As the Eagles’ brass introduced their new head coach Thursday afternoon, they wanted to make one thing clear: Chip Kelly was not being hired for his offensive scheme.
Since Kelly’s name first started to get linked to NFL head-coaching jobs, many have debated whether his spread-option attack would work at this level. But really, that is the wrong question.
Thursday’s proceedings at the NovaCare Complex were about more than just Chip Kelly.
Sure, the afternoon started with the Eagles introducing their new head coach, but owner Jeffrey Lurie took the opportunity to voice his opinion on a couple other issues.
One, he offered an aggressive defense of general manager Howie Roseman. And two, he made sure to point out that his old buddy Joe Banner was never in the mix for Kelly’s services.
This was supposed to be the intimate gathering.
Chip Kelly had already sat next to Jeffrey Lurie for about 34 minutes, answering questions from reporters in the jam-packed Novacare auditorium. Then there were one-on-one interviews for TV. And a chat with the team’s Web site after that.
The last stop was meant to be a less formal meeting with writers in a designated conference room near the cafeteria.
But this is Philadelphia. And the last time a new coach was introduced was 1999 when Kelly was in his first season as New Hampshire’s offensive coordinator. So instead of a handful of writers, Kelly was greeted by 30-plus inquisitive faces.
Chip Kelly had been speaking for fewer than three minutes when he brought up a familiar, albeit surprising, name: Andy Reid.
“One person that I really want to thank in terms of advice with this whole thing was Andy Reid,” Kelly said, sitting next to Jeffrey Lurie in the Novacare auditorium Thursday afternoon. “And the fact that Andy reached out to me and told me about his experience here just told me what this organization is all about. There’s not a classier guy. When Andy texted me yesterday when I accepted the job, I told him I had really, really, really big shoes to fill, and in typical Andy fashion, he said, ‘Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.’ So I want to just publicly thank Andy, because that really right there spoke to me about what this organization is all about.”
But Reid wasn’t the only person who Kelly talked to during the last couple weeks.
Jeffrey Lurie’s statement made it clear.
“There is no certain formula here,” he said, when asked if the Eagles were open to hiring a college coach. “Everything is on the table. There are some outstanding college coaches out there and some outstanding coordinators out there. There are outstanding coaches that used to coach in the National Football League out there. [We’ll leave] no stone unturned, and we’re open to it all.”
As of this morning, it’s been two weeks since the Eagles fired Andy Reid and Lurie made those comments. He has stayed true to his words (for the most part). He’s looked at college coaches (Chip Kelly, Bill O’Brien, Brian Kelly). He’s looked at coordinators (Gus Bradley, Mike McCoy, Jay Gruden). And he’s looked at previous head coaches (Brian Billick, Lovie Smith, Mike Nolan).
With every new day, it seems like a new name surfaces. But through it all, one has been missing: Jon Gruden.
This is not about finding someone fiery or appeasing the sports-talk calling masses. It’s about leaving no stone unturned, as Lurie put it. So let’s review the key points and questions on both sides of the Gruden argument, one-by-one.
The Eagles’ game plan heading into this coaching search now seems pretty obvious.
They were going to swing and swing hard at some of the big name college coaches early, and see if they couldn’t land a Kelly or an O’Brien or any collegiate coach with an Irish last name and some sizzle. There was an inherent risk in this strategy: such a pursuit will draw headlines, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to lure these guys out of some of the top programs in the country. Come up empty, and your quest will look like a failure.
The Cleveland Browns’ coaching search has led them to Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.
So, where does that leave the Eagles?
The Eagles’ coaching search took a sharp left turn Wednesday night when reports surfaced that the team has expressed interest in Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly.
Kelly interviewed with the Birds on Tuesday, one day after the Fighting Irish were blown out by Alabama, 42-14, in the BCS title game.
Of all the candidates who have been linked to the Eagles – and there have now been 11 total – Kelly is perhaps the most surprising name. He said as recently as last week that leaving was “not an option.” But as we know by now, what coaches say and what they do can be two different things.
So the obvious question is this: Is Kelly just leveraging NFL interest into a more favorable deal at Notre Dame? We’ve already seen Bill O’Brien and Chip Kelly interview with NFL teams before going back to their respective college gigs. Is Brian Kelly doing the same thing?
As the process continues, there’s been a lot of talk about a potential Chip Kelly-Michael Vick connection. But we need to clarify a few points about that discussion.
Let’s start with what Vick wants. Some have speculated that he yearns to play for Kelly and has anxiously been awaiting to find out where the Oregon coach lands. These reports surfaced a couple weeks ago, so Tim asked Vick about them.
The Eagles’ lunch with Chip Kelly lasted a bit longer than your usual meet and greet at Chipotle.
On Friday evening, the Browns and Kelly were said to be close to a deal, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. But as we’ve discussed in this space, “close” and “done” are two different things – especially when it comes to the hiring of coaches.
So Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman and Don Smolenski took their best shot at Kelly in Arizona on Saturday, in an effort to lure him in as the next head coach.
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Sheil Kapadia has been writing about the Eagles since 2008. His previous Philly.com blog, Moving the Chains, was named one of the best in the state by the Associated Press. Sheil's main joys in life are family, football and finding good parking spots.
Tim McManus is a bulldog reporter with a nose for news and story angles that will get people talking. He'll talk about it himself on 97.5 The Fanatic, where he serves as a host and Eagles beat reporter. Tim, an award-winning journalist, will be with the team around the clock.
