The Eagles have made an addition to their personnel department at the same time they are in danger of losing Joe Douglas to the New York Jets.
The team has hired Max Gruder away from the Miami Dolphins, according to a report from Neil Stratto of InsideTheLeague.com. The Eagles have yet to confirm the hire, but Gruder is liking posts on Twitter (via his verified account) congratulating him on the new job, so an announcement is likely coming soon.
Gruder was a Pro Scout with the Dolphins. It is unclear what his title will be with the Eagles, although he will presumably be receiving some kind of promotion.
Gruder, who briefly played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons, is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He has worked for the Miami Dolphins for six years as both a scouting assistant and a pro scout.
The hiring of Gruder could be viewed as a sign that the Eagles are bracing for not only the loss of Douglas, who the Jets are interested in hiring as their new general manager, but also some of Douglas' staff. It is likely that if Douglas leaves the team could lose both Director of Player Personnel Andy Weidl and Director of College Scouting Ian Cunningham, both of whom were hired because Douglas was with the team.
In addition to hiring Gruder, the Eagles also made a fairly significant addition to their staff earlier this offseason when they hired Andrew Berry as their Vice President of Football Operations.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
