Hail to Norman Braman

[Procus]

That cheap tightwad?  The man who drove Reggie White and the core of a beloved, dominant team apart?  The man who was blackballed by the other owners and forced out of the league?  That Braman.  Yes, indeed.  Let me elaborate.

The Eagles were a moribund franchise for most of the 60’s and 70’s, and after Vermeil left, in the 80’s.  The common thread was poor ownership.  Jerry Wolman and Leonard Tose weren’t good owners for many reasons.   Both had financial problems and bankruptcy filings.  Aside from a few years during the Vermeil era, this was reflected by play on the field during games.  Tose’s financial instability and lack of leadership could very well have been a strong factor in Vermeil’s decision to retire.

Braman came in and changed everything when he took over the team.  He got rid of Marion Campbell, tampered with Bears DC Buddy Ryan before the SB and secured his services.  The other thing that Braman did was exercise sound business judgment by understanding that the Eagles could be a solid, profit producing enterprise – where Tose and Wolman treated the franchise more like their personal plaything.  The Eagles turned a profit during the Braman years.  There is no doubt that Braman misunderstood the fundamental importance of maintaining a good relationship with the players and the other NFL owners.  While this ultimately led to his downfall as an owner, he left a blueprint for how to run the business of the Eagles properly.  His strong financial footing and presence resulted in winning, entertaining teams during most of the tenure of his ownership.

Braman’s Eagles organization was in good shape financially, and relatively decent shape on the field when he sold to Jeff Lurie.  Lurie built on Braman’s blueprint into his own image, and tweaked things through the early years and Banner years, Reid era, Chip Kelly and post-Kelly.  Lurie shed Braman’s abrasiveness, but not his financial stability.  He gets on well with the other owners, the players and the coaches.  The Eagles have been a model franchise from both a business and football operations perspective.   And to a large extent, the type of detail applied in business operations has been applied to football operations as well.  The Eagles football operations analytics department is second to none, and there is football operations organizational structure the Eagles employ that other teams do not.  We’re coming off a Super Bowl team, have had a solid offseason, and are the envy of most other franchises.

So hail to Norman Braman for kicking some butt, getting rid of the stumble bum Eagles, providing some backbone to the team, and setting the table for the current golden era of Eagles football under Jeff Lurie.

 

[91defense]

Keith Jackson, Seth Joyner, Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Eric Allen, Keith Byars. ☹️

[EaglesAddict]

The guy in France?

~Buddy Ryan

[Procus]

11 minutes ago, 91defense said:

Keith Jackson, Seth Joyner, Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Eric Allen, Keith Byars.

And there in a nutshell was his downfall as an owner.  Think of Ray Perkins and Bill Parcells as analogies.  Perkins ultimately wasn't a highly regarded head coach in the history of Giant head coaches.  But he turned the soft team culture around and laid the groundwork for the Parcells/Young era.  Braman had significant failures as an owner as you pointed out - but one of his failures was not being financially sound.  He built that team into a money machine and was able to give a good starting place for Lurie to build up from.

[JohnB]

I used to look back at, not so much the Braman era as the Buddy era (though it was basically the same timeline) with a sense of endearment. Those were great years and. it was an exciting time to be an Eagles fan. So much potential. Now I look back with resentment and frustration.

Buddy was a player's coach. If Braman showed caring and commitment to his players the way Lurie does, we may have been able to keep Keith Jackson (the first of many to flock, and the one that most impacted Randall Cunningham), not to mention some of the later guys like Seth, Clyde, Reggie White.

Lots of "what if's" during that time. What if Buddy hired a real offensive coordinator? What if Cris Carter was able to stay clean? What if Mike Quick stayed healthy? What if Keith Jackson realized he was part of a team that had some major potential? What if Jerome Brown didn't take that fateful drive? 

I think with the right leadership that team could have been a dynasty. 

 

[Alpha_TATEr]

Procus with another 5 star thread. 

4 minutes ago, JohnB said:

I used to look back at, not so much the Braman era as the Buddy era (though it was basically the same timeline) with a sense of endearment. Those were great years and. it was an exciting time to be an Eagles fan. So much potential. Now I look back with resentment and frustration.

Buddy was a player's coach. If Braman showed caring and commitment to his players the way Lurie does, we may have been able to keep Keith Jackson (the first of many to flock, and the one that most impacted Randall Cunningham), not to mention some of the later guys like Seth, Clyde, Reggie White.

Lots of "what if's" during that time. What if Buddy hired a real offensive coordinator? What if Cris Carter was able to stay clean? What if Mike Quick stayed healthy? What if Keith Jackson realized he was part of a team that had some major potential? What if Jerome Brown didn't take that fateful drive? 

I think with the right leadership that team could have been a dynasty. 

 

this is why braman gets an F as an owner. 

[Diehardfan]

Screw that cheap ****

[91defense]

That ho is still alive! I thought for sure he'd be a goner at this point.

[PoconoDon]

2 hours ago, 91defense said:

That ho is still alive! I thought for sure he'd be a goner at this point.

Only the good die young. That evil bast*** will probably outlive us all.

[EazyEaglez]

Watching that railing break and seeing all of those cadets fall anger injured at the old vet during the army vsnavy game pretty much sums up Norman Brahman for me. 

[gameshowfan91]

Story about Norman Braman: 

 

I'm pretty sure Howie Roseman would hate this man.

[Jeep_man]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:33 AM, JohnB said:

 

I think with the right leadership that team could have been a dynasty. 

 

I don't know about being a dynasty but definitely could have been a great team.

 

The Cowboys of the early 90's were unbeatable unfortunately, it all started with that massive oline of theirs.

[flyerdog]

On 5/7/2023 at 5:44 PM, Jeep_man said:

I don't know about being a dynasty but definitely could have been a great team.

 

The Cowboys of the early 90's were unbeatable unfortunately, it all started with that massive oline of theirs.

years ago I was at a local pub and I met the guy who was the Patriots equipment manager during the 90s...we talked for about 45 minutes..really cool guy....he saw every game at field level and he said it was shocking how HUGE and FAST that Cowboys OL was in the 90s....he said it was surreal watching Larry Allen pull...a guy who was 6'3" and 325lbs...who moved like a ballerina and ran like a sprinter....

[Shepard Wong]

On 5/1/2023 at 1:10 PM, Procus said:

That cheap tightwad?  The man who drove Reggie White and the core of a beloved, dominant team apart?  The man who was blackballed by the other owners and forced out of the league?  That Braman.  Yes, indeed.  Let me elaborate.

The Eagles were a moribund franchise for most of the 60’s and 70’s, and after Vermeil left, in the 80’s.  The common thread was poor ownership.  Jerry Wolman and Leonard Tose weren’t good owners for many reasons.   Both had financial problems and bankruptcy filings.  Aside from a few years during the Vermeil era, this was reflected by play on the field during games.  Tose’s financial instability and lack of leadership could very well have been a strong factor in Vermeil’s decision to retire.

Braman came in and changed everything when he took over the team.  He got rid of Marion Campbell, tampered with Bears DC Buddy Ryan before the SB and secured his services.  The other thing that Braman did was exercise sound business judgment by understanding that the Eagles could be a solid, profit producing enterprise – where Tose and Wolman treated the franchise more like their personal plaything.  The Eagles turned a profit during the Braman years.  There is no doubt that Braman misunderstood the fundamental importance of maintaining a good relationship with the players and the other NFL owners.  While this ultimately led to his downfall as an owner, he left a blueprint for how to run the business of the Eagles properly.  His strong financial footing and presence resulted in winning, entertaining teams during most of the tenure of his ownership.

Braman’s Eagles organization was in good shape financially, and relatively decent shape on the field when he sold to Jeff Lurie.  Lurie built on Braman’s blueprint into his own image, and tweaked things through the early years and Banner years, Reid era, Chip Kelly and post-Kelly.  Lurie shed Braman’s abrasiveness, but not his financial stability.  He gets on well with the other owners, the players and the coaches.  The Eagles have been a model franchise from both a business and football operations perspective.   And to a large extent, the type of detail applied in business operations has been applied to football operations as well.  The Eagles football operations analytics department is second to none, and there is football operations organizational structure the Eagles employ that other teams do not.  We’re coming off a Super Bowl team, have had a solid offseason, and are the envy of most other franchises.

So hail to Norman Braman for kicking some butt, getting rid of the stumble bum Eagles, providing some backbone to the team, and setting the table for the current golden era of Eagles football under Jeff Lurie.

 

TLDR but F Norman Braman and F you too for praising him, apparently...  

[Jeep_man]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:04 AM, flyerdog said:

years ago I was at a local pub and I met the guy who was the Patriots equipment manager during the 90s...we talked for about 45 minutes..really cool guy....he saw every game at field level and he said it was shocking how HUGE and FAST that Cowboys OL was in the 90s....he said it was surreal watching Larry Allen pull...a guy who was 6'3" and 325lbs...who moved like a ballerina and ran like a sprinter....

