Eagles hire Phil Savage as draft consultant
Back in the pro game-- at least temporarily.
about 2 years ago
Western Reserve
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Yes, the Browns are still paying Savage whatever he had left on his contract when he was fired. I believe they still are required to pay the difference between what they owe him and what he’s making from the Eagles.
Savage was specifically unimpressed by Eric Mangini’s handling of quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.
At least Mangini’s not the moron who pulled the trigger on drafting them.
I was specifically unimpressed when Savage re-signed Derek Anderson to a 3 year, 27 million dollar contract instead of collecting a 1st and 3rd round draft pick.
Yeah, that was a killer. It’s hard to imagine now that it was once entertained that DA had that type of latter value.
by Western Reserve on Feb 4, 2010 3:18 PM EST up reply actions
Hindsight’s 20/20 on that one. I don’t defend Savage much, but I can see why he signed DA. The guy was 10-5 as a starter the previous season. He was by far the best QB (for that season) we had had since coming back to the league. He had made some dumb, dumb mistakes that season, but who knew he would fold so badly so quickly. I don’t think either option was a bad one. He took a chance on a QB who had at last had a great year; can’t blame him for that. (Trading to get Quinn, on the other hand . . .)
by TheDriveStillHurts on Feb 4, 2010 4:32 PM EST up reply actions
Whose offer of a first and third did Phil reject? I have not heard the specifics- though many cite some type of offer. What team was foolish enough to make that offer? And can we go back to them and say we will throw in Quinn for the same deal?
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin
by Spidey on Feb 4, 2010 5:59 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
The speculation was that Dallas was going to sign DA to the restricted free agent offer sheet (which would automatically grant us their 1st and 3rd) and then try and flip him to the Ravens. Savage heard Ravens and panicked. or so it goes.
Coulda woulda… And Quinn could have signed early and attended TC on time. BQ would have started game 1 over Frye and DA never would have seen the field nor signed that contract.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin
by Spidey on Feb 4, 2010 9:08 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sounds like a bluff to force Savage to sign DA, which worked. I can’t imagine any team giving up a 1&3 for DA. The mere fact that nearly every Browns fan was begging for such a deal reflects the lopsided nature of the proposition.
As said elsewhere, we can blame Savage for a lot, but not getting a 1&3 for DA is not one of them.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin
by Spidey on Feb 4, 2010 9:04 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think the rumor was the Vikings were willing to pony up the picks for him.
by Bernie19Kosar on Feb 5, 2010 12:04 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I don’t think this is true either. I think it was much more likely that we could have dealt DA and received a 1st and 3rd than you are leading on. Sure, it’s hard now to imagine DA being worth that much, but at the time, it was a real possibility until Savage made the decision to go ahead and give him a contract.
by Western Reserve on Feb 5, 2010 8:33 AM EST up reply actions
I am pretty sure (just being technical) that DA was drafted during savage’s first year in cleveland.
but he DID get him from the ravens and then sign that ridiculous contract…so its just as bad.
Anderson actually wasn’t drafted at all, I’m pretty sure. He was signed as a free agent by the Ravens and then the Browns picked him up after they released him.
I was correct: Round: 6 / Pick: 213
either way, that late in the draft, it is somewhat of a crapshoot. guys are as likely to have good careers as UDFAs than as 6th or 7th rounders. there are always good players that go undrafted and crap players that are drafted.
but savage still traded for a 3rd stringer and then gave him a huge contract. he is nowhere near blameless in the DA saga.
I only can only partially blame him for the DA situation. Sometimes team owners fail to look at things objectively. It was clear as day that DA started to suck at the end of the year and he should have recognized it; But he was put between a rock and hard place.
In one way it was hard to trade him because if he went to another team and dominated, the Browns would have just skipped out on a franchise QB and the fans would have been pissed. They could have franchised him but it would have barely been less expensive than to just have him sign the contract.
by The Licensed Pessimist on Feb 4, 2010 4:44 PM EST up reply actions
This is why we pay these guys to be able to figure it out though. It’s fine to be wrong, but he was wrong on a big one.
Not to mention that he had already sunk the following year’s first round draft pick in another QB. You can’t really have it both ways. You figure out which player is better and go with him. Unless you think there is a high probablility of DA remaining near that top tier of QBs in the league, then the right choice unfortunately for Phil is to let him walk and go with Quinn because of the draft investment you already made in Quinn.
