http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...tay-in-the-nfl-doesnt-want-personnel-control/
Chip says he’ll stay in the NFL, doesn’t want personnel control
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 29, 2015
After failing in Philadelphia, Chip Kelly realizes he’s a coach, not a general manager. But he still thinks he can succeed in the NFL, and wants another shot at it.
Kelly told Jay Glazer of FOX Sports that he wants to remain in the NFL, and not return to college. Kelly was an excellent coach at Oregon and would have several job opportunities if he wanted to coach in college again, but he’s apparently no interested in that. Kelly’s insistence that he’s staying in the NFL will lead to more talk that he could move to Tennessee and coach the Titans.
Kelly also told Glazer he only wants to coach in his next stop and does not want to be the personnel man. That’s surprising, as Kelly insisted on personnel control in Philadelphia and reportedly balked when Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie suggested that he should give up that control.
Now the question is whether there’s some NFL owner and some NFL general manager who can work work with Kelly. It didn’t work in Philadelphia, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work anywhere.
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/12/29/chip-kelly-fired-philadelphia-eagles-nfl-mailbag
Philly’s Missed Opportunity
The Eagles fired Chip Kelly, an abrupt conclusion to a three-year relationship that began with imagination and ended with blown personnel calls. Here’s what went down, and what might be next.
by Peter King
Jim Rogash/Getty Images
The easy way to think—and the way I really want to think after the Eagles fired Chip Kelly Tuesday night—is this:
No way you fire a potential great NFL head coach after three years.
And that's the way I still feel, as I file this column just after midnight Wednesday, with time to digest this stunning move. Kelly was potentially great, an innovator in a league of followers. Was he great now? Absolutely not.
He blew two huge personnel calls this year, overpaying DeMarco Murray and paying a pedestrian cornerback, Byron Maxwell, $10.5 million a year on the theory that “we needed a corner and he was the best guy and this is what the market rate was.”
No. Dumb. You don't pay BMW prices for a Camry. You wait until the market shakes out and you sign Brandon Flowers or Tramon Williams. But Kelly would have learned that, in time. Heck, he probably already knew it now.
Before we delve into the stunning firing of Kelly (and don't let the cognoscenti fool you; this was a stunning move to even those around the Eagles), let me tell you the three things about the story that I do know as Wednesday dawns:
Photo: Matt Rourke/AP
After hiring Kelly in January 2013, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said, “He motivates his team with his actions as well as his words.”
1. Tennessee, with Marcus Mariota, was not in play for Kelly. I talked to someone with knowledge of the Titans’ thinking Tuesday night who said the team “absolutely” was not waiting for Kelly, and had not been actively discussing acquiring Kelly from the Eagles for a high draft choice. One reason: Marcus Mariota likes Kelly but is not dependent on him for NFL success. Now, that doesn't mean the Titans won't sniff around Kelly now that he is a free agent. But the Titans weren’t waiting for him to be free.
2. Owner Jeffrey Lurie wanted to reshape the front office, and Kelly didn't want to give up any personnel freedom. Lurie saw some of the wasted money and cap space and figured he had to do something about it. Kelly disagreed. That was the crux of the issue—Lurie wanted to change course with personnel, which makes sense, and Kelly did not.
3. Lurie wanted to do this now, so he could be in play for some of the top coordinators who will be coaching candidates. Interesting what the source with Tennessee knowledge said to me: “If Lurie fires Chip now, obviously it means he wasn't going to be able to get something going with the Titans.” Right. And that's a big deal.
Everyone will ask today, “Why didn't the Eagles try to get something from Tennessee if they knew they were dumping Kelly?” And they could have gotten something minor for Kelly—but would it have been worth the sideshow? No. With the Titans not in play for Kelly, Lurie simply had to do what he felt was best for his team, which started with firing Kelly and starting over with a full cadre of candidates for the job from around the NFL.
In the few hours since the firing, we've heard all about Kelly's issues. The building didn't like him. The players tolerated him but didn't love him. His personnel moves mostly stunk. (I do not buy that he had problems with minority players. Maybe some he didn't keep didn't like him, but there is no evidence to suggest he was a racist or treated minority players different from white players.)
Photo: Matt Rourke/AP
After leaving the team, several ex-Eagles—like LeSean McCoy—decried Kelly and how he treated players.
So now I think back. To Chuck Noll, 12-30 in his first three seasons, who was despised by franchise quarterback Terry Bradshaw early—and disliked for most of their time together. To Bill Belichick, who ran off Bernie Kosar and was 20-28 in his first three years in Cleveland and who was affected by more than just the quarterback. And now Kelly, 26-21 in his first three seasons, fired with one game left.
Not comparing Kelly to what two four-time Super Bowl champs accomplished in football, but simply making this point: How do you know the future? How do you know which coaches will survive the early potholes to make greatness happen? You don't. Just as I don't know if Kelly would have ever been great in Philly, or will be great in his second go-round wherever.
Finally, I leave you with this: Jeffrey Lurie has been the poster boy for patience in the NFL. He kept an ill-equipped Ray Rhodes after a four-win season, and he kept Andy Reid for 14 years, and Reid never won a Super Bowl. Lurie is a patient man. But he wasn't patient with Kelly. Lurie knew something.
Something happened that was untenable, and Lurie acted. I don't like it, but I’m not in his shoes. We'll see how it works. For those saying the Eagles will be fine with the best coordinator or best young coaching phenom ... cool. But remember: Chip Kelly was as imaginative a coach as has come into the NFL in years.
We're seeing a different game now, with lots of deep passing and an emphasis on the strong-armed quarterbacks. Kelly recognized that. He was on the verge of making
Sam Bradford realize his potential.
But something happened. A few things, maybe. And as with Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco last year, and Belichick with the Jets in 2000, a coach leaves early, with potential gains lost. I count this as one of the truly great missed opportunities in my 32 seasons covering the NFL. This should have worked. And because it didn't, a storied franchise starts from scratch, and a great college coach might go the Steve Spurrier route. Sad.
