Tag Archives: Jeffrey Lurie

08.07.25
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New digs: Temple should start planning now

An artist rendering of what the new domed Eagles’ Stadium will look like.

For anyone who was around when Jeffrey Lurie tried to stiff Temple out of playing at Lincoln Financial Field way back when it opened in 2003, his latest plans should be viewed as a Five Alarm Fire.

Temple BOT chair Mitchell Morgan could be the key for getting November and December games at the Bank for the Owls.

Lurie only relented and allowed Temple in when the state of Pennsylvania reminded him that as part of the city and state’s funding of the Linc was the stipulation that Temple, one of three state schools (along with Pitt and Penn State) be allowed to play there. Lurie paid a third of the $521 million tab, while the City and State paid two thirds.

The state and the city threatened to take Lurie to court to allow Temple to play there and Lurie didn’t have the stomach to fight on two fronts.

That won’t be the case with Lurie’s current plans.

What are they?

Lurie floated the idea last month of building a new “Eagles Stadium” at a place yet-to-be-determined. Unless it is in Center City or North Philly, the Owls have virtually no chance of playing there.

Since Governor Josh Shapiro has ruled out state funding and the city has empty pockets, this new project will be funded entirely by the Eagles.

For anyone who remotely entertains the idea that Lurie would welcome Temple as a tenant, we have some condo space to sell in a Florida flood zone.

In other words, it ain’t happening.

Temple has to find another place to play or at least start the planning process now.

My preference has always been an on-campus stadium. A student body that has 12,500 students living on campus should have a football stadium on campus. LFF, which is a fantastic stadium, is way too big for Temple’s purposes. Creating a demand for tickets should be a priority and it’s just logical that the demand for tickets in a 35K stadium would be double the demand for tickets in a 70K stadium.

That ship, though, has sailed in a corrupt city that will always allow a Councilman to veto a project in his district. (My feeling is Temple has just as much right to build anything it wants on its own property as a school in any other city. Look at Georgia Tech’s stadium below. It also is in the middle of a residential neighborhood but was welcomed by the neighbors when it was built a century ago.)

If Georgia Tech can have this in Atlanta, Temple should have the same in Philadelphia.

So Temple has to explore other options.

With Temple Board of Trustees chair Mitchell Morgan as a part owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, some combination of Citizens Bank Park and another stadium should be explored. Temple should explore scheduling September games at the Bank but not October ones as those are baseball playoff dates.

Failing that play, say, two games at Franklin Field in September and October and two games at the soccer stadium in Chester in those same months and play the final two home games at Citizens Bank Park.

Slot CBP for any possible AAC title game in December.

Temple should start planning now because once Lurie comes out with the announcement it will almost definitely not include the Owls.

Monday: Depth Chart Clues

Friday (8/15): Behind The Lines

01.08.16
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Lurie Doesn’t Have to Look Far For Best Guy

chipmatt

“This is a pretty sweet gig, Matt, you should think about it.”

 

If Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, is to be believed, then he really does not have to look far to find the next coach of his team. Lurie can grab a pair of binoculars, walk outside of his office at Lincoln Financial Field, and look four miles up North Broad Street. If he can see past City Hall, his guy is just north of there.

That’s where he will find Matt Rhule, the current head coach of the Temple Owls, who seems to fit all of the criteria Lurie outlined when he described his vision for the next Eagles’ coach. If Lurie was carrying a notepad around, Rhule certainly would earn a lot of checkmarks.

Smart, strategic, thinker? Check. Communicator who understands Philadelphia fan base? Check. Attention to detail and NFL experience? Check. Personal style of leadership that relates to players? Check.

No one knows if the NFL is in Rhule’s future, but he gave a clue in a four-hour appearance on 97.5 Thursday. A caller asked him if he’d rather have the Alabama job or the New York Giants’ job and he didn’t flinch. “Giants,” he said. “Temple is the only college job I want.”

Matt's communications skills passed the ultimate test with Sam Ponder.

Matt’s communications skills passed the ultimate test with Sam Ponder.

With all the clowns Lurie is bringing in for an interview–including a Chicago Bears’ assistant who is four years younger–he’d be crazy for not picking up  the phone and making a local call before the Giants do.

Lurie said he wanted a smart, strategic, thinker, who looks out for the long-term interests of the organization, and Rhule certainly has proven to be that in taking the Owls from 2-10 to 10-4 in three years. He did it by recruiting two- and three-star athletes, giving most of them a red-shirt year to get stronger and faster and he sacrificed short-term gain for long-term goals.  There are no redshirts in the NFL, but the thought process should be appreciated.

Lurie also said he wanted a communicator and anyone who saw Rhule talking to Sam Ponder on ESPN College Football’s Game Day knows Rhule certainly is that. He wanted someone who knows what it is like to coach the Eagles, and understands the fan base of Philadelphia, and Rhule gets a checkmark for that as well. If you can concentrate enough to give a coherent answer while looking at Samantha, you are a great communicator.

Lurie mentioned attention to detail and, as an assistant to Tom Coughlin in 2012 with the New York Giants, Rhule said that was his biggest takeaway, an attention to detail. Lastly, Lurie wants a personal style of leadership that relates to players and is not aloof.

With those comments, Lurie made clear he was looking for the anti-Chip Kelly—in other words, Matt Rhule.