As the Eagles prepare for Super Bowl LIX, most agree that Howie Roseman has assembled the NFL’s most talented roster. Philadelphia can thank the New York Jets.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in New Jersey, Roseman grew up a Jets fan. And according to his fraternity brother at the University of Florida, Roseman’s allegiance to the franchise began to erode with the Jets’ shaky personnel decisions in the pre-Bill Parcells era – when Roseman was a college sophomore.
“It’s draft-day morning,” Jedd Fisch recalled for Peter Schrager. “Spring of ’95, and I’m on the couch and kind of lying down. And Howie walks out, briefcase in hand, folder in hand, ready to go! … I’m like, ‘What are you doing, man?’ He goes, ‘It’s draft day.’ I go, ‘Yeah, I know.’
“He’s got the setup of all setups. He’s got the draft board, he’s got his lists, he’s ready to go. He’s marking it down, he’s following the picks — I’m in awe. He’s ready now … He’s ready to take his pick as the New York Jets general manager.
“And as they say, ‘Kyle … Brady,’ the reaction, the reaction was like someone killed his dog in front of him. He’s slamming his pad. He’s yelling about who was available. ‘We have a tight end!’ I’m like, ‘Bro! What are you doing?’ He goes, ‘I’m going to be a GM in this league one day and this is never going to happen on my watch.’”
Roseman wrote to every NFL front office selling his value, acumen and organization. After earning his UF undergraduate degree and graduating from Fordham Law School with a Juris Doctor, the first organization to offer him an internship in 2000 was the team he now leads. It’s also the team he’s led to three Super Bowls over an eight-year stretch.
Perhaps his most impressive roster architecture was forged over four days last March, stacked on top of phenomenal selections in each of the past five drafts (2020-24).
Brady, meanwhile lasted just four years with the Jets and never made a Pro Bowl over his 13-year career. New York’s decision to take Brady left other teams to select future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Ty Law and Derrick Brooks later in that 1995 first round.
Inspired by Roseman’s relentlessness, Fisch launched his coaching career with a graduate-assistant role on Steve Spurrier’s staff in 1999. Two decades and several NFL stops later, Fisch became head coach at the University of Arizona (2021-23) and now holds the reins of the football program at the University of Washington.
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