McCoy & Jackson were probably good ideas. Maclin left as a FA, but was a tough loss. Signing Murray was absolutely stupid.
Per Ron Jaworski, Lurie went into the loackerroom before the Redskins game and urged the players to play the game angry.
Have to agree. If Tennessee makes the most sense as a NFL job, Texas makes the most sense for a college job. Having full access to Texas high schools who are mostly running the spread would make him successful in fairly short order. Strong isn't going to be the coach that gets the program into the playoffs. Why wait?
Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"</p>— Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) <a href="https://twitter.com/thEMANacho/status/681995566402813952">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">18 teams have better records than <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Eagles?src=hash">#Eagles</a> this season. 10 better during Chip Kelly’s full run with team. <a href="https://t.co/GpMrClO8lv">pic.twitter.com/GpMrClO8lv</a></p>— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/SandoESPN/status/682003591570128902">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Jay Glazer: Just talked to Chip Kelly, disappointed how it ended but knows it's a results-oriented biz. Insists he wants to remain in the NFL, not college. Was pulled into mtg w owner, said he didn't fight the decision. Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kelly said few times he really wants to remain in the NFL</p>— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayGlazer/status/682011308581990400">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In my convo w Chip he said next stop he just wants to coach & insists he does NOT want to be the personnel guy too. This is significant</p>— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayGlazer/status/682034263693209600">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Potential NFL openings Browns Chargers Colts Dolphins(already open) <strike>Eagles</strike> 49ers Giants Lions Saints Titans(already open)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"</p>— Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) <a href="https://twitter.com/thEMANacho/status/681995566402813952">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In my convo w Chip he said next stop he just wants to coach & insists he does NOT want to be the personnel guy too. This is significant</p>— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayGlazer/status/682034263693209600">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Chip isn't stupid. He wants to stay in the NFL and knows this is an absolute requirement to even be considered for another head coaching job.
You get a jump start on interviewing potential replacement candidates that way. If you wait until next week, the guy you want might get an offer from someone else before you get the opportunity to lock him up.
I would be surprised to see any NFL teams other than Tennessee want to hire Kelly. His record at Philadelphia wasn't all that bad, but Kelly is a controversial figure. The personnel changes he made were a disaster, and Kelly just doesn't seem to be very likable. If Kelly decides he wants to coach college football again. I'm sure the fan bases of a couple of large Texas schools would be interested.
I like his offensive style, but I would be leery of hiring a coach for an NFL team that has developed a reputation among players, fair or unfair, as being some combination of racist, ego maniacal and untrustworthy. I haven't seen anything to substantiate that he IS a racist (in fact I would say evidence points to the contrary) but that reputation is hard to get rid of and it's especially damning that he got votes of no confidence from players who said they didn't trust him.
To be fair, I don't think he's a bad coach as people made him out to be, in fact I would list him as decent. Two consecutive winning seasons and in a tightly contested division race until the last week. That's not an easy feat in the NFL, especially considering that he's a third year coach straight out of college. It did shoot himself in the foot with his purge of high caliber skill players/offensive linemen and bringing in players who weren't quite as good. Demarco Murray is a good player, but he was a save face move. While he just isn't suited for this type of system and offensive line. Not maximizing Murray's effectiveness can be attributed to Kelly (though I think Murray takes some blame as well). He'll stay in the NFL, if he lands on the right team (Indy, NYG, Tennessee, Detroit), I don't think he'll make the mistake of going to a team with an established QB. Probably for his own sake, he won't have as much power, though. If a team gives him GM duties, again. I can see their fans rioting.
The sheer Hubris of Chip Kelly ruined the Eagles. He alienated the entire locker room by not cutting ties with Riley Cooper. Then he loses his talent at WR and tries to change to a run-oriented offense, signing a bellcow back who excelled behind a basic off tackle scheme and then making him run sideways against 3-4 defensive ends. Then he starts Sam Bradford who makes Mark Sanchez look like Tom Brady. He's got a very good TE in Zach Ertz who they refuse to feature in the passing game until it's too late. Just bizarre personnel and scheme decisions that ultimately sealed his fate.
Not that it matters, but Lurie has to shoulder a lot of the blame as well. Giving full GM duties to a coach, let alone one with 2 years of HC experience, was a bad idea from the start. His personnel decisions were definitely bizzare, the fact that he made them with zero oversight seems even more bizzare though.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eagles OT Lane Johnson said that a lot of players didn't feel comfortable approaching Chip Kelly, went to position coaches instead.</p>— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/682276257304805379">December 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
