There was, of course, also more that went into the Eagles’ V-shaped recovery. Among the most significant moves, head coach Nick Sirianni made changes at both coordinator positions — scrapping offensive play-caller Brian Johnson and defensive play-callers Sean Desai and Matt Patricia — after just one season of work. It is unusual to see such a quick hook for coordinators, but the decision was of a piece with the Eagles’ roster-building philosophy: They are aggressive, in both pursuing talent and in addressing mistakes.

Philadelphia struck gold with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who had long shared a mutual interest with the team, having actually served as an Eagles consultant in 2022. He inherited a unit that finished 30th in points allowed in 2023. In 2024, Philly ranked second. When Roseman first told Fangio he was considering signing Baun last offseason, Roseman projected him as a backup outside linebacker and special teams ace. Fangio watched film of Baun and thought he could play inside. The move was made, and Baun is now the rare NFL player to become a breakout star after four years largely spent as an anonymous backup.

Kellen Moore, Philadelphia’s first-year offensive coordinator, leaned into the ground attack — the team finished the regular season ranked second in rushing — and is now the favorite to land New Orleans’ head-coaching job after the Super Bowl.

There were some misses, too. White was one. Though the biggest might be Bryce Huff, whom the Eagles signed at the start of free agency to a three-year, $51.1 million deal. The edge rusher has notched just 2.5 sacks this season.

But even in a business where misses are part of the firmament, the Eagles are very good evaluators. And they are definitely not scared or subject to group think.

“Neither of us is risk averse,” owner Jeffrey Lurie said of himself and Roseman.

That was especially obvious during their pursuit of Barkley. It confused many, as the Eagles hadn’t traditionally spent big on running backs. Frankly, the entire league had stopped paying RBs anywhere near what other skill players were getting, deciding the injury risk and increased emphasis on the passing game had made the position fungible. But the Eagles regarded Barkley as the most physically gifted running back in the league, Lurie said. And they dreamed of what he might be able to do behind Philadelphia’s formidable line.

“Sometimes the pendulum swings too much — it felt like it was swinging too much. Where it was going with skill guys, it didn’t make sense that there were also great players at other positions that weren’t getting paid,” Roseman said. “But more so, it was this specific player.”

He continued: “I had tremendous confidence that he was an elite, elite player. When you play against a guy twice a year, you can feel in your bones what you feel about a player. Every time he touched the ball with the Giants, I was worried he was going to take it to the house. So everything he is doing is not really a surprise to me.”