How did the Eagles win a Super Bowl, appear in a conference-leading seven championships games, be victorious in 15 playoff games, and still manage to net 10 draft picks?
Well, allow me to show you.
Congratulations!
You are the lucky finder of the golden ticket
So, come with me to a world of pure imagination and behold all of its greatness and success.
I invite you to witness, the Quarterback Factory!
The Factory:
The genesis of the factory begins with the hiring of Head Coach Andy Reid in 1999.
As a former O-line coach (Andy spent 9 years coaching the O-line in college with 4 different teams, and another 5 in the NFL with Green Bay) he brought with him an emphasis on building a team via the trenches.
But Reid was also a student of the game and had been since he was a teenager.
It’s been written that BYU head coach LaVell Edwards allowed Reid to be a member of the BYU team in an effort to help persuade and recruit his best friend Randy Tidwell to the Cougars.
Andy went along for the ride and despite his teammates recalling that he did not play very often, he was very engaged, and closely studied Edwards and the offensive coordinator. Especially the development of the QBs.
Long before Howie Roseman uttered his now-famous QB factory phrase, BYU was known for being a “QB factory”. The program produced former Eagles Jim McMahon (Andy’s teammate) and Ty Detmer, as well as Steve Young and Marc Wilson. And it also produced a lot of knowledge that Andy took with him to the NFL.
Two years before arriving in Philadelphia, Reid was working as a QB coach with the Packers teaching All-Pro Brett Favre and also legendary Eagles HC Doug Pederson.
Reid brought an infatuation for the QB position with him to Philadelphia honed by a labor of love that he had learned years earlier.
Having an elite QB as well as very capable backups in the QB room who promote healthy competition while also supporting one another became a core belief that lasted well beyond Andy’s time with the team.
Many of Andy’s imprints and philosophies are still all over this team today, as are a few of his draft picks. Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham.
And much like Andy Reid in BYU before him, Howie absorbed information, strategy, and philosophies from Andy that live on in today’s quest towards another championship.
The Quarterbacks:
Donovan McNabb
McNabb was drafted with much fanfare as the 2nd overall pick in the 1999 draft. Well not really, most fans wanted Ricky Williams, but I digress.
After 11 seasons, 9 playoff wins, including 5 trips to the NFC Championship game (3 at home), and one Super Bowl appearance he had won over all of his doubters and is now viewed as the greatest player in Eagles history.
Well, once again, not really. But the then-named Washington Redskins still had a lot of hope in his declining ability and they traded for him in April of 2010.
The Eagles’ return was a 2nd-round pick (37th overall) in the 2010 NFL draft and a 4th-round pick in 2011.
A.J. Feeley
The Eagles drafted AJ in the 5th round of the 2001 draft. He spent his rookie season as the 3rd string QB behind both Donovan and fan favorite, Koy Detmer. He saw his only action in the season finale but was going to be asked to do a lot more in his sophomore year.
In 2002 both McNabb and Koy suffered injuries bringing AJ into duty. The Eagles were 8–3 at the time and making a push for the number one seed in the NFC. Feeley went 4–0 down the stretch preserving the one seed while also showing enough for other teams to have interest in acquiring him.
Despite not playing at all in 2003, the Miami Dolphins had already seen enough talent in his limited play and made a trade for Feeley in March 2004.
The Eagle’s return was a 2nd round pick in the 2005 draft.
Kevin Kolb
In 2007 the Birds were once again looking for a backup/replacement for Donovan McNabb. This time, they drafted Kevin Kolb in the 2nd round.
McNabb did not like the Eagles using a 2nd round resource for his backup and it strained the relationship between QB and head coach. Sound familiar?
Kolb was promoted to 2nd string QB during the 2008 season but didn’t start a game until 2009. At this point, the Eagles were becoming wary of McNabb as the starter and by season’s end it seemed apparent Donovan would be on the way out.
In April of 2010, the relationship between McNabb and the Eagles had dissolved to the point where he was shipped to a division rival and Kevin was named the starter.
Unfortunately for Kolb, in his debut that year versus the Green Bay Packers, he sustained a concussion and ultimately lost his job to backup Mike Vick.
He would only play in a few more games for the Eagles organization.
Much like the Dolphins and Feeley before them, the Arizona Cardinals had seen enough of Kolb to become infatuated and made a trade for him during the summer of 2011.
The Eagle’s return was Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2nd round pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
Nick Foles
When Nick Foles was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft, Andy Reid was in his final season in Philadelphia and was once again drafting a QB for the future.
