Sources: Former Jets GM Joe Douglas returning to the Eagles
Douglas will be back in a senior scouting role with the Eagles after the Jets fired him as GM in November, according to NFL sources.
Former New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas is returning to the Eagles in a senior scouting role, NFL sources told The Inquirer.
Douglas worked for the Eagles from 2016-19 and led the scouting department as vice president of player personnel when he departed for the Jets’ top spot following the 2019 NFL draft.
The Eagles and Douglas declined to comment on his return.
Douglas was general manager Howie Roseman‘s right-hand man in personnel and helped build a Super Bowl-winning roster in 2017. The Eagles had their hits and misses with Douglas running his first draft that year — he joined the organization in May 2016 — but a series of free-agent signings and trades was instrumental in the team’s success that year.
The Eagles added veterans such as Alshon Jeffery, Chris Long, Patrick Robinson, and LeGarrette Blount and acquired younger players like Tim Jernigan and Jay Ajayi on their way to the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy.
The following two offseasons weren’t as fruitful in free agency, but the 2018 draft was one of the Eagles’ best. Four longtime pieces came in that class: tight end Dallas Goedert, cornerback Avonte Maddox, defensive end Josh Sweat, and tackle Jordan Mailata.
Maddox and Sweat left via agency this offseason, but Goedert and Mailata remain.
» READ MORE: Sources: Dallas Goedert has deal in place to stay with the Eagles
The 2019 draft was, overall, not a strong one. First-round tackle Andre Dillard and second-round wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside did not pan out, but second-round running back Miles Sanders developed into a starter before leaving during the 2023 offseason.
Douglas was fired by the Jets in November, a month after coach Robert Saleh was let go. The Jets went 32-68 and failed to reach the playoffs during Douglas’ six-year tenure with the team. But few have won with New York during Woody Johnson’s ownership.
The 48-year-old Douglas first worked in the Ravens organization for 14 years. He briefly left for the Bears before Roseman tabbed him to be his lieutenant. Douglas brought with him to Philly former Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome’s system for grading draft prospects that the Eagles still use to this day.
The Eagles have one former GM on staff: senior personnel director Dave Caldwell, who was the Jaguars’ head scout from 2013-20.
Since the draft, the Eagles have bid farewell to a couple of senior scouts who left for the Raiders organization: longtime senior director of college scouting Anthony Patch and senior director of scouting Brandon Hunt. National scout Jordon Dizon also recently left to taken a more senior position with the Broncos.
Many contracts for scouts run through May and the post-draft period is often a time for reshuffling in NFL personnel and football operations. The Eagles are expected to formally announce changes to their staff within the next month.