I predicted DA’s collapse and was the first person to say that Phil should have shipped DA out. But he situation wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Phil kinda hedged his bets, he could have signed him to a 6 year contract like dumbass Pioli.
In essence this entire situation was a huge gamble. He split his chances down the middle; he didn’t franchise him because if he had another monster year it would have cost more money, and he didn’t sign him to a long term contract just in case it was a fluke.
by The Licensed Pessimist on Feb 4, 2010 5:01 PM EST up reply actions
then the right choice unfortunately for Phil is to let him walk and go with Quinn because of the draft investment you already made in Quinn.
Right, exactly. Because he invested in Quinn, you have to send DA packing. It sure would have saved us a lot of trouble — and that’s not saying Quinn is the QB of our future. I think not dealing DA was by far the biggest blunder Savage ever made, and it was a big time mistake.
by Western Reserve on Feb 5, 2010 8:41 AM EST up reply actions
During the offseason did you feel he should have been traded or are you using hindsight?
by The Licensed Pessimist on Feb 5, 2010 11:13 AM EST up reply actions
Absolutely felt this way during the offseason. In fact, I became convinced this was Savage’s plan all along, and it would be heralded as some stroke of genius. Hindsight merely makes it look that much more regrettable.
by Western Reserve on Feb 5, 2010 12:28 PM EST up reply actions
Why did you show me that? With this along with the draft recaps, I’m one more bad front office decision from drowning myself in the Flats.
by The Licensed Pessimist on Feb 5, 2010 3:27 PM EST up reply actions
Finally, an old link that makes me look smart.
I am framing that.
by Bernie19Kosar on Feb 5, 2010 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
when I saw the name Phil Savage, for some reason my mind went to butch davis (they both were former GMs…well davis, kinda). this is less crazy that it is savage. the other way would have been hilarious. we get their player personnel guy that helped build that franchise and with davis they would have gotten the personnel guy that ruined ours.
Just to show how far of a fall he had… I know his title is “Player Personnel Consultant” but what the PFT article doesn’t tell you is that he was specifically hired to help evaluate players from the southeast.
For all intents and purposes, he’s a southeastern regional scout. That’s quite a drop from General Manager.
In this role, Savage will work with Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman and Director of Player Personnel Ryan Grigson in their draft preparations, specifically in the evaluation of draft prospects in the Southeast portion of the country.
Thanks for the information. I actually do think Savage is a good scout, he just went nuts sometimes on trading picks and signing mediocre players to huge contracts. He won’t have that power in Philly.
I really don’t like to bad on Phil too much. He made some desperate moves at the end, but his other signings were almost all excellent. Keep in mind absolutely freak injuries destroyed the careers of both Bentley and Baxter (and nearly destroyed Winslow’s). He was also stuck with a coach that A) was not his choice, B) not very good (actually awful), C) made highly questionable PT/personnel decisions, and D) was very popular with players.
He gutted the roster, made some high dollar, high impact signings to solidify the team, and tried to draft to the best of his ability. The high dollar mediocre player signings, which aside from DA could only really mean perhaps Shaffer, aren’t something I fault him for. Even Madden games recognize that crappy teams have to overpay free agents. They can always be cut later, with little issue.
Yes, as the team struggled, he felt the noose tighten and he tried to swing for the fences, but I don’t really blame him. He was probably a bit skittish in hindsight, but he did steal Rogers in those moves.
Savage was dealt a very crappy hand. He did very well for a while, but desperation got the worst of him in 2008. He did put talent on the roster, though. He made the Browns better.
I agree with most of your points, except for the Crennel one. Savage may not have chosen him initially, but he did decide to give Romeo a fat extension after 1 good year out of 3 (in which we didn’t even make the playoffs.)
regional scout. is exactly where he should be…
"I don’t dance too much." --Mike Holmgren
by johnnyphoenix on Feb 4, 2010 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
It is definitely a demotion, but it makes sense that he would only scout regionally in his first year with the club, in a year where he really didn’t need to be scouting the entire nation very hard because we are still paying him a bunch of money.
He does radio in the southeast, and has been there watching football I assume. Why hire anyone, let alone Savage at this point in the year to throw him in the war room and let him sink or swim? It makes a lot more sense to have him be able to contribute what he already knows than to ask him (or anyone else) to be Andy Reid’s right hand man in there.
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