A day inside the cult of Howie Roseman: ‘I’d take a bullet for him’

If you were to ask Eagles fans for one word to describe general manager Howie Roseman, the list would include: genius, brilliant, amazing, humble, incredible, strategic, wizard, magician, greatest, and legend.

The cult of Howie is unlike any other. Sure, Taylor Swift has the Swifties, Beyonce has the BeeHive, and Justin Bieber has the Beliebers. But Roseman has the entire Philadelphia region. Not only does Roseman “bleed for this city,” but the city is apparently willing to bleed for him.

“I’d take a bullet for him,” said Eagles fan Genaro Borrero.

Saturday morning, fans lined up in Eagles gear outside Dynasty Sports in the Oxford Valley Mall to meet the team’s general manager. The line stretched throughout the bottom floor of the mall, full of fans of all ages.

Such a turnout might not have been the case a decade ago — if the event even existed at all — but a pair of Super Bowl titles with two different coaches and two different quarterbacks has changed the reality for Roseman (and fans) as he prepares to enter his 25th season with the team.

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One Eagles fan even brought the resumé of her son, who majors in sports management at Kutztown University. You’ve got to respect the hustle.

“I’ve never seen a fan base where the general manager gets a crowd like this,” said 50-year-old Chris McGranaghan. “It doesn’t happen. This is why we bleed green — and he bleeds for us.”

It had been just over a week since the Eagles' second Super Bowl parade — which saw Roseman get hit in the head with a beer can — but no visible scar remained on Roseman’s forehead. Fans approached a healed Roseman with all sorts of memorabilia — from dog masks to Eagles championship belts to replica Lombardi Trophies to photos of him with the injury.

Another fan brought a special one-of-a-kind jersey.

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Wearing a green Eagles suit, Sean Watson, 37, reached in his bag to pull out a custom Roseman jersey with a money sign where his number should be.

“I don’t think anyone else has one of these,” Watson said. “I think it’s a one-of-one. It’s a very unique jersey. I had the dollar sign made up because he’s the man of the cap. He’s the man behind everything.

“Without him, we don’t have the Lombardi Trophies. If Howie Roseman became a free agent, everybody would be looking to sign him. He’s the best. He’s the best with the salary cap. There’s no one better than him.”

Roseman played a big part in the Eagles hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in seven years.

The general manager turned a good team into a great one last offseason — signing former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, and transforming the Eagles defense by drafting Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell and Jalyx Hunt, and signing Zack Baun and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. It was such a good offseason, in fact, that Bryce Huff turning from of the team’s biggest acquisitions into a bust was hardly discussed.

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With more than a decade of Roseman as the Eagles general manager, it’s hard for some fans to choose a favorite move. That includes 44-year-old Chris Nady, who was front row to witness Roseman’s parade speech in front of the Art Museum after camping out for nearly 24 hours — he arrived at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

When asked what his favorite Roseman move was, Nady responded, “The draft, Saquon, jeez, pretty much everything he did from the time he woke up and ate breakfast in the morning.”

Player meet-and-greets aren’t hard to come by — but public appearances by general managers are definitely rare. Nurse and die-hard Philly sports fan Gabby Poligoro tries to attend autograph signings as much as possible on her days off. She’s collected about 16 signatures on her Eagles helmet so far. Roseman would be her latest addition after this year’s Super Bowl win.

“Howie is just so rare to meet,” Poligoro said. “And who doesn’t want to meet a two-time winning GM? He built this team from nothing into something. So, it’s just an experience you’re not going to get too often.”

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After the dominant win over the two-time defending champion Chiefs, Roseman is faced with a new challenge: contract discussions. As Roseman decides what moves he wants to make, fans are already speculating about some offseason additions. One notable name continues to pop up.

When asked what Roseman’s next offseason move might be, Borrero — who was wearing an “I bleed for this city” shirt — responded, “Hopefully, Myles Garrett.”