team's success or failure on the field.
Willingness to spend money to improve the team.
Stability and capabilities of the front office and management.
Amenities at the team's venue.
Club's culture and interactivity with fans.

Eagles owner Jeff Lurie was the only local owner to make a list. He was ranked as the 4th best owner in the NFL.

Lurie has brought consistency to one of the more historically volatile franchises in the NFL (one of his predecessors nearly went bankrupt and another nearly moved the team to Phoenix). Under the Boston-born Lurie, the Eagles are financially secure and have a modern stadium that will guarantee the team continued self-reliance. The Eagles have also had the most success in franchise history, reaching five NFC Championship Games in eight years and appearing in their second Super Bowl.

There's no doubt that the Eagles have become better in every imaginable way since Lurie took over the team. The team is more successful, he spends more money than any other owner has, the front office and coaching staff has been more stable than any other time in franchise history, the team has a world class stadium and practice facility, and of course the team is as popular as ever.

For me, Lurie is the perfect owner of a sports franchise. I personally am not a fan of the Al Davis or Dan Snyder style hands on owner. I prefer an owner who trusts in his front office and football people and simply signs the checks. That's what Jeff Lurie does. He doesn't play GM like certain other owners and pick players he likes or treats his team like a fantasy football squad. He knows his role in the organization and he trusts people that know football better than him to make the decisions.

It's been proven time and time again that these type of owners are the ones who are ultimately successful. This is how the Steelers, Patriots, & Giants ownership operates. They are hands off owners. Ironically, that's who Jerry Jones used to be when Jimmy Johnson built him a dynasty in Dallas. Since he started to play GM, the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game in over a decade.

If Jeff Lurie wins a title here, he may very well stake a claim as the best owner of any franchise in Philadelphia sports history.

0 recs | Comment 17 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Interesting...

Ironically, that’s who Jerry Jones used to be when Jimmy Johnson built him a dynasty in Dallas

Does the same apply to Al Davis? He did win three Super Bowls, albeit quite a while ago. If you’d taken a poll in the late ‘70s he’d have been considered one of the NFL’s best owners. Now it’s all gone to shit. Maybe that is directly related to him taking on more GM duties a la Jones?

by ajay on May 13, 2009 10:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

al davis has always been hands on. the only difference is that he used to know his shit, but the modern day nfl has passed him by

by bula412 on May 13, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

let the negative comments and disagreements commence

by bula412 on May 13, 2009 10:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Willingness to spend money to improve the team.

The Eagles don’t do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shenanigans!!!!!!!

/sarcasm

"The 0-2 pitch, swing and a miss! STRUCK HIM OUT! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball! And let the city celebrate! " - Harry Kalas 1936-2009

by Whodie126 on May 13, 2009 10:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah seriously

If Lurie really wanted to win he’d have traded McNabb for Cutler. Idiot…

by ajay on May 13, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My feelings are hurt Cutler??

In Philly?? Who’s an Idiot?? Got upset because his head coach tried to trade for another QB. He might be great in Chicago but in Philly Mr. sensitive would not last a Day!

by NCEagles on May 14, 2009 7:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ajay was being sarcastic bro

"I tried to run him over but Eli had his big boy pads on and he kind of stopped me from getting in the end zone. The next time I’ll try to jump over his head.’’ - Asante Samuel

by foos05 on May 14, 2009 7:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

they are willing to spend money just not in a way that satisfies a vocal portion of the fan base. oh my god, we didn’t mortgage the future to get anquan boldin. what are we going to do? that’s like buying a shitty car and putting shiny spinning rims on them. that’s what jerry jones is rocking these days. the eagles do a good job of not overspending on overvalued players. no matter what you say, boldin was not worth a first third and fifth round pick plus 10 million a year. they do a good job of stocking their roster with solid players across the board instead of a few superstars surrounded by a bunch of inferior supporting players. what good is it to spend a quarter of your cap space on a wr, a qb, and a rb if you have no offensive line to protect them?

by bula412 on May 13, 2009 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

correction: they aren’t always good at this though. see fullback 08 and punt returner 07

by bula412 on May 13, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

$500 for the Giants

Interesting look at the prices each of these owners paid for the teams. I know some of these teams were purchased in the days B.C. but it is still interesting to see.

by Dawk on May 13, 2009 11:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lurie

I like the team strategy…it is definitely not a fantasy football team for Lurie, and I think the front office has repeatedly made smart moves not getting emotionally connected with aging players. They run the team like a business, and they are consistently successful because of it.

