The Philadelphia Eagles have officially announced the hiring of Tom Gamble to the role of Vice President of Player Personnel. Gamble had previously served as the 49ers director of player personnel since 2010, and director of pro personnel for the previous seven seasons.

Earlier this year, Gamble was linked to the Jacksonville Jaguars and other teams. He had interview opportunities but nothing developed. It appeared as though he would be returning for another year, along with Jim Harbaugh's coaching staff. Unfortunately, that will not be the case.

The question now is how this will impact the team heading into free agency and the draft. This is not quite like Scot McCloughan departing a month before the draft, but it does not make life easier. Gamble was a jack-of-all-trades who has had a chance to do a little bit of everything throughout his career. It made him an ideal No. 2, but obviously also puts him in position to be a strong general manager. He is technically not being hired as "GM", but a VP role would seem likely provide more responsibilities than his current director role.

For 49ers fans, it becomes a question of how the 49ers fill the role he handled as Trent Baalke's right-hand man. More importantly could be how quickly adjustments are made to the front office framework. The 49ers have developed solid front office talent. This will be one more test of that talent.