From the moment he joined the Eagles as a front-office intern in 2000, fresh from Fordham Law School, Howie Roseman spent his formative years as an NFL executive helping his mentor usher in a revolution and bearing witness to the bitter fallout.
As the Eagles' president then, and with Roseman working alongside him, Joe Banner pioneered the two-pronged strategy that became a staple of business in a salary-cap world. The Eagles would sign players whom they perceived to be part of their long-term future to cost-effective contracts, and they would be willing to say goodbye - maybe a little too soon - to some of their most popular, respected and expensive veterans.