Foles performed well in the pre-season and some thought he should be the starter over Mike Vick when the season began, but he would only start 6 games down the stretch, and only after a Vick injury.
2013 brought a new head coach to Philadelphia, Chip Kelly, and another competition to be the starting QB. Nick once again performed well in the pre-season but began the year as Mike’s backup, once again.
Vick struggled during the season and Foles eventually took over the job after Mike sustained a hamstring injury. Foles went on to go 8–3 over the rest of the season throwing for an impressive 27 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. He also led the Eagles to a home playoff game. The legend of Nick was beginning.
Nick only played 8 games in 2014 after breaking his collarbone.
But, once again, a team had seen enough of another Eagle’s QB to make a trade. This time, the St Louis Rams were up to bat. Foles was traded before the 2015 draft.
The Eagle’s return was Sam Bradford and a 5th-round pick for Foles, a 2015 4th-rounder, and a 2016 2nd-round draft pick.
*Nick would be brought back a couple of years later, as a backup once again, where he led the Eagles to Super Bowl glory and cemented himself into Philadelphia history both figuratively and literally.
Sam Bradford
Despite signing a 2-year 36 million dollar contract extension on March 1, 2016, Bradford played only one year for the Eagles, starting 14 games while finishing with a 7–7 record during the 2015 season.
The Minnesota Vikings were a team many thought could win the Super Bowl in 2016 until their starting QB, Teddy Bridgewater, suffered a season-ending ACL tear a week before opening day. In an act of desperation to keep their championship aspirations alive, they made a trade for Sammy Sleeves.
The Eagle’s return was the Vikings’ 2017 first-round-pick, and a conditional 4th in the 2018 draft.
Nick Foles part Deux
Nick returned to Philadelphia in 2017 as a free agent.
His success during his 2nd tenure has been well documented.
We all know Foles won playoff games and a Super Bowl, and despite outplaying the oft-injured Carson Wentz, we all know he was going to be relegated as a backup during the 2019 season.
The Super Bowl MVP declined his option, making him a free agent.
The Eagle’s return was a 2020 compensatory 3rd-round pick.
Carson Wentz
Carson was drafted number two overall in the 2016 NFL draft with the expectation of being a backup for Sam Bradford. When the aforementioned trade of Bradford to the Vikings went down, Carson was named the starter.
Wentz started all 16 games that season and the Birds finished with a 9–7 record. Carson was showing major improvement during the season, but nobody could have predicted the leap he was about to take in 2017.
Much like this 2022 season, 2017 was a fun ride from the beginning.
Carson was having one of the best regular seasons by a QB in Eagles history and was the likely MVP of the league until he sustained a season-ending knee injury after leading the team to an 11–2 record over the 13 games he started.
Unfortunately for him, it would be the beginning of what became a plethora of injuries and frustration.
Carson’s backup, Nick Foles, who returned to Philadelphia after a 3-year hiatus, led the Eagles to their first Lombardi trophy and would seemingly shine in every game Carson was injured. The Eagles stayed the course with Carson and gave him a 4 year $128 million contract extension in June of 2019, but eventually, their disagreements and Carson’s ineffectiveness would take their toll.
The Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL draft which caused Carson to feel the same way McNabb did 13 years before him.
The damage was irreparable and Wentz was traded to Indianapolis in Feb 2021.
The Eagles’ return was a 2022 1st-round pick (16 overall) and a 2021 3rd-round pick (84 overall) from the Colts.
Jalen Hurts
We have reached the present day, which sadly brings us to the conclusion of our tour.
Meet QB Jalen Hurts.
The player drafted that had Howie saying his famous QB factory quote.
“For better or worse, we are quarterback developers. We want to be a quarterback factory.”
And as history shows, they have.
The Results:
So, the bounty, prior to Sunday’s NFC championship matchup vs the Niners
2 Players (D.R.C. and Sammy Sleeves)
10 Draft Picks (including 2 first-rd and 3 second-rd)
15 Playoff Wins
1 Super Bowl
While largely ridiculed, the results are an overwhelming success.
The QB factory may be the greatest creation in the Eagles’ history.
Who would have thought that one of the most honest statements that ever left Howie Roseman’s lips would become so influential to the success of the organization?
Instead of laughing, maybe teams should have been emulating.
Maybe Howie Roseman ends another season with the last laugh.
“So shines a good deed in a weary world.” Willy Wonka via Wil Shakespeare