If the Philadelphia Eagles fire Chip Kelly less than one year after naming him head of football operations, it would be more of an indictment of the organization than of Kelly. Presumably, owner Jeffrey Lurie handed Kelly the proverbial keys to the franchise because he likes Kelly's vision. He has to allow Kelly more time to enact his plan.
Eagles need to give Chip Kelly more time as head coach
It’d be rash for the Eagles fire Chip Kelly at the end of the season.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
It's been a season of turmoil in Philadelphia. It began with former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy insinuating Kelly is a racist and seems destined to end with a sub-.500 finish. But good executives possess conviction, and don't balk at the first sign of adversity.
After a blowout loss against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, the Eagles sunk to 4-7. They've allowed 90 points over the last two weeks and dropped three consecutive games. With the possibility mounting that Kelly may be ousted, rumors are beginning to swirl that he could return to the college ranks. NFL Media's Ian Rapoport says USC has reached out to Kelly about its former coaching vacancy and Maryland supposedly contacted him as well. When asked about those reports Monday, Kelly said he's committed to remaining in Philadelphia.
Now it’s time for Lurie to express his commitment to Kelly.
After two consecutive 10-6 finishes, Lurie gave Kelly personnel control and relieved general manager Howie Roseman of his duties. Roseman was named executive vice president of football operations -- a somewhat hollow title without final say over the roster.
Kelly had started to make his mark on the Eagles' roster in his first two years in Philly -- including the decision to release dynamic wide receiver DeSean Jackson in March 2014 -- but he completely overhauled the team before this season. Kelly shipped McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso at the start of free agency and then signed running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to replace him in the backfield. Kelly also brought in a new starting quarterback, swapping Nick Foles for Sam Bradford.
Suffice to say, most of Kelly’s moves haven’t worked out. Murray, the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year, is only averaging 3.5 yards per carry through 11 games. Mathews has fared much better, averaging 5.7 yards per run, but has only carried the ball 75 times this season.
Bradford is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, but wasn’t productive when he was on the field. He’s turned the ball over 10 times in nine starts and owns a quarterback rating of 82.4. (In fairness to Kelly, Foles has been even worse in St. Louis.)
It’s understandable if Eagles fans want Kelly fired, given how poorly this season has gone and with rumors that players have quit on Kelly. But the real blame should lie with Lurie, the man who entrusted Kelly with total control and now may change course before his vision is fully realized.
Perhaps after one season of disastrous results, Lurie doesn’t want to see Kelly’s endgame. But that doesn’t mean he has to cut bait with him entirely. Before this year, Kelly had gone 20-12 as an NFL head coach. Maybe Kelly the GM’s job should be in jeopardy, but it’s difficult to make that argument about Kelly the coach, who has never led a team to a losing season in either the college of NFL ranks. A compromise that allows Kelly to still have a strong hand, but not the final say in personnel matters, could be an agreement worth pursuing.
One down season, especially following two successful campaigns, isn’t a large enough sample size to completely alter course. If Lurie cans Kelly at the end of the month, it would be a sign of impatience rather than prudence.
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