PHILADELPHIA
Joe Banner will no longer serve as Eagles president in a dramatic shake-up of the Philadelphia front office, the team announced Thursday.
Banner, whose run in the front office dates back to 1994 when childhood friend Jeffrey Lurie bought the team, will be replaced as president by Chief Operating Officer Don Smolenski, who signed a multiyear contract.
General Manager Howie Roseman, 36, was handed Banner's duties in managing the team's salary cap and contract negotiations. Smolenski, 45, will run the day-to-day operations in the new regime.
Banner, 59, will be retained in a strategic adviser role to Lurie but will be permitted to explore opportunities outside the organization. According to the team statement, Banner expressed a "personal desire to pursue a greater challenge within the sports world."
Lurie will formally announce the "executive succession plan," which he said was plotted by both him and Banner more than a year ago, in a news conference at 2:30pm local time Thursday.
"There is no better executive in sports than Joe Banner," Lurie said. "We are making this announcement [Thursday] because he is looking for a greater challenge, and in Don Smolenski I have a highly regarded, very worthy successor as president of this team."
He added, "Joe and I have achieved a great deal since I acquired the team. From building Lincoln Financial Field and the NovaCare Complex [practice facility] to driving the work of the Eagles Youth Partnership and, of course, our successes on the field, Joe has been an integral part of everything we have done."
Speaking from the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday, Lurie denied that his longtime friend was the victim of a power struggle with Roseman and Eagles head coach Andy Reid.
"No, the opposite," Lurie told The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported news of the seismic shake-up. "It was all done, I think, for what's best for everybody involved."
Lurie, though, said the desire to keep the "star, young executives" in Smolenski and Roseman was a big factor in handing them the power.
Banner was handed a contract extension in April 2010 that was due to expire after the 2013 season.
His comment that the team was "all in" after splurging on free agent talent last year came back to haunt the Eagles as they missed the playoffs after a disappointing 8-8 season.
Lurie opted to retain Reid despite labeling the campaign "unacceptable."
Banner will retain his office at the NovaCare Complex but told the Inquirer that he hoped to "get involved with the world of buying and selling a sports team with the possibility of becoming part of a group that buys a team."
"It has been my privilege to work with Jeffrey Lurie over all these years," Banner said in Thursday's team statement. "Together we have built a talented front office team that is now ready to assume leadership of this extraordinary franchise. I plan to pursue a major new opportunity within the sports field -- one that will enable me to apply all that I have learned as the Eagles president. I could never thank Jeff enough for the opportunity and support he has afforded me."
Joe Banner will no longer serve as Eagles president in a dramatic shake-up of the Philadelphia front office, the team announced Thursday.
Banner, whose run in the front office dates back to 1994 when childhood friend Jeffrey Lurie bought the team, will be replaced as president by Chief Operating Officer Don Smolenski, who signed a multiyear contract.
General Manager Howie Roseman, 36, was handed Banner's duties in managing the team's salary cap and contract negotiations. Smolenski, 45, will run the day-to-day operations in the new regime.
Banner, 59, will be retained in a strategic adviser role to Lurie but will be permitted to explore opportunities outside the organization. According to the team statement, Banner expressed a "personal desire to pursue a greater challenge within the sports world."
Lurie will formally announce the "executive succession plan," which he said was plotted by both him and Banner more than a year ago, in a news conference at 2:30pm local time Thursday.
"There is no better executive in sports than Joe Banner," Lurie said. "We are making this announcement [Thursday] because he is looking for a greater challenge, and in Don Smolenski I have a highly regarded, very worthy successor as president of this team."
He added, "Joe and I have achieved a great deal since I acquired the team. From building Lincoln Financial Field and the NovaCare Complex [practice facility] to driving the work of the Eagles Youth Partnership and, of course, our successes on the field, Joe has been an integral part of everything we have done."
Speaking from the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday, Lurie denied that his longtime friend was the victim of a power struggle with Roseman and Eagles head coach Andy Reid.
"No, the opposite," Lurie told The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported news of the seismic shake-up. "It was all done, I think, for what's best for everybody involved."
Lurie, though, said the desire to keep the "star, young executives" in Smolenski and Roseman was a big factor in handing them the power.
Banner was handed a contract extension in April 2010 that was due to expire after the 2013 season.
His comment that the team was "all in" after splurging on free agent talent last year came back to haunt the Eagles as they missed the playoffs after a disappointing 8-8 season.
Lurie opted to retain Reid despite labeling the campaign "unacceptable."
Banner will retain his office at the NovaCare Complex but told the Inquirer that he hoped to "get involved with the world of buying and selling a sports team with the possibility of becoming part of a group that buys a team."
"It has been my privilege to work with Jeffrey Lurie over all these years," Banner said in Thursday's team statement. "Together we have built a talented front office team that is now ready to assume leadership of this extraordinary franchise. I plan to pursue a major new opportunity within the sports field -- one that will enable me to apply all that I have learned as the Eagles president. I could never thank Jeff enough for the opportunity and support he has afforded me."
It was a few years back but It was the Public Relations guys wife.
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