Larry Allen was an incredible athlete but the cowboys from the 90s had unmovable pieces before Larry.

 

Erik Williams, Nate Newton, Tunnei, Gogan, Kennard etc. Erik Williams used to scare the heck out of me lol, first and last time any Olineman got me nervous. He used to manhandle Reggie and whatever else Eagles had, even if Jerome Brown (RIP) was alive at the time, he would have also been pancaked by that cowboys line.

Jimmy Johnson made the brilliant decision to switch Erik into a RT in the NFL after he was getting owned as a LT and that changed the Cowboys destiny forever as they won multiple championships.

 

It was painful to be an Eagles fan during those times, even if you could beat the Cowboys player to player, then, the REFS would step in and throw flags so Cowboys can always get the break they needed (They were truly America's team then).....

[Crazy Legs]

Why Norman Braman is the ultimate Eagles Villain - NBC Sports RSN

 

P.S. I'll give him this...he rescued the Eagles from moving in the dead of night to Phoenix. 🤢

[Ace Nova]

 "Ugly game, ugly fans, a disgrace," Eagles owner Norman Braman fumed. 

(He was talking about Eagles fans who threw snowballs onto the field)

But he failed to mention why was there so much snow in and around the seats to begin with?  How about paying a professional crew to clean the snow so that your fans don't need to risk slip and sliding all over the place to get to their seats?  I was at that game and the seats and most of the stadium was under several inches of snow and ice.  They didn't even bother to try to clean any of the snow from the day and night before.  It wasn't even snowing during the game (other than maybe a few flurries). 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1989/12/11/eagles-again-defeat-cowboys/d4c9f56b-8d4d-4a25-9018-252e1c542bf1/

 

But I will say that the one good thing to come out of that era (after Braman gutted the team) is that it became an attractive enough business opportunity for Jeff Lurie.  And the rest is history.

 

[Jeep_man]

On 5/16/2023 at 9:18 AM, Ace Nova said:

 

 

But I will say that the one good thing to come out of that era (after Braman gutted the team) is that it became an attractive enough business opportunity for Jeff Lurie.  And the rest is history.

 

Actually I heard that Lurie wanted to buy the Patriots but they weren't for sale and eventually found out through the LA Rams owner that the Eagles franchise was for sale...

 

Rest is history...

[Talonblood]

4 hours ago, Jeep_man said:

Actually I heard that Lurie wanted to buy the Patriots but they weren't for sale and eventually found out through the LA Rams owner that the Eagles franchise was for sale...

 

Rest is history...

Yep- he was a Boston lover 1st, but Philly grew on him.

[eagle45]

On 5/18/2023 at 7:00 AM, Jeep_man said:

Actually I heard that Lurie wanted to buy the Patriots but they weren't for sale and eventually found out through the LA Rams owner that the Eagles franchise was for sale...

 

Rest is history...

 

On 5/18/2023 at 11:46 AM, Talonblood said:

Yep- he was a Boston lover 1st, but Philly grew on him.

At the ownership level, they don’t care about cities.  It’s ego.  The good ones…and Lurie is a good one…will ingratiate themselves to the city their franchise is in, as he has.

That’s not a criticism.  If I became a billionaire overnight and had the opportunity to buy a random nfl team, that would become my team too.

[RebelJedi]

Norman Braman was a **** and a derelict who only cared about money in his pockets

[flyerdog]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:18 PM, Ace Nova said:

 "Ugly game, ugly fans, a disgrace," Eagles owner Norman Braman fumed. 

(He was talking about Eagles fans who threw snowballs onto the field)

But he failed to mention why was there so much snow in and around the seats to begin with?  How about paying a professional crew to clean the snow so that your fans don't need to risk slip and sliding all over the place to get to their seats?  I was at that game and the seats and most of the stadium was under several inches of snow and ice.  They didn't even bother to try to clean any of the snow from the day and night before.  It wasn't even snowing during the game (other than maybe a few flurries). 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1989/12/11/eagles-again-defeat-cowboys/d4c9f56b-8d4d-4a25-9018-252e1c542bf1/

 

But I will say that the one good thing to come out of that era (after Braman gutted the team) is that it became an attractive enough business opportunity for Jeff Lurie.  And the rest is history.

 

"What If..." 

something to think about...Lurie originally tried to buy the Patriots but couldn't arrange the financials...so Jeff bought the Eagles....so "What if" Lurie had bought the Patriots instead....makes you wonder if Kraft would have bought the Eagles....and subsequently if TB/Belichick  would have been Eagles.....

