OT: Eagles release Chip Kelly

[luuked]

It's not like BB fell into Krafts lap. Kraft hade to make a real effort to get him here.

I can see your points. Since then he has mostly left everything up to BB, and that seems easy. But I'm of the opinion that if something seems easy, but most fail at it. Then it isn't easy. Sure, it was 14 years ago that he gave the power to BB. But it's still the decision that has made this franchise so successful, and what continues to make it successful. I don't devalue decisions that are still having huge effects, just because it was a long time ago that it was made.

I don't know if I would rank him as the best owner in the league. But he's definitely up there as one of the best owners right now.

He is among the best owners in the league because in relative terms the majority of the others are either idiots, greedy or not patient enough. In absolute terms I lost tons of respect for him this year but lets not go there again.

 

[Star56]

As long as there is success there will not be much reason for an owner to step in to take control over anything. So excuse me for not giving Kraft credit for that because since 2001 he never was in a situation that required him to step in.

The Brady/Bledsoe decision in 2001 tells me more about BB than about Kraft but I agree that another owner might have intervened there. But that was almost 14 years ago.

Again, I am not saying that Kraft is a bad owner but I don't see any reason to give him a lot of credit beyond hiring BB 15 years ago. The last 10 years he was able to comfortably sit and see the value of his team grow significantly.

Not sure if this is relevant. But there is a NYT article from 2001 that claims that Bill told folks before the first Jets game that year that he expected to be fired soon because of the poor performance of the team. He said that Bledsoe was not his choice for QB but was stuck with him because of his popularity with the team.
Of course fate would soon step in and change everything.

 

[Marinlik]

He is among the best owners in the league because in relative terms the majority of the others are either idiots, greedy or not patient enough. In absolute terms I lost tons of respect for him this year but lets not go there again.

That's kind of my point. It looks easy to just stay out of the football parts after picking the coach and GM. But after seeing so many owners fail at it I wouldn't call it easy. If something look easy, but most fail at it, then it isn't as easy as it looks. I guess that it's hard to have something worth several hundred million $, or even billions, and then just hand over control to someone else.

I would also say that it isn't easy to know what combination of power to give to the GM and HC. As we've seen, many coaches struggle when having personel power. But some, like BB, thrive because they know what they want in the team.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Good post.
I have no issue with a guy doing it his way. If you're gonna fail then don't fail with the regret of *I wanted to do X but 'they' said I shouldn't*. Do it how you think you should do it and let the chips fall where they may.
But your point is a good one. The NFL is so much about cap dollar per unit of production. Sure, if D Murray would have come in and lit up the running game it would have masked the seemingly too high a cost. But it was still a bad move at that cost IMHO.
The QB thing was shocking to me for a team that was in 'win now' mode. Foles was comparatively cheap and they had hit 10 wins last year. To change at QB under those conditions better be for a known commodity. How often is getting a new, underperforming, sometimes injured QB going to equal a known commodity of production as compared to the previous year's 10 wins?? Bottom line, Bradford was coming to the Eagles as someone who could QB them to an unknown rate of success. Awful risky considering...

With that said I think it was not a great idea for Philly to fire Chip now. The team gave him carte blanche to do what he wanted/thought best. This past offseason he made some serious changes. Letting these marked changes take affect required another year IMHO. As shocking as it may sound it's distinctly possible the Eagles were on the cusp of taking that step upward. Now the chances of taking that step upward have most likely lessened with a change at HC (unless Philly has an established winning coach waiting in the wings, and Chip needed to be swept out of the way to make way for that new coach).

I agree, and I'm surprised they fired him. He won 10 games his previous 2 seasons, and the first losing season he has, he's gone. New coaches need more time and patience to implement their full system, and Kelly really didn't get everything done that he wanted, and now a new guy will come and try to clean up the old regime while trying to implement his. Patience is too thin in the NFL.

Payton won 10 games with the Saints his first season, then went 7-9, and 8-8 afterwards. But the patience paid off as the Saints won a Super Bowl in year 4 after missing the playoffs 2 years in a row.

