The Eagles Name No One Is Mentioning
I’m still riding a train of Chip Kelly optimism, but I’m growing weary of hearing the same names again and again in every Eagles news article. Some of those names include: Michael Vick, Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, Todd Grantham, Ed Donatell, and Ted Monachino. There is one name that I can’t seem to find in any coverage and it belongs to the man who may be able to help the future of the Philadelphia Eagles more than any other. The name and the man is Tom Donahoe.
In May of 2012, the Eagles hired Tom Donahoe to be their Senior Football Advisor. Donahoe isn’t necessarily a household name, but he’s an experienced “football guy”. He’s the kind of guy that the Philadelphia fans have been clamoring for in the Eagles front office. Remember those Steelers teams in the 90’s that lost impact players every year to free agency, but still made the playoffs six out of nine years. Tom Donahoe was the General Manager of those Steelers from 1991-1999. He then moved onto to serve as the General Manager of the Buffalo Bills from 2001-2005.
Donahoe isn’t perfect, he’s missed on a lot of first round picks in his history. That’s not a real concern of mine since the Eagles hold the #4 overall pick and that pick should be fairly easy to make. The real improvement with the Philadelphia Eagles is going to happen in the later rounds, where they can’t afford to waste picks—especially with such a porous defense.
From the second round on, Donahoe has been a most effective drafter of NFL talent. He has a history of finding good, not stellar, NFL players in the later rounds. Players like Chris Kelsay, Ron Edwards, Bam Morris, Willie J. Williams, Jeff Zgonina, Brentson Buckner, Myron Bell, Jason Simmons, Earl Holmes, Carlos Emmons, and Lee Flowers. These are players that have been solid contributors to NFL teams over the years.
However, the genius of Donahoe has been the amount of top-level talent he’s drafted from the second round on. In these later rounds, he has drafted thirteen Pro-Bowlers and nine All-Pro players. Check out the impressive list:
1992
2nd Round – Levon Kirkland LB – Pro Bowl (96,97) All Pro (96-97)
3rd Round – Joel Steed NT – Pro Bowl 1994
8th Round – Darren Perry S – All Pro (94)
11th Round – Kendall Gammons C (long snapper) –Pro Bowl 2004
1993
2nd Round – Chad Brown LB – Pro Bowl (96,98,99)
1994
3rd Round – Jason Gildon LB – Pro Bowl (00, 01, 02) All Pro (01)
1995
2nd Round – Kordell Steward QB – Pro Bowl (01)
1997
3rd Round – Mike Vrabel LB – Pro Bowl (07) All Pro (07)
1998
3rd Round – Hines Ward WR – Pro Bowl (01,02,03) All Pro (02, 03, 04)
1999
3rd Round – Joey Porter LB – Pro Bowl (02, ,04, 05, 08) All Pro (02, ,04, 05, 08)
4th Round – Aaron Smith DE – Pro Bowl 2004
2001
2nd Round – Aaron Schobel DE – Pro Bowl (06, 07) All Pro (06)
2nd Round – Travis Henry RB – Pro Bowl (02)
2003
4th Round – Terrence McGee CB – Pro Bowl (04), All Pro (04, 05)
So the question I want answered is: What role is Tom Donahoe playing in the draft? I want to hear from Donahoe. I could take some level of comfort in knowing that my 4-12 team with a head coach who has no NFL experience and a young General Manager is relying heavily on a seasoned, successful NFL front-office veteran such as Tom Donahoe. This Eagles defense is among the NFL’s worst. I want reassurance that a guy who found defensive players like Levon Kirkland, Joel Steed, Darren Perry, Chad Brown, Jason Gildon, Mike Vrabel, Joey, Porter, Aaron Smith, Aaron Schobel and Terrence McGee in later rounds for the defensive side of the ball is active and prominent in the Philadelphia Eagles drafting decisions.
It was odd enough that he wasn’t part of the travelling coach-interview-team. At the very least, tell us he’s busy at the NovaCare Complex watching days worth of video. Tell us what he’s up to in the organization. Please? I just want to sleep soundly dreaming of better Eagles football days.