There is this idea out there that I don't like Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly.
Let me straighten that out: I don't know Chip Kelly. Then again, the beat writers who cover him on a daily basis don't know him either.
Who does?
Kelly doesn't allow many into his circle. He is distant and that's fine, if that's what he prefers. Sometimes he goes overboard, like when the Philadelphia beat writers traveled to the Senior Bowl and he didn't make time to chat. What, was he too busy working on the book about revolutionizing the game of football?
There is this idea in some circles that Kelly walks on football water, that he could simply cross the Schuykill River in Philadelphia even when it's not iced over. Let's slow that thinking down some. He's done some good things in his two years in the NFL, but need I remind everyone of one simple fact about the football zen master:
He still hasn't won a playoff game. We tend to rush these coaches up the greatness tree, much like we do with players. Let it marinate a little while before the call is made to Canton to start working on his bust.
Kelly is taking major chances with what he's doing in Philadelphia. I like innovation, and Kelly has a lot of it in his coaching. That's fun. I love how his team plays fast and aggressive. I think his ideas on team preparation don't follow the norm, which is OK as well.
What I don't get is how he thinks his system is more important than the players. It's not Xs and Os, Chip. It's Jimmy and Joes. It always will be.
Players over scheme any day. Yet you get the idea that Kelly thinks his scheme can work, no matter who is in it. That's coaching arrogance, a disease that has doomed many a coach in the past (see Steve Spurrier).
In the past year Kelly has rid himself of his deep threat (DeSean Jackson), his elite runner (LeSean McCoy), and apparently has lost 2014 top receiver Jeremy Maclin to the Chiefs in free agency.
That leaves him with an offense with few playmakers.
Kelly is making these decisions. He has the power in the building now and helped send Howie Roseman up the hall to a business office and put in place a "yes" man who will answer to Kelly's wants. Power can be a dangerous thing at times for a coach. I watched firsthand as Tom Coughlin the coach was undone by Tom Coughlin the general manager in Jacksonville.
Bill Parcells always said if he was doing the cooking he wanted to buy the groceries. But you have to buy the right ones or the meal tastes like crap -- and could lead to a franchise with food poisoning.
I wonder if Kelly is buying the right groceries. When he got rid of Jackson, many said it was a good move because Jackson was a me-first player. Don't tell me the Eagles didn't miss his speed last season. Even Chip would admit that if he was being truthful.
When Kelly got rid of McCoy last week in the trade to the Bills, in addition to the cap hit was also because McCoy didn't fit his offense and McCoy wasn't supposedly a "Chip Guy." The Eagles wanted Maclin, but not bad enough to keep him.
With the cap room created by McCoy's trade, the Eagles are landing corner Byron Maxwell ($10 million a year) and re-signing edge rusher Brandon Graham and quarterback Mark Sanchez. I like the Graham move. Paying Maxwell $10 million is a lot of money for a corner who has been the fourth-best player in the Seattle secondary, a player who didn't play that well in the second half of 2014 and the postseason.
Now there's talk the Eagles are shopping quarterback Nick Foles. So let's say he gets traded. What will the Eagles offense look like in 2015 if they don't trade up to get Marcus Mariota?
It's Sanchez throwing to Riley Cooper and Jordan Matthews with a 32-year-old back as the primary runner. Excited, Eagles fans? That's why I think Kelly has to make the move up to get Mariota. That would be the move to salvage the offense for now and the long-term future.
Didn’t the Eagles, under a different regime, once put together a "Dream Team" of free agents? How did that work out? This is starting to have that same feel.
Kelly can make his players eat what he wants, sleep how he wants, practice how he wants and adhere to everything he believes in as a coach, but if the talent isn't there it won't matter.
Chip Kelly the coach might be on his way to being undone by Chip Kelly the general manger, something we've seen in this league before.
More Free-agent Musings
•Two seasons ago, the 49ers looked to be on the verge of being a team with long-term success. How times have changed. Coach Jim Harbaugh is gone to Michigan after losing a power struggle with general manager Trent Baalke. Jim Tomsula is in as the head coach, but he takes over a team that will be in major transition. With the surprising news that linebacker Patrick Willis is retiring, and could be joining defensive end Justin Smith doing the same, the 49ers suddenly have issues on defense. That has been this team's calling card. They ran it and played good defense. Now the defense is taking hit after hit, and running back Frank Gore and guard Mike Iupati, two big cogs in the power run game, are on their way out as free agents. What's it all mean? It means it's all on quarterback Colin Kaepernick now. To have sustainable success in the NFL, you must have a quarterback who can make plays for a decade. It's Kaepernick's team now. One more thing: Running it and playing good defense can get you so far. But it's not always sustainable. Is Seattle next to find that out?
•As expected, the Patriots didn't pick up the $20 million option for corner Darrelle Revis. That means he's a free agent. There will be interested teams, but I still expect the Patriots to find a way to bring him back. I think that's what Revis prefers, but if the money gets crazy somewhere else -- Jets, maybe -- you never know. I still think Revis is back with the Patriots.
•Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett? Why didn't the Texans just draft Blake Bortles or Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr last year? I think Mallett will win the job, but I don’t think having Hoyer around will help. Let Mallett be the guy without having to look over his shoulder. Let him develop. Let's be real, the Texans were big-time overachievers last year in Bill O'Brien's first season. I am not sure they can do that again with either of these two playing quarterback. So play Mallett, find out what he can do, and then draft one if he's a disaster. We know what Hoyer can do. Cleveland picked Josh McCown over him. Enough said.
•I like the move by the Bears agreeing to terms with Ravens outside linebacker/defensive end Pernell McPhee. He can do so many things for a defense and the Bears are transitioning to a 3-4 scheme. McPhee can line up as a rush linebacker on the outside, but he can also play with his hand down if asked to do so. McPhee is only 26, which is why the Bears are making the move at the right time.
•I know some will raise their eyebrows when they see that the Jaguars are giving tackle Jermey Parnell a deal that will pay him $6.5 million per season. But I like the move. Parnell is a rising player who played well in relief of Doug Free last season when Free was out. Parnell is former basketball player with impressive athletic ability who is just learning to be a quality NFL lineman. I like paying guys for what's to come, not what they've done. With Parnell at right tackle, the Jaguars will have an impressive right side with guard Brandon Linder coming off an impressive rookie season. Now they have to get center Luke Bowanko and left tackle Luke Joeckel stronger this offseason. Both have talent, but they need to get more power. Adding Dolphins defensive end Jared Odrick is also a nice move for the Jaguars. But what's it mean for Red Bryant, who was signed last year as a free agent? Is he on his way out?
•The Cardinals made it known they wanted to get faster at linebacker this season, which is why signing Sean Weatherspoon is important. They are close to landing the former Falcons linebacker. He missed last season with a torn Achilles tendon, but when he's on the field he has the speed teams love. If he can ever put it all together, he could be a quality linebacker on a team that needs it. The Falcons wanted to keep him, probably because of that speed, but he looks like he's on his way to the desert.
•Running back Steven Jackson has always been a class act and a stand-up guy, one of my favorite interviews. But he's fighting a lost cause with the SaveTheRunningBack.org. It's founded for him to show his dissatisfaction for the way running backs are treated in professional football. It'd too late.
