Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles Have A Wild Week

Chip Kelly has been called everything from genius (to which he responded Jonas Salk is a genius,) to mad scientist, to crazy. As Oregon, a team known for reinventing themselves, heads towards a tradition of honoring Oregon troops in their spring game, a tradition started by Chip. Kelly has taken the reins of the Philadelphia Eagles and stunned the NFL with a flurry of head scratching moves that with distance look incredibly smart. But after a rollercoaster week in Philly today he showed why his impact on a program stretches beyond the field.

Chip took time today to attend Robert Wilson III’s funeral after he was killed in the line of duty during a robbery. You can talk all you want about the sports science and schemes, but it’s this side of Kelly that I believe makes him such an effective coach. While LeSean McCoy seems less than thrilled with the way he was handled, seemingly when you hear from his players they like what he’s doing. And reflecting back on his time at Oregon didn’t his handling of LeGarrette Blount’s punch show that he was more concerned with Blount then whatever blowback he’d get for not simply dismissing the young running back and washing his hands of the problem?

Chip Kelly and the Eagles lose McCoy and Maclin, miss out on Gore

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Kelly’s week in Philadelphia was must see TV. Over the weekend it was announced that Jeremy Maclin would be returning to Missouri to play for his former coach Andy Reid in Kansas City. Philly was rumored to be trying to keep Maclin, but Kansas City offered 5 years $55 million pricing him out of Philly’s range.

Then Chip stunned the NFL by trading McCoy for former Duck Kiko Alonso on Tuesday. The “experts” quickly panned this move. But after some reflection this move started to make sense. Alonso was wonderful in his only healthy year in the league, and McCoy showed wear last year and had a down year. McCoy reacted fairly negative when news broke of the trade.

Philadelphia natives quickly grew restless after these moves were made, but the nerves were momentarily calmed by the news that Frank Gore would be signing in Philly. But then Gore had a change of heart and teamed up with former Miami teammate Andre Johnson in Indianapolis.

Then Philly went nuts and the “experts” again started saying that Chip was crazy. Steven A Smith even had a racially charged claim that the moves  “leave a few brothers feeling uncomfortable.”  Later claiming that he wasn’t saying Chip was racist, but just that “Brothers were feeling uncomfortable”

Chip Kelly and the Eagles swap Foles for Bradford; Add Murray and Matthews

Nov 23, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Then the Eagles traded Nick Foles and some picks for Sam Bradford. Again the “experts” absolutely lost their mind saying that Chip was in over his head. And at first glance it seems tough to understand the trade. But while Foles was an inherited quarterback, Chip was picking Bradford. Something tells me if any of these moves happened on their own they wouldn’t draw nearly the reaction that the collective overhaul has caused.

Thursday the tide turned for Kelly and he was able to land DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews. And while McCoy has resigned a deal in Buffalo dramatically reducing his cap number, he counted as $11.8 million against the Eagles cap. Murray and Mathews cap numbers virtually add up to the same number. This means Chip traded one player and got three in return (if you include Kiko who’s on his rookie deal.)

In his press conference Chip was classic Chip. In addition to dispelling any thoughts of a reunion of Mariota and Kelly he explained why McCoy’s trade gave them cap space for three good players instead of one. Kelly went on to say he had been offered a first round pick for Bradford that morning, something seemingly confirmed by Jeff Fischer later in the day. In a press conference where Kelly was being grilled, Chip was Chip. Referencing both “Reality Bites” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” in response to questions. It occurred to me just how much I enjoyed watching him as a Duck. He is consistent and he is constantly challenging the status quo.

Amid the turmoil of the week Chip didn’t waiver, didn’t deviate and stuck to his plan. Today he was able to see past what’s been a hectic week, past the constant demands of being an NFL coach and essentially GM, to attend a fallen officer’s funeral. That’s why so many Duck fans watch the Eagles from a far hoping he’ll do for Philly what he did for Eugene.