Alec Halaby’s exit from the Eagles was one of the quieter surprises of the offseason, even if the reasons behind it fit a familiar NFL pattern. The former assistant general manager had spent nearly two decades as one of Howie Roseman’s trusted voices, rising through the organization and building a reputation as a sharp, self-assured executive. But in a league that still leans heavily toward traditional scouting roots, Halaby appears to have hit a ceiling.
Halaby was around through four head coaches - Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson and Nick Sirianni - and the fit was never uniform. League and team sources said Reid, Kelly and Pederson kept him at a distance, with Pederson in particular barely speaking to him for years and using intermediaries to pass along messages. That dynamic fed the old “non-football guy” label that followed him.
This wasn’t a simple anti-analytics backlash, though. Pederson was actually ahead of the curve on the fourth-down aggression that became standard around the NFL, and that approach helped power the Eagles to their Super Bowl LII title.
The issue, sources said, was more about how Halaby came across. The men running the football side reportedly didn’t love his presentation, and his confidence may have been read as something closer to a lack of humility.
The personnel side saw him differently. Roseman clearly valued him as he climbed to assistant GM, and owner Jeffrey Lurie was also firmly in his corner.
Sirianni, multiple NFL sources said, had a much better relationship with Halaby than the coaches before him. Last season, though, Sirianni was pulled deeper into the details of a struggling offense, and that left less time for side issues to be handled.
Halaby’s résumé did get him real traction elsewhere. Since becoming assistant GM in 2022, he landed multiple GM interviews, including with Washington, Carolina, the New York Jets and Miami.
He just never got across the finish line. The collapse of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, an analytics-branded GM, in Minnesota probably didn’t help his cause either.
The bigger problem was the league itself. NFL teams are more open to analytics than they used to be, but this is still not Major League Baseball or the NBA. Most decision-makers remain traditionalists, and Halaby tried to broaden his profile by grinding through film and working to become a more well-rounded scouting voice.
Even then, the market kept tilting toward the familiar. In a light year for GM openings, the three hires - Miami’s Jon-Eric Sullivan, Atlanta’s Ian Cunningham and Minnesota’s Nolan Teasley - all came from scouting backgrounds. Halaby, in the end, was a strong executive in an analytically-challenged environment, and his inability to fully bridge those two worlds kept him from getting the job he was chasing.
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For DeJean, the timing also lands as his role with the Eagles continues to evolve. Vic Fangio and analyst Chase Senior have discussed ways to get him on the field even more by mixing in work at safety and slot cornerback, a usage plan that would only increase his value to the defense. If DeJean is already this energized by what happened on the basketball side, the Eagles will be hoping that same energy carries over once the football season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
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For Philadelphia, the conversation is less about a confirmed move than about how much value it places on a young edge defender who has shown enough to draw outside interest. The Eagles have a decision to make with a player on a manageable contract and a profile that could appeal to a team trying to patch a hole quickly, but any deal would have to make sense for a front office that usually does not give away useful pass rush depth without a strong return. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Johnson Just Got A Major NFL Verdict Despite Lingering Concerns
Lane Johnsons standing around the league remains as strong as ever, even with the kind of late-season injury that usually invites a little more skepticism. FanSideds writers placed the Eagles right tackle ninth on their list of the top 50 NFL players entering the 2026 season, a reminder that his reputation is still built on years of elite play, not just name value.
Johnsons rsum already speaks for itself with six Pro Bowls, two first-team All-Pro nods and two Super Bowl rings, and he was still performing at a high level before his 2025 season was cut short. The bigger question for Philadelphia is how much more he has left in the tank, especially after a foot issue interrupted what had been another dominant stretch up front. Saquon Barkley and Cooper DeJean also made the list, landing at 23rd and 42nd, respectively. [Read more 🡒]