Philadelphia Eagles Quit On Chip Kelly
The Philadelphia Eagles quit on Chip Kelly, and it is not the first time that the team has done that to their head coach, according to NBC Sports.
When the Eagles played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend, Jamies Winston looked like an MVP candidate guiding a Super Bowl contending team. Doug Martin looked like the second coming of Walter Payton by tearing through the Philadelphia defense for 235 yards. Some accused the Eagles of quitting on Kelly. An anonymous teammate went to the media and said that running back DeMarco Murray gave up. Mark Sanchez and Darren Sproles got into an argument about effort.
On Thanksgiving Day, the Eagles had a chance to redeem themselves. They were up against a beatable Detroit Lions team. Instead of picking up the victory and staying in the hunt in the NFC East, Philadelphia gave up 45 points for the second consecutive week. Yet again, the players looked like they were not putting in full effort for Kelly. The defense allowed Matthew Stafford to throw for five touchdowns, including three to Calvin Johnson. Eagles could not move the ball on the ground and Sanchez threw for less than 200 yards.
If the Eagles front office feels that the players have turned on Kelly and the head coach has no chance of winning them back, then there is a good chance the Philadelphia moves on from the former Oregon Ducks coach. That doesn’t necessarily mean the end of his career in the NFL, though. Kelly might have other options. The Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions might be interested in an offensively dynamic coach that can make full use of Andrew Luck and Matthew Stafford respectively.
Of course, Kelly also has the option of making a return to the college ranks. Chip is still highly respected by several NCAA teams, and there are some openings coming up. Les Miles might be leaving LSU soon, so Kelly would once again have a storied franchise to lead. The University of Texas would love to get their elite status back, and they might view Chip as the man that can make that happen again.
If the Eagles decide to move on from Kelly after three seasons, then there should be plenty of options to replace him as the head coach. There’s still a good amount of talent in Philadelphia that the team is still considered an attractive position in the NFL. Jon Gruden has been a candidate for every head coach opening in the NFL and NCAA since he parted ways with the Buccaneers back in 2008. He spent a couple of seasons in Philadelphia as the offensive coordinator under Ray Rhodes.
Another name of interest is Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase. He is one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the NFL. Gase helped to resurrect enigmatic quarterback Jay Cutler after helping Peyton Manning lead the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl. Bringing in someone like Gase would enable Philadelphia fans to continue enjoying a dynamic offense. Since he is also a heavily hyped candidate, Adam would help restore faith in the Eagles sooner than most other candidates.
The Chip Kelly experiment with the Philadelphia Eagles appears to have fizzled out.
[Featured Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images]
