No one would admit they were on the wrong side of this argument now, but once upon a time, Jeffrey Lurie made a statement for which he was buried. If I remember correctly, that was in early 2021. The Philadelphia Eagles chairman and CEO reportedly said of his front-office staff “there are about five people I can predict right now who are going to be general managers in this league.”
People snickered. “Of course, they thought. He was talking about his staff. What should he say? In retrospect, Mr. Lurie was right. He knew what he was talking about. Kathryn Resh and Brandon Brown were the two apples of his eye. The other two are now finalists for the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager vacancy.
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You’ve heard the name Joe Douglas. Atlanta reportedly requested an interview with him. Three other former Eagles executives are also being considered, two of whom Lurie has cited as potential leaders of the NFL team.
Andy Wedel
Andy Weddle initially joined the scouting department as assistant director of player personnel. He served in that role under Joe Douglas. He was eventually promoted to the team’s vice president of player personnel and currently serves as the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ian Cunningham
Cunningham, a 2008 undrafted free agent, spent one season with the Kansas City Chiefs before joining the Baltimore Ravens, first as a personnel assistant (2008-12) and then as an area scout (2013-16). He joined the Eagles in 2017 and worked his way up the ranks. He served in a variety of capacities during his time at the City of Brotherly Love.
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He served as the director of college scouting from 2017 to 2018. He subsequently served as assistant to the director of player personnel (2019-20) before becoming director of player personnel (2021). He currently serves as the assistant general manager of the Chicago Bears.
Mike Bradway
Bradway spent ten years with the Eagles before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018. He began his career in Philadelphia as a college scouting assistant and eventually became a scouting coordinator.
While with the Eagles, he served as an area scout and area scout, eventually becoming the assistant director of college scouting.
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He served in that role during the 2014, 2016 and 2017 seasons. From July 2004, he also played tight end for the Villanova Wildcats.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Falcons GM finalists include 4 former Eagles employees