Are the Philadelphia Eagles a dysfunctional NFL franchise?

Just over three years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were at the top of the sporting world.

They had just won the Super Bowl, their general manager was wildly respected by his peers, their head coach had out-dueled Bill Belichick and Tom Brady on the biggest stage possible, and they had a legit MVP candidate at the quarterback position who everyone in the building seemingly loved. Free agents and rookies all wanted to play for the Eagles, and their “new norm” was set to run rampant for the next decade or so.

Fast forward to 2021, and all of that is gone and dusted. Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz were both thrown out the door this offseason, Howie Roseman was been the laughing stock of Philadelphia sports for the last 12+ months, and their owner – Jeffrey Lurie – has been compared to the likes of Jerry Jones (the Cowboys owner) on more than one occasion. An organization that used to symbolize functionality and consistency now looks like a barren wasteland of back-stabbing, gossiping, and overall football malpractice.

That all might seem a bit dramatic, but when you look at the track record of the team since the Super Bowl, it’s really quite damning:

• 22-25-1 in the regular season since 2017
• One NFC East division title
• One playoff win
• Fired the head coach who won them their first Super Bowl
• Traded a QB one year after he broke the franchise record for passing yards in a single season
• Passed on DK Metcalf for JJ Arcega-Whiteside
• Passed on Justin Jefferson for Jalen Reagor
• Negative cap space in 2021

Now that’s just a small glimpse into some of the things that have taken place down at the NovaCare Complex since they hosted their singular Lombardi Trophy. Plenty of “leaks” that have dropped over the last couple of years have highlighted an extremely poor culture that’s been built under the watch of Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie.

Rumors of Wentz being “babied” by the front office, Roseman forcing his will on the game day roster, and Lurie making actual football personnel decisions have all circulated over the last 2+ seasons.

For what it’s worth, plenty of organizations would kill for this level of controversy if it meant they too got to host a Lombardi Trophy. There’s a whole list of NFL teams that have yet to even win a single Super Bowl. However, there’s still a stark difference between being a “bad” team and being a “dysfunctional” team.

The Philadelphia Eagles appear to be dysfunctional at the moment, and that’s normally a sign for disaster when looking at the longterm future of a sports franchise.

According to a poll that I ran on the official Section215.com Twitter account (@Sec215), just over 75% of our readers believe the Eagles have in fact crossed the line into dysfunction. I don’t blame them, the team is coming off a four win season and has spent the last few months being mocked by national media pundits and rival executives alike.

Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have the team pinned as “dysfunctional.”

Ultimately speaking, the way we judge Lurie, Roseman, and the Eagles franchise as a whole moving forward rests on what the team looks like during the 2021 season. If Howie nails all of his draft picks, gets under the salary cap, and Nick Sirianni excels in his first year as an NFL head coach, then things would obviously be trending in the “up” direction.

However, if Eagles fans are faced with yet another year where they have to blatantly “tank” in Week 17 to secure draft position, I’m not sure how much longer Lurie/Roseman can successfully hide away in the shadows.

It’s a cop-out of an answer, but I’m honestly not quite sure if the Eagles are full-blown “dysfunctional” quite yet. Obviously 2020 was a disaster, and their handling of the Wentz/Hurts situation was a mess from the second the Jalen pick was made. However, the Eagles have been in bad spots before (think Chip Kelly), and believe it or not, it was in fact Howie and Jeffrey Lurie who guided the team out of said spots.

I’m not saying I’m banking on it, but I wouldn’t go as far as to lump the Eagles alongside the likes of the Lions and the Texans when it comes to the bottom feeders of the NFL. I guess time will ultimately tell. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