On January 6, Chip Kelly turned down the Eagles and decided to stay at Oregon. Now, 10 days later, Kelly reversed course and is the new head coach in Philadelphia. Details have begun to emerge on just how Kelly ended up with the Eagles and what other direction Philadelphia was planning to go.
How did Chip Kelly end up in Philadelphia after all?
Chip Kelly turned down the Eagles two weeks ago, so what led to him becoming the Eagles coach on Wednesday?
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Kelly was the Eagles No. 1 choice and the two sides didn’t remain out of contact long, even after Kelly decided to return to the Ducks. It was only two days before Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and Kelly connected again.
Eagles and Chip Kelly began talking again on Jan. 8 in Nashville. A mutual friend of Roseman's and Kelly's helped hook them back together.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 16, 2013
The two sides stayed in contact over the next few days, but the discussions did not began to escalate until the 36 hours leading up to Wednesday’s announcement. The deal was agreed upon late Tuesday night, but nothing was finalized until Wednesday morning.
Chip Kelly's hiring was not finalized until this morning after he told his players at Oregon that he was leaving to take the #Eagles job.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 16, 2013
So what would the Eagles have done if Kelly said no again? They were planning to offer Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley the job if not for Kelly.
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