The Bengals went 8-8 in Marvin Lewis's first two seasons before going 11-5, then suffered 3 more non-winning seasons (including a 4-11-1 campaign) before making it back, going 10-6. But they would go 4-12 the next season. They stayed the course, and Lewis rewarded them with 4 straight playoff trips (including this year).

Chip made some big mistakes, no doubt. But if there's not a better candidate to coach the team, sometimes staying the course is the better option for stability's sake.

 

[ChessToCheckers]

Does this mean we won't hear Cris Collinsworth say the words "Chip Kelly Offense" for the rest of the season? Seriously, could the media and TV announcers pump this guy up any more than they did?
On top of everything else, we actually lost to his team in Foxboro!

Strange days in the NFL!

 

[varjao]

I was trying to find a picture of a soldier walking out of a city totally destroyed in the background, with a shotgun in his shoulder still fuming, like a movie banner, but I couldn't find. That would be Chip leaving Philly.

He did set back that franchise a few years, it's gonna take some good 3 years to fix that mess, he screwed up the roster, locker room, salary cap, and created a scenario where whomever replaces him will be under pressure from day 1. Great job.

 

[primetime]

I wouldn't be surprised if he got a second chance later like Pete Carroll, paired with a proper GM.

That would be the opposite of Pete Carroll, who had to deal with Bobby Grier in New England and when he went to Seattle demanded GM privileges, got them, and has been very successful.

This was a terrible move. None of Chip's moves as a GM were bad with the possible exception of the Murray deal, as a cheaper guy like Mathews makes more sense in that system. Eagles fans may disagree because he was a fan favorite, but offloading McCoy for Alonso was a masterstroke and has turned out very well.

You need time to build a team to work in a system. One can't help but think that if he traded his whole draft to get Mariota he would not have been fired, even if it would have been a dumb move objectively.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I actually thought Chip was smart in getting rid of Jackson and McCoy. Those were bad contracts. And after seeing McCoy this year in Buffalo, I don't think he has that much left in the tank.

.

I'd have to disagree. This year McCoy rushed for 895 yds in 12 games (better than anybody on the Eagles roster) and has another 292 yds in receptions. He's good for about 100 yards per game and a 4.4 ypc average.
You're right that his contract wasn't great but they replaced it with an even worse one in Murray.

 

[goheels22002]

With that said I think it was not a great idea for Philly to fire Chip now.

Firing Kelly now gives Lurie a chance to grab the guy he wants off of the scrap heap that will form on Monday, January 4, 2015, or get permission to interview a coach from a team with a bye. There are a lot of talented assistants on the Patriots, Broncos, Panthers, and Cardinals.

Josh McDaniels, Adam Gase, Mike Shula, Harold Goodwin all come to mind. Shula has been an HC at Alabama and has been great with Cam Newton. A slew of other guys - Steve Spagnuolo, Jason Garrett, Rex Ryan, Chuck Pagano, Mike Tomsula, etc. are likely to be available.

Lurie will spend money, stay out of the way, and has a pretty decent team to build around for a new coach. Andy Reid coexisted with Lurie for 13 years and found huge support during times of personal turmoil from the owner and the organization. Philadelphia is a better destination than places like Miami, Dallas or San Francisco.

I agree with your full post above, but, it is clear from the Philadelphia media outlets that Kelly had lost the players and the former players in the local media. That combined with execs in the organizations actively working to oust him made it untenable.

 

[Galeb]

Chip Kelly lost the locker room. He's also too inflexible, often staying in the hurry up offense when burning the clock meant almost certain victory. Hopefully he learned from his mistakes.

 

[The Gr8est]

It would be great to see and a proven offensive mind like Kelly would be a fine replacement, but I'm not sure what the incentive would be for him?

He'll certainly get HC offers from other teams, and about 3-4x the salary that comes with it.

In a league where a loud-mouthed failure like Rex Ryan gets hired immediately after getting fired from his previous job, and Eric Mangini gets immediately hired after being fired for a dismal performance, there is no way that Chip Kelly doesn't get multiple opportunities.

My bet is he goes to Tennessee.

 

[primetime]

I'd have to disagree. This year McCoy rushed for 895 yds in 12 games (better than anybody on the Eagles roster) and has another 292 yds in receptions. He's good for about 100 yards per game and a 4.4 ypc average.
You're right that his contract wasn't great but they replaced it with an even worse one in Murray.

