Eagles’ Jeffrey Lurie explains where he learned to make tough decisions
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had to feel some sense of vindication as he answered questions from reporters following the Eagles 31-7 win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
A couple years earlier, many people were laughing when he hired Nick Sirianni.
That move wasnt popular at the time. Lurie fired the only coach to ever bring a Super Bowl victory to Philadelphia and replaced him with an unknown guy who bombed his introductory press conference.
But making the right moves has never been about making the popular ones for Lurie.
I know its sort of not the conformist thing to do, Lurie said on Sunday night from the winning locker room. Like I said, nobody wanted Andy (Reid), nobody wanted Doug (Pederson), nobody knew about Nick (Sirianni), I guess. I dont know. Didnt make sense to me. Didnt make sense to Howie (Roseman).
I think we feel like just do the right thing and youre going to have a chance to be great. If you dont do the right thing, you have no chance. Thats kind of what it is. Just have confidence in what you think is the right way and what gives you the best chance of high success, big success.
Lurie, 71, prides himself on being an NFL non-conformist. He makes decisions that are sometimes unpopular in the moment but he makes them with conviction.
So on Sunday after he talked about those unpopular decisions, he was asked where he learned that. And the billionaire gave a nod to his Boston roots.
Well, Ive always thought that the sports franchises that make decisions based on what they think is right, its never going to be the popular one in that case, Lurie said. I go back to Red Auerbach, because to me, he made a lot of decisions that were not the popular decisions in the headlines the next day in the Boston Globe but it was best for that franchise to continue their dynasty.
Whether it was having Bill Russell be the player coach, the first African American coach ever. Choosing point guard Bob Cousy. Red did things that were unpopular. The (Kevin) McHale trade, getting McHale to go with Larry, waiting on Larry. There were just so many pointers when I look back on the way he ran that team.
The late Auerbach became the Celtics head coach in 1950, the year before Lurie was Born in Boston. So he watched the Celtics dynasty take hold during his formative years and watched as Auerbach did what was necessary to keep the Celtics at the top, even as he transitioned to the general manager role.
Lurie has made several unpopular decisions in his time as the Eagles owner. In fact, the three best head coaching hires Reid, Pederson and Sirianni were all pretty unpopular at the time. And his decision to keep Roseman around and in power certainly wasnt loved by Eagles fans but it led to one Super Bowl ring and has the Eagles on the doorstep of another.
But the key of all that is dont ever do the conformist thing or whats popular, Lurie said. If you want to be 8-8, do that. But if you want to have a chance to really compete in a really big way, do what you really think is right. And if youre wrong sometimes, so be it. Let it go. And move on and make up for it.
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