Ok, This Is Crazy, But...

One thing that's been interesting about all the discussion of what ails the Eagles is that not once has anyone mentioned the words: "Tom Heckert."  It's an illustration of how Andy Reid is so much the focal point of this franchise that we can question the talent on the field without any criticism of the team's nominal general manager. 

Along those lines, here's an interesting rumor from PFT:

In response to reports that Bill Parcells might be interested in heading to the Fins as the new General Manager of the team, a league source tells us that there are rumors on the NFL grapevine that Eagles G.M. Tom Heckert could be headed back to Miami.

Heckert spent 10 years with the Dolphins before joining the Eagles, and we're told that he remains close to Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga.

Under one of the theories making the rounds, Fins president Brian Weidmeier would be hired for the same job by the Packers, and Heckert would become the President/G.M. of the Dolphins.

Even if you give that rumor the usual 40 percent PFT truth discount, it's still interesting.  One possibility is that Heckert wants to take the next logical career step by going to a place where he's really going to be "the guy" and not just a member of a somewhat opaque decision-making team.  However, it's also possible that all of that is true and maybe the folks at the NovaCare Complex aren't exactly thrilled with his recent body of work...

If Heckert were to leave, the question would be what happens to the scouting staff.  I remember reading an article a year or so ago about how the Eagles GM finally had in place a team stocked with all "his" guys.  It would be interesting to see where those loyalties lie.

Of course, I've buried the more interesting -- and therefore far less likely -- piece of that PFT bit:

As to Parcells, it's been no secret that he'd be willing to return to the NFL as a G.M. With the Dallas Cowboys attempting to undermine his contribution to the development of the team that currently has the inside track to the NFC title, the fire likely will start burning again for the guy who has never been able to fully extinguish it.

And if Heckert is the guy who lands in Miami, why not Parcells to Philly? In our view, he's been going out of his way to suck up to the organization and the fans during his Monday night appearances on ESPN, and our guess is that he'd love to pull the reverse T.O.

Importantly, this would be "wild speculation" rather than "rumor," but at some level it makes some sense.  Parcells and Reid have tons of mutual respect going back for years.  If they could co-exist, it would certainly be the shot in the arm needed by a franchise that seems to be stuck in neutral.  And Parcells' legacy as a talent evaluator is pretty strong.  Even if they couldn't pull off a full-on hire, I'd love to see Parcells brought in on a consulting basis to do some disinterested evaluations of the Eagles current roster and needs. 

And it would also be fun to see how long it took the Andy-haters to start calling for Parcells to move from his desk to the sideline.  My guess is about five minutes.

Comments

[McTumms]

The guy to watch would be Jason Licht.