Philadelphia Eagles fans are done with the so-called “Genius” Chip Kelly. He had his quarterback.
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When Lurie hired Kelly, there was a lot of anticipation about how the National Football League would react to the unorthodox coach and his ways.
Ten games, and six losses later, the idea that Kelly might leave isn’t so insane anymore.
Kelly has two years left on his five-year deal with the Eagles. It is not my opinion that Schefter is merely spit-balling here. But in the end, he thinks Kelly may be meant for another place. It could be that Kelly just needs to figure out the quarterback thing better this offseason, somehow, and all will be well.
“I have a job”, Kelly replied.
Reason No. 1: Those college jobs aren’t going to be as available if the Eagles continue to slide downhill. Defenses are calling Eagles plays before they happen based on formation, and because Kelly doesn’t have an audible system for his quarterbacks, there’s no way to call out of checks and expand the palette.
Another anonymously sourced story in Philadelphia had a player saying that when running back DeMarco Murray slid instead of trying to break a tackle, it showed that Murray isn’t fully invested in the team.
There is a difference between being mad behind the scenes about how Kelly runs the team and letting it impact your effort on Sunday.
The NFL head coaching ranks can become highly volatile late in the year. Chip Kelly is the man. He can make Maryland with Under Armours backing the OR of the east. Every Terp fan would love to have a football team worth watching. Meanwhile, whenever a coach at a major college program gets fired, Kelly is usually among the names floated as possible replacements.
“Yeah, that was a pretty poor performance across the board when you give up that many rushing yards and that many passing yards”, linebacker Connor Barwin, who grew up in Hazel Park and attended U-D Jesuit, said in a conference call with Detroit reporters. He is just too competitive to willingly take a step back. Once considered division favorites by many, they have fallen to 4-6, and while that’s just one game off of the division leading New York Giants, the 45-17 demolishing the Eagles took at the hands of the equally mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend hardly gives them much hope. A power struggle between Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman ended this off-season with Kelly essentially getting full control over not only coaching decisions, but all personnel before the 2015 season.
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Now, I want to make clear that I don’t think Kelly is a particularly good football coach, nor are the Eagles a particularly good team. The Eagles improved from 4-12 in Reid’s final season to 10-6 in each of Kelly’s first two seasons.