McCoy spent most of the year hurt and was outplayed at times by a 5th round rookie. He's well into the dog days of his career. Alonso hasn't played well this year, but next year he'll be fully healed and McCoy will be another year older.

The Murray deal was unforgivable, of course, especially when it became clear to him a few weeks into the season that Mathews and Sproles were a tandem much better suited for the Kelly offense. The real lesson of both of these deals is that you should never, ever splash on running backs, something Belichick understands quite well.

 

[The Gr8est]

Does this mean we won't hear Cris Collinsworth say the words "Chip Kelly Offense" for the rest of the season? Seriously, could the media and TV announcers pump this guy up any more than they did?
On top of everything else, we actually lost to his team in Foxboro!

Strange days in the NFL!

The worst, most divided locker room in the league will come together when they have a chance to measure themselves against the best, and that is when they are playing the Pats.

 

[aluminum seats]

The worst, most divided locker room in the league will come together when they have a chance to measure themselves against the best, and that is when they are playing the Pats.

Good thing to keep in mind this Sunday.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Idiotic.

He took a ****ty team (4-12) and got it to 10 wins, two seasons in a row. Then, he finally gets personnel control, has less than a full transition year (Might still have gotten to 7 wins in that transition year), and gets the axe?

Meanwhile, the walrus has the Chiefs in position to possibly win the west, and will definitely get into the playoffs for the second time in 3 seasons, and he's the guy Lurie canned to get Kelly.

Lurie should have fired himself for being a moron.

November killed him and the FO of Brutus and Cassius took him out.

They lost a tough one to CAR and started Nov at 3-4, beat DAL, and had TB, DET, and MIA. In theory- including the win @ NE and BUF should have been 9-4 going into X-Mas week.

I'm not sure what the deal is in Philly. Lurie had Joe Banner keep a checks and balances system in place with Fat Andy/Heckert and that seemed to work. Roseman is a Tannenbaum disciple...a cap guy- not a personnel one. Maybe they elevate old buddy Tom Donahoe.

 

[varjao]

If he goes to Tennessee not only he is going to work with the QB he wanted but also in an organization that is in the beginning of a rebuild in a division that possibly is going to see some scenario changes and not have a winner by lock already in September. The Titans front office should be extra patient with this new work in progress. Also being the first to draft again doesn't hurt.

 

[Kontradiction]

The Titans must be salivating over this one. Mariota's future just got brighter.

 

[OhExaulted1]

BB's record in Cleveland wasn't his fault and it shows. Watch the documentaries.

No one was exactly throwing a ticker-tape parade when we gave up a first to hire him. That and Belichick would be the first guy to tell you excuses are for losers and put the blame on himself.

 

[Deus Irae]

That's kind of my point. It looks easy to just stay out of the football parts after picking the coach and GM. But after seeing so many owners fail at it I wouldn't call it easy.

Outside of Jerry Jones, name all the owners who got so meddlesome that they drove away 3 time Super Bowl winning coaches.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I agree, and I'm surprised they fired him. He won 10 games his previous 2 seasons, and the first losing season he has, he's gone. New coaches need more time and patience to implement their full system, and Kelly really didn't get everything done that he wanted, and now a new guy will come and try to clean up the old regime while trying to implement his. Patience is too thin in the NFL.

Payton won 10 games with the Saints his first season, then went 7-9, and 8-8 afterwards. But the patience paid off as the Saints won a Super Bowl in year 4 after missing the playoffs 2 years in a row.

The Bengals went 8-8 in Marvin Lewis's first two seasons before going 11-5, then suffered 3 more non-winning seasons (including a 4-11-1 campaign) before making it back, going 10-6. But they would go 4-12 the next season. They stayed the course, and Lewis rewarded them with 4 straight playoff trips (including this year).

Chip made some big mistakes, no doubt. But if there's not a better candidate to coach the team, sometimes staying the course is the better option for stability's sake.

IIRC I've heard Bengals fans say that Lewis's "security" isn't based so much on the owner's faith as his cheapness.