They do need a ring, though. To me, you can’t win top 5 owners without a ring.

---AstrosFan (Austin Lawyer and Sports Fan)

by AstrosFan on May 13, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

As a Skins fan..

There’s no doubting Lurie is worth considering for the top 5. The only issue I have is why they have never spent $ to get McNabb a stud WR? When they got him TO, they went to the Super Bowl. Everyone in DC was scared shitless Boldin would end up in PHI. McNabb is so lethal with good WRs and the window is closing. Freddie Mitchell, Pinkston…WRs are so hard to get right via the NFL draft. Maclin doesn’t scare me the least since every WR coming out of the Big 12 the last ten years has been a bust…except for maybe Roy Williams. Do you guys agree it was a proper business move to let Dawkins walk over a few million dollars? I don’t know…but being the locker room leader, Snyder probably would have paid.

As for Snyder, yea, his reputation from his past kills him. What no one knows is that he only signs checks now and is no longer in the process of free agency/drafting. Vinny Cerrato says who they want and Snyder goes and gets him. They need a GM tho.

by KevinE on May 13, 2009 11:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There is no arguing an elite WR makes the team better, but during that Superbowl run, we didn’t have TO in the postseason (and we all know making the playoff isn’t the problem)

Maclin might not be a factor this year, but the kid has a ton of upside. Good character, only 20 years old, explosive, good hands. He does have the offensive system, and weak overall conference defenses going against him for sure. I don’t except a big impact this season, but I have high hopes for the kid in a couple of years.

I’m completely behind the Dawkins move, although it’s obviously a split opinion on the board. He is obviously aging, and his skills are diminishing. He’s very often a liability in coverage.

by FredEx on May 13, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's one of the current mistakes

They are hands off owners. Ironically, that’s who Jerry Jones used to be when Jimmy Johnson built him a dynasty in Dallas. Since he started to play GM, the Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game in over a decade.

Ever since Bill Parcells was hired Jerry Jones still plays the GM role but he doesn’t have as much power.

Terrell Owens is the best example of a guy that’s pushed in this conversation of how Jery hires the guys that he wants and screw the Coach… Well, Parcells had 2 meetings with Owens and Rosenhaus, the first one in Frisco and the other in Dallas before signing conversations with Jerry commenced. Parcells traveled to Frisco to meet with a guy that he didn’t wanted? Whoa! Parcells has been many things, but he has never been a puppet that can be controlled by an owner…

Let’s look at the past few Drafts and FA, Jerry’s the one pulling the trigger, yeah, but is he signing the guys that he wants or is he signing the guys that the guys around him want him to sign? Looking at his late 90s and early 2000s Drafts, I can draw an easy conclusion.

But yeah, in the end, for this ranking what matters is that the GMs are supposed to help their teams win championships and Jerry hasn’t won anything in a long time now, the interesting part here is that Lurie is in the same boat, he hasn’t helped his team win a championship. I guess that he receives some points for being close, but far away…

Viva México! Go Cowboys!

by Chandus on May 13, 2009 1:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What's interesting about the Eagles under Lurie

is that his management has flown in the face of some conventional wisdom which states that NFL teams must be either consistently mediocre or boom and bust. Granted there’s no ring, but the Eagles have been more consistently in position to fight for one of any team other than the Patriots and maybe the Colts over the past 10 years, which may be all you can ask of an ownership.

Again with the caviat, it calls to mind the 49ers of the 80s, which had such a great run despite turning over their entire roster, in some positions several times. Other than McNabb and Dawk, this is an entirely new team which went to the ’08 NFC championship than the one which went the their first one in 01.

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Bear Bryant

by NJBammer on May 13, 2009 2:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Where is EvilBanner?

nvm, stupid question, i dont care

"You always hear about ballplayers buying numbers from other players for five figures. When this .300 lifetime hitter was in Philly, he traded his number to Mitch Williams for two cases of beer." - Stuff Magazine on John Kruk

by BadCo'09 on May 13, 2009 2:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs