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Philadelphia Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie was questioned about a number of topics during his 46-minute press conference on Tuesday evening at the 2018 NFL owners meetings. Here are some observations about what he had to say.
Lurie’s got some jokes
Lurie began his presser by joking he forgot to wear the Mummer outfit that Jason Kelce wore when he delivered an epic speech and unofficially became the new mayor of Philadelphia at the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade.
The impact of the Eagles’ Super Bowl win is not lost on the team’s owner
Before he even started taking questions from reporters, Lurie discussed the Eagles’ Super Bowl win at length.
Lurie: “The incredible nature of Eagles fans fulfilling their championship dreams is indescribable.”
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie said his mom partied with the team until 2 AM in the morning after winning the Super Bowl. He says it meant so much to him for his mom to be around for the win. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie said he was worried he might get so emotional that he might not make it to the Super Bowl podium celebration to raise the Lombardi Trophy. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie says he’s watched the Super Bowl seven times. (And the NFC Championship Game four times.) Says he still gets nervous when re-watching the game. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie is already obsessed with the idea of repeating as Super Bowl champs
You gotta love this attitude.
Lurie: “Winning the Super Bowl was a dream come true … I’m equally obsessed with being the first team to repeat in a long time.” #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie said he was talking to Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson about things they can do better moving forward the day after they won the Super Bowl. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie: “We want to go back to the Super Bowl and win it, so the last thing I want to talk about is our use of analytics.” #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie was asked about where the Eagles have room to improve. He pointed to the Eagles giving up a lot of points in the Super Bowl. “Better pass rush?”
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
It’s unclear if the Eagles will visit the White House
A few Eagles players (Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long, Torrey Smith) have already said they plan to skip the White House visit that typically accompanies winning a championship.
Lurie donated to Hillary Clinton’s campaign leading up to the 2016 election so we’ll see if he accepts Donald Trump’s invitation.
Lurie on if the Eagles will accept the White House invitation: “We just won the Super Bowl. I haven’t had any of those discussions. I have no idea. Haven’t had those discussions.”
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Bringing Kelly Green back is still a work in progress
In case you missed it, we already detailed Lurie’s comments on the Kelly Green jerseys (CLICK HERE). In short, the Eagles are still waiting for the NFL to approve an alternate helmet.
Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman received high praise
Pederson should have been Coach of the Year. Roseman won Executive of the Year. Their efforts led to a Super Bowl win. They deserve a ton of credit.
Lurie declined to say if he plans to extend their contracts, citing that he never publicly talks about those matters.
Lurie: “What a coaching performance all year by Doug Pederson and his staff. Best job I’ve seen in the NFL.” #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie: “What a job Howie and his staff have done the past few years. It’s an incredible situation, the number of excellent core players we have.” #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
The Eagles love their quarterback situation
Lurie spoke highly of Wentz at last year’s meetings, but he didn’t quite anoint him at that point. Now he’s clearly all in on the Eagles’ franchise quarterback. How could you not be?
Lurie gushing about Carson Wentz: “I think we’ve got one of the very best young quarterbacks in football, in every way.” #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie also spoke very highly of Foles. I thought the way he talked about Foles’ value relative to teams trying to select quarterbacks in this year’s draft was interesting, though. He discussed the certainty of Foles versus the uncertainty of those prospects.
Lurie seems like he’s trying to sell Nick Foles to the rest of the league. Just questioned how many quarterbacks in the draft can do what he did in the Super Bowl. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie also endorsed Nate Sudfeld as a player the organization is high on.
Lurie said he attends practice all the time and Nate Sudfeld is a very good quarterback. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
The Eagles realize that the NFC projects to be a really tough conference
The Rams added Ndamukong Suh, the Vikings added Kirk Cousins, the Packers are getting Aaron Rodgers back, the Saints still have Drew Brees, and so on. Philadelphia has their work cut out for them. Repeating won’t be easy, which is why the Eagles really need to have a strong offseason and get Wentz back healthy.
Lurie: “The NFC is packed. You can point to the Rams, the Vikings, the Falcons, the list goes on and on.” Mentioned the Saints too. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
The Eagles don’t seem like they’re considering moving on from Michael Bennett
After hearing Lurie, Howie Roseman, and Doug Pederson speak about Bennett, my sense is that they’re standing by him as the veteran defensive end faces a felony charge.
Lurie says all of the coaches he has spoken to here about Michael Bennett have given the defensive end glowing reviews as a person #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) March 27, 2018
Lurie: haven’t checked out Michael Bennett’s book yet
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) March 27, 2018
Lurie was impressed by how the Eagles’ injured players contributed to the team after getting hurt
Lurie said Wentz played a vital role in assisting Nick Foles. Same thing with Jason Peters mentoring Halapoulivaati Vaitai at left tackle.
Lurie says the Eagles’ injured players (Carson Wentz, Jason Peters, Darren Sproles) stayed really involved with the team after getting hurt. Specifically says Peters was like a coach on and off the field.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018
Lurie is looking forward to the Eagles-Jaguars game in London
Lurie says he’s really excited for the Eagles to play in London. “I’m very much looking forward to it. Nice to go over as Super Bowl champs.” Also says London has a chance to have an NFL franchise one day.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 27, 2018