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It was announced earlier this week that the Eagles have suspended their search for a new head of player personnel until after the 2016 NFL Draft. This was a concerning development because it means the Eagles are heading into the offseason with an undermanned front office. The Eagles have fired a number of scouting staff members over the past few years without replacing all of them. But the Eagles might not be as undermanned as first believed. According to a report from Geoff Mosher, the team is relying on some former employees to get them through this offseason.
Per sources, 2 former Eagles front office guys fired under Chip/Ed regime -- Rick Mueller, Anthony Patch -- advising #Eagles this offseason.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherNFL) February 6, 2016
Mueller was dir of pro personnel. With him, Dwayne Joseph and Lou Clark, Howie and Tom Donahoe should have enough voices for free agency.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherNFL) February 6, 2016
Patch was the college scouting dir. Eagles never replaced because Chip and Ed were everywhere in offseason. Draft prep concerns me this yr.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherNFL) February 6, 2016
Both Mueller and Patch were fired shortly after the 2015 NFL Draft. Mueller had been with the team since 2012. The Jets interviewed him for their general manager vacancy last offseason. Patch had been with the team for 11 years before his dismissal. Both guys clearly have experience working with Howie Roseman, who is essentially back in charge of the team's player personnel department, and Tom Donahoe.
It makes sense that the Eagles are bringing in some familiar placeholder guys to get them through this offseason if they can't make any full time hires. The Eagles will have the chance to assemble a full scouting staff after the 2016 NFL Draft is over.
It still feels kind of weird that so many "temporary" employees are significantly contributing to this Eagles offseason, though. It's hard to feel very confident about this patchwork (no pun intended) front office setup. Roseman, Patch, and Mueller all lost their jobs within the past year. Now the Eagles are sending the message that these are the guys to fix things. And they're being assisted by Donahoe, who is also essentially a placeholder.