With a week to go in the NFL season the Philadelphia Eagles have decided to go ahead and cut bait and officially parted ways with third-year coach and general manager Chip Kelly after missing the the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Chip Kelly fired happened around 7 p.m. and no one seems to understand why it happened at such a weird time. Why not Monday? Why not right after the season? Did Kelly kick Jeff Lurie’s dog? I’m sure if he tried he’d probably miss.
DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Evan Mathis are smiling about Chip Kelly departure
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) December 30, 2015
The early firing gives the Eagles a head start on their coaching search. Kelly, as the GM, completely dismantled the team this off-season and paid for it with a 6-9 season so far with a useless game against the New York Giants on the horizon on Sunday. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmer will coach the team for the final game.
“I have made a decision to release Chip Kelly this evening,” Lurie said in a statement on the Eagles’ website. “I spent the last three seasons evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team. As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change.”
Letter from Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie: https://t.co/8XfWz1ps9B pic.twitter.com/2e7FVb1FBe
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 30, 2015
Kelly finishes up with a 26-21 record with the Eagles and will immediately field calls from the Tennessee Titans, who are in need of a head coach and have Marcus Mariota sitting right there. Frankly, this could be a move that Kelly himself stirred up just to keep the Titans from accidentally hiring anybody else. The University of Southern California on the other hand, can just go kick rocks for not waiting Kelly out.
#USC decided not to wait for Chip Kelly when they retained their interim coach. Now he's available.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 30, 2015
Vice President of Player Personnel Ed Marynowitz was also shoved out the door with Kelly. He’ll probably have a tougher time finding a job after this disastrous season in Philly.
Exclusive footage of the Eagles when they heard Chip Kelly was fired https://t.co/UgSx3NP2sX
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) December 30, 2015
So who will the Eagles tab to replace Kelly becomes the question. With an interim coach in place, they’re free to meet and talk with anybody they way. The issue for that new coach is how much power will he have when he comes in? Will Lurie let the new guy be GM too? They’ve got a $40 million running back in DeMarco Murray that’s probably going to angle to be traded or released (depending on who they hire). Are they going to keep Sam Bradford? He’s proved he’s a legit NFL starter, but how much is he really worth?
The Eagles are currently picking No. 12 which might be too late for Connor Cook. It’s certainly too late in the draft for Paxton Lynch or Jared Goff. They could always go with Robert Griffin III, who the Washington Redskins are about to cut loose, or Johnny Manziel if/when the Browns draft Lynch.
And, hell, they could look at Nick Foles again if the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams give up on him for good. Colin Kaepernick will probably also be in the wind if you want to completely destroy your team. There are options.
So who will be the guy? I still like Greg Roman, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator a lot. Especially with a young quarterback. Hue Jackson, Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator has earned another chance. Former Bills head coach Doug Marrone deserved a job this year and is probably the safest option to put together a quality team. Marrone is currently in Jacksonville as the assistant head coach and offensive line coach. If I’m Lurie, I have him on the phone right now.
The Titans are the obvious choice for Kelly if he wants to stay in the NFL and certainly he’d fit with Mariota at the helm. Kelly tried and failed to trade up for Mariota in April’s draft so maybe not getting that job done was a blessing in disguise for him.
The #Titans have Marcus Mariota.. Now they should go get Chip Kelly to be his coach again.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 30, 2015
I’m not sure where else Kelly would fit. The San Diego Chargers will surely fire Mike McCoy, but Kelly would be a disaster there. Tom Coughlin may be forced to retire, but Eli Manning wouldn’t put up with running Kelly’s offense. The Miami Dolphins might make sense, but truthfully Kelly has been his own worst enemy in the NFL. His gimmick offense stopped working, as they always do, and he didn’t adapt. The Titans are the team that would allow him to stay so pig-headed.
