In one of the most shocking twists of the NFL coaching carousel, Chip Kelly has once again changed his mind and has been hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Not long ago it was reported that Kelly had chosen staying at Oregon over making the leap to the NFL. It appears Kelly has changed his mind again and now will take over for departed Andy Reid in Philadelphia.
ESPN’s Chris Mortenson broke the news via his Twitter account today in the late morning. The Eagles have since announced the move officially. It is not yet known what changed Chip Kelly’s mind. After the Fiesta Bowl, the coach returned to Oregon and resumed head coaching responsibilities.
In the 10 days between Kelly choosing Oregon and then changing his mind, it appeared the Eagles had moved on. They interviewed a number of coaching candidates including former Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt, NFL Network’s Brian Billick (also a Super Bowl winning head coach in Baltimore), Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, and a number of college coaches.
The Eagles never gave up on their man though. Kelly was Philadelphia’s number one choice from the beginning of their coaching search.
As an offensive minded coach, Kelly fits well with the Eagles. If he chooses to keep Michael Vick, he can continue to run the same style of spread-option offense he ran at Oregon. And if he chooses to get rid of Vick, there is no reason to believe he won’t pursue a similar quarterback to run his scheme.
Here is Chris Mortenson’s tweet breaking the Chip Kelly to Eagles move:
Chip Kelly is the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, according to league sources. No announcement yet.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 16, 2013
And then his tweet announcing the move as official:
Eagles make it official by announcing Chip Kelly as their head coach. Owner Jeffrey Lurie gets the man he wanted all along.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 16, 2013
What do you think: Is Chip Kelly the right coach for the Philadelphia Eagles?