[flyerdog]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:24 PM, Jeep_man said:

Larry Allen was an incredible athlete but the cowboys from the 90s had unmovable pieces before Larry.

 

Erik Williams, Nate Newton, Tunnei, Gogan, Kennard etc. Erik Williams used to scare the heck out of me lol, first and last time any Olineman got me nervous. He used to manhandle Reggie and whatever else Eagles had, even if Jerome Brown (RIP) was alive at the time, he would have also been pancaked by that cowboys line.

Jimmy Johnson made the brilliant decision to switch Erik into a RT in the NFL after he was getting owned as a LT and that changed the Cowboys destiny forever as they won multiple championships.

 

It was painful to be an Eagles fan during those times, even if you could beat the Cowboys player to player, then, the REFS would step in and throw flags so Cowboys can always get the break they needed (They were truly America's team then).....

Or....on third and long with the game on the line...Aikman always seemed to complete an impossible pass to Michael Irvin for a first down...which always seemed to deflate the Eagles defense...then Emmitt Smith would start running free and seal the game....

[EazyEaglez]

Norman Brahman was the guy behind revenue sharing in the NFL. He figured why should the Cowboys and the Raiders get all the money and not him? Unfortunately this eventually led tho the outrageous seat licensing we all have to deal with now. His refusal to pay his players a fair equity share led to the salary cap situation of the day. If that guy actually cared about the team it might have been the Eagles and not the Cowboys who ran the late eighties and early 90s. Was the Guy in France the worst Eagles owner? No, but he was a guy for more concerned with turning a dollar than he was about the health and safety of his players, staff, and fans alike. 

[Wallyhorse]

On 5/1/2023 at 1:10 PM, Procus said:

That cheap tightwad?  The man who drove Reggie White and the core of a beloved, dominant team apart?  The man who was blackballed by the other owners and forced out of the league?  That Braman.  Yes, indeed.  Let me elaborate.

The Eagles were a moribund franchise for most of the 60’s and 70’s, and after Vermeil left, in the 80’s.  The common thread was poor ownership.  Jerry Wolman and Leonard Tose weren’t good owners for many reasons.   Both had financial problems and bankruptcy filings.  Aside from a few years during the Vermeil era, this was reflected by play on the field during games.  Tose’s financial instability and lack of leadership could very well have been a strong factor in Vermeil’s decision to retire.

Braman came in and changed everything when he took over the team.  He got rid of Marion Campbell, tampered with Bears DC Buddy Ryan before the SB and secured his services.  The other thing that Braman did was exercise sound business judgment by understanding that the Eagles could be a solid, profit producing enterprise – where Tose and Wolman treated the franchise more like their personal plaything.  The Eagles turned a profit during the Braman years.  There is no doubt that Braman misunderstood the fundamental importance of maintaining a good relationship with the players and the other NFL owners.  While this ultimately led to his downfall as an owner, he left a blueprint for how to run the business of the Eagles properly.  His strong financial footing and presence resulted in winning, entertaining teams during most of the tenure of his ownership.

Braman’s Eagles organization was in good shape financially, and relatively decent shape on the field when he sold to Jeff Lurie.  Lurie built on Braman’s blueprint into his own image, and tweaked things through the early years and Banner years, Reid era, Chip Kelly and post-Kelly.  Lurie shed Braman’s abrasiveness, but not his financial stability.  He gets on well with the other owners, the players and the coaches.  The Eagles have been a model franchise from both a business and football operations perspective.   And to a large extent, the type of detail applied in business operations has been applied to football operations as well.  The Eagles football operations analytics department is second to none, and there is football operations organizational structure the Eagles employ that other teams do not.  We’re coming off a Super Bowl team, have had a solid offseason, and are the envy of most other franchises.

So hail to Norman Braman for kicking some butt, getting rid of the stumble bum Eagles, providing some backbone to the team, and setting the table for the current golden era of Eagles football under Jeff Lurie.

 

It's forgotten by many now when Lurie bought the Eagles for $185 Million in 1994, it was the record for a professional sports franchise in North America.  Many LAUGHED at Lurie for paying that much but this was right before a baseball strike that wiped out the 1994 playoffs and World Series and catapulted the NFL into eventually becoming the 800-pound gorilla of sports it is today.  If Lurie decided to sell the Eagles now, he's likely get based on recent sales AT LEAST the $6 Billion the Commanders are being sold for.