Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach: Chip Kelly

[wwhickok]

The Philadelphia Eagles pulled off the stunner of the coaching-carousel season Wednesday, pulling Chip Kelly back in long after we thought he was out of the mix for the Eagles position.

Kelly will bring a ton of excitement and interest to Philadelphia in 2013, not that the Eagles are unaccustomed to attention. The hire raises so many questions. Let's try to provide some answers.

What made Kelly change his mind?

This will take time to sort out. As recently as two days ago, Kelly was on the recruiting trail. The Eagles' statement announcing the release indicates Kelly simply had a change of heart, even mentioning when Kelly decided to stay at Oregon 10 days ago.

"The conversations continued until Kelly decided he wanted to remain at the University of Oregon, the statement read in reference to the team's previous interview. "Still, Kelly continued to evaluate the opportunity to work for the Eagles in the NFL."

Perhaps Kelly realized he was tired of the recruiting grind, or sanctions were encroaching at Oregon. Maybe the Eagles sweetened the pot. Or maybe the guy just changed his mind: It wouldn't be the first time.

Can Michael Vick stick around as a Chip Kelly quarterback?

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported in December that Vick was keeping an eye on where Kelly landed because he saw himself fitting in a Chip Kelly offense. It remains to be seen whether the interest is mutual. Vick is due $15.5 million in 2013 and there have been strong indications that he would not take a pay cut to remain in Philadelphia.

Vick certainly has the mobility to succeed in Kelly's offense, but it's not like he's run anything close to what Kelly has at Oregon. It's quite possible Kelly would prefer to mold his up-tempo offense with a younger quarterback that isn't so expensive. We still have our doubts whether Vick will stay with the Eagles, but he would be a lot of fun to watch.

What about the rest of the Eagles offense?

The pieces are in place for Kelly's attack to be very good right away. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin make for a nice pair of speedy, vertical wide receivers. Running back LeSean McCoy is a versatile fit for a fast-break offense. The offensive line has talented pieces in left tackle Jason Peters, guard Evan Mathis and center Jason Kelce. Yes, fantasy owners of the skill-position players should be excited. Kelly will run more plays per game than normal teams. More plays equals more numbers.

It's not that Kelly will simply run his scheme from Oregon at the pro level. He knows that he will have to bend his approach to NFL realities and his roster. There is plenty of talent in Philadelphia to work with.

Kelly's offense is not built on gimmicks, but established NFL principles. He's going to be different, but there are a lot of reasons to believe his attack can be successful. If not, it's going to be fun watching him try.

Article via NFL.com by Gregg Rosenthal


As a football fan I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. I do think Mike Vick stays now, I don't think he should. I do believe Chip Kelly jumped ship because he knows that penalties are headed toward Oregon. I'm not convinced that Kelly's offense will work at this level. But in terms of getting fans excited again I think this was the perfect hire.

[steelax04]

What penalities are headed toward Oregon? I haven't seen any big stories about Oregon running a dirty program.

EDIT: Bleacher Report, ESPN Blogs, SBnation, etc aren't "big" stories to me...

[wwhickok]

Neither have I don't get me wrong but usually when a guy says "I'm staying" to a college team, think Pete Carrol then bails its because of incoming penalties. I could easily be completely wrong on this thought process. It just seems bizarre that he said he was staying, he actually resumed meeting with potential recruits only to turn around and sign as the HC of the Eagles.

[BlacksburgSteeler13]

So much for staying at Oregon. I wonder what kind of sanctions Oregon is about to suffer that Chip Kelly would jump ship to go to Philadelphia of all places?

[Killer]

BWAhahahaha!


it's a meltdown in clowntown! 15 pages...

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=149&f...t=11182569&p=1


Browns get bitchslapped again!

[wwhickok]

Any thoughts on what his staff might look like?

[kent]

A total slap in the face to Cleveland. Can't wait to hear them crying on the Cleveland radio show on the way home today.

[BrandonCarr39]

Good hire by Philly.

[SteelersCanada]

He'd rather coach in a city that pelts Santa with snowballs than coach in Cleveland. Yep, sounds about right.

[tony hipchest]

snowballs hurt less than D-cell batteries and Milk-Bonz.