On Monday, Chip Kelly said he didn’t need to address his players to emphasize his commitment to coaching the Eagles.
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“I wasn’t even in Philadelphia on Friday, so that’s wrong”, Kelly, who said he was in his native New Hampshire when the supposed meeting took place. There was chatter about him becoming the next USC head coach, but that didn’t happen as the Trojans decided to make interim coach Clay Helton their official coach.
“I’ve been totally committed to the Eagles since I got here on January 16, 2013”, he said, “and that hasn’t changed”. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported on Monday that Kelly and USC “touched base” at some point in the days before naming Helton the guy.
“I’ve said (this is where I want to be) a hundred times”, said Kelly.
The media, on the other hand, has a job to do and that included asking Kelly if he’d been contacted by USC last Friday.
Rumors of Chip Kelly’s potential departure from the Philadelphia Eagles – and quite possibly the National Football League – have reportedly made their way into the Eagles’ facility at One Novacare Way and, more importantly, into the locker room, where they seem to have set up residence. The Eagles are 4-7 after a pair of embarrassing losses, and Kelly’s coaching methods have come into question. Chip and Jeffrey Lurie obviously communicate regularly to some degree, and its possible that Kelly’s wording at the end of that statement is an indication that his status with the team beyond this season is still cloudy. “They can say whatever they want, but I’ve never discussed another college job since I came here”. I was willing to wait and see how those things played out on the field before passing judgement. Kelly also admitted that the defense is getting worn down from playing so many snaps.
The Patriots’ familiarity with the Eagles from training camp scrimmages in recent years is always beneficial despite a number of changes for both teams. But Sanchez has had problems with turnovers, throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble in 2 ½ games. “We talk about it all the time: It’s plays run”. If he’s not, I’m going to play hard. The week before, or two weeks before, we had 98 snaps against the Miami Dolphins.
Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians said earlier in the day it was a bruised knee, but MRI results on Johnson weren’t available then. “It’s really just the production from the offensive side of the ball in terms of what’s giving them an opportunity to wear us down on the defensive side of the ball”.
“There’s no rules”, Kelly continued. And the scheme will remain unchanged, too.
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“I feel OK”, he said. “Part of that that we talk about all the time is: Execution fuels emotion”. It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out.
