Longtime Eagles president Joe Banner created a bit of a Twitter firestorm Sunday when he publicly took some of the blame for the end of Brian Dawkins’ Eagles career a decade ago.
Banner noted that he’s headed to Canton, Ohio, this weekend for Dawkins’ Hall of Fame enshrinement, adding, “Many blame me for his departure, which I deserve part of the blame for.”
It’s considered one of the great tragedies in Eagles history that Dawkins, one of the most popular players in franchise history, finished his career with the Broncos after a contract dispute following the 2008 season.
Dawkins spent his first 13 seasons with the Eagles and played three more years with the Broncos.
With his command of the salary cap, Banner helped build an elite team in Philadelphia during his 18 years as owner Jeff Lurie’s top assistant. During that period, the Eagles had the sixth-best record in the NFL and the fifth-most playoff wins in the league. But Banner is unfairly remembered more for the Dawkins departure than everything else.
The response to Banner’s tweets predictably got a wide array of responses.
One fan said he hopes Dawkins gives Banner the cold shoulder in Canton, a notion Banner shot down:
Another Eagles fan said he hopes Banner isn’t allowed on the Pro Football Hall of Fame grounds:
One fan on Twitter asked Banner if he and Dawkins have ever discussed the untimely end to Dawkins’ Eagles career:
Several Eagles fans reacted positively to Banner’s tweet, including @JJR:
But the best response came from @EvilEagle, who tweeted that God punished Banner for letting Dawkins leave Philly by sending him to Cleveland: