Back in early 2021, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie made a bold claim that raised more than a few eyebrows. He said his front office had “about five people” he believed would go on to become NFL general managers.
At the time, it sounded like a proud boss hyping up his team - maybe even a bit of a stretch. But fast forward to today, and it turns out Lurie wasn’t just blowing smoke.
He was right on the money.
Two of those names - Catherine Raîche and Brandon Brown - have already risen through the executive ranks. And now, two more former Eagles staffers are in the running for the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager job. Add in Joe Douglas, another ex-Eagle who’s also reportedly on Atlanta’s radar, and you start to see the bigger picture: the Eagles’ front office during that era wasn’t just deep - it was stacked.
Let’s take a closer look at the trio of former Eagles personnel execs who are now in the mix for one of the top jobs in Atlanta.
Andy Weidl
Weidl’s NFL journey is a testament to steady growth and strong scouting chops. He got his start in the Eagles’ scouting department as assistant director of player personnel, working under Joe Douglas. When Douglas left for the Jets, Weidl stepped into a bigger role, eventually becoming Philadelphia’s vice president of player personnel.
His work behind the scenes helped shape some of the Eagles’ most successful rosters in recent years, and he’s continued that trajectory in Pittsburgh, where he now serves as the Steelers’ assistant general manager. Weidl is a classic grinder - someone who’s earned every step up the ladder through years of evaluating talent and building rosters the right way.
Ian Cunningham
Cunningham’s path is one of the more unique ones. He entered the league not as a scout, but as a player - an undrafted free agent in 2008 who spent a season with the Kansas City Chiefs.
After his playing days ended, he pivoted to the personnel side, joining the Baltimore Ravens as a personnel assistant. Over the next several years, he developed his scouting eye as an area scout before landing with the Eagles in 2017.
In Philly, Cunningham climbed the ranks quickly. He was director of college scouting by 2017, then assistant director of player personnel, and finally director of player personnel in 2021.
That kind of internal rise speaks volumes about how he was viewed inside the building. He’s now the assistant GM for the Chicago Bears, where he’s continued to build his résumé as a future front-office leader.
Mike Bradway
Bradway’s roots with the Eagles run deep. He spent a full decade in the organization, starting out as a college scouting assistant and working his way through the ranks as a scouting coordinator, area scout, and regional scout. His most notable role came as assistant director of college scouting, a position he held during the 2014, 2016, and 2017 seasons - years that were pivotal in shaping the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning core.
Before his front-office career, Bradway played tight end at Villanova from 2004 to 2007, giving him a player’s perspective to go along with his scouting acumen. Since 2018, he’s been with the Kansas City Chiefs, further sharpening his skills in one of the league’s most successful organizations.
What we’re seeing now is the long-term impact of a front office that quietly became a breeding ground for future NFL leaders. Jeffrey Lurie saw something in these individuals years ago - and now, the rest of the league is catching on. Whether it’s Cunningham in Chicago, Weidl in Pittsburgh, Bradway in Kansas City, or Douglas running the show with the Jets, the Eagles’ executive tree is starting to look a lot like a powerhouse coaching tree.
If Atlanta ends up hiring one of these former Eagles, it won’t just validate Lurie’s early prediction - it’ll underscore how Philadelphia’s front office became one of the NFL’s most influential talent pipelines.