Eagles GM Update: Chris Polian could be the favorite

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Caplan joined 97.5 The Fanatic on Friday evening and offered an interesting update on Jeremy Maclin's contract situation. But he didn't stop there. Caplan also gave an updates on the Philadelphia Eagles search for a new general manager. Caplan hit on two key points.

Chris Polian favored in the Eagles GM search?

The first is that it appears Jaguars director of pro scouting Chris Polian is the current favorite to land the Eagles job. Polian interviewed with the team earlier in the month. Here's what Caplan had to say:

"Well, there’s a lot of conjecture in what might happen here. I think Chris Polian has got a real shot. He’s the pro personnel executive with the Jaguars. Now Polian, he’s the most qualified of all the people they’ve spoken with because he’s a former general manager, he’s been a vice president of the [Indianapolis] Colts. So he’s got more experience than any of these people that are interviewing.

I think, my sense is, talked to people down at the Senior Bowl is that [Polian] probably has got the best shot. But nothing’s done. Nothing is done here.

So, as you just said, it’s getting late here. This is not good. This is not good when your number one and number two personnel people are out. It’s not good. They’re going to have to… this is not good. And whoever becomes the GM, whatever they’re going to call it, that guy’s going to have to hit the ground running because they’re way behind here. And it’s not good.

This is what I meant when [Howie] Roseman fired Tom Gamble, the timing could not have been worse. [If] you’re going to do that, you do that after the draft."

Polian is far from the most attractive for Philadelphia. While it's true that Polian does have experience with the Colts, he and his father, team president Bill Polian, were fired by Jim Irsay after the team went 2-14 in 2011. The younger Polian then joined the Jaguars in 2013. He doesn't exactly have an overwhelming track record. But as Caplan notes, the Eagles search is hardly over. Considering how quiet the Eagles have been, it hardly seems like Polian is a shoo-in at this point.

People want to work with Chip Kelly

"Joe DeCamara: It’s just ridiculous. And that’s why I’m so disappointing that Jeffrey Lurie didn’t have a handle on this because it’s clearly created an adverse situation. What is the reverberations you hear, Adam, and of course so clued in as your are with the NFL Insider show on ESPN and just around the league for years. I mean, are you hearing what I think is a lot of what a lot of us are expecting, which is that the manner in which this went down, and the uncertainty of which currently exists with: who’s doing what, what exactly is Roseman’s role, why is this the fifth time in the last 15 years there’s been a power struggle under Jeffrey Lurie, and all these things. Is it potentially creating a sentiment out there in the sport that some people say "You know, maybe that’s not the best spot to go to."

Caplan: Well, I think the latter, what you just hit on, I think that… I know of at least two people who turned down the chance to interview because they’re concerned about the building. Sadly. I have not talked about this before, but I’m going to tell you.

BUT… here’s why they’re going to get someone good. The people I’ve spoken with who have either interviewed or want to interview, they love Chip [Kelly]. They think he’s awesome. They want the chance to work with Chip. But Chip’s got to find that one guy he really likes. I don’t know if he’s there yet.

But it’s not great. This situation, you just talked about it, Jeffrey Lurie, he’s got to take a hit here. Certainly one of the NFL’s best owners, but you’ve got to know what’s going on inside your building. I’m not backing off this. This is probably… see, no one understands that this is probably one of the worst situations he’s been in since he’s been the owner. We talk about the Terrell Owens situation, and firing Andy Reid and all this… You don’t let this happen. Now I understand why Chip had to do what he had to do with Roseman, and I understand why he did that, but to not have your lead personnel guy here and we’re almost… it’s probably not going to happen for at least another week.

There are some great people left [in the Eagles front office] with Rick Mueller, and [Ed] Marynowitz, and some others. But they need a leader here for personnel. Chip is not a personnel guy. And that’s the biggest problem here. Roseman firing Gamble now, the timing could not have been worse. And I don’t know. I mean, whoever that guy is going to be, the lead personnel executive, he’s got to get to know his people, his people have to get to know him very quick. It’s going to be like speed dating, Joe. They’ve got to get this thing under wraps. It’s not like their grades are going to change, it’s just the structure of the personnel department. People have to know what’s next.  Now they’re supposed to have personnel meetings, I don’t know who’s going to run them because who’s the lead guy? So they’ve got to get some things straightened out."

Some real interesting nuggets in there.

The first takeaway is that people want to work with Kelly despite the fact he's in total control. So, yes, people do want the Eagles job.

It seems, however, Howie Roseman's existence in the organization may be a deterrent to some candidates. Caplan noted two candidates turned down a chance to interview. CSN Philly's Geoff Mosher hinted at this sentiment earlier in the week.

I also thought it was interesting how Caplan called this Tom Gamble firing "one of the worst situations he’s been in since he’s been the owner."

The Eagles GM search has really cooled off recently. There hasn't been any indication when they'll make a hire. You think they'd like to do it sooner rather than later, but as of this post it's been over three weeks since the franchise set up their new power structure.