Charles “Chip” Kelly was named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 16, 2013. Kelly took over an inept 4-12 Eagles team, and has since taken it to two straight 10-6 seasons and an NFC East title in the 2013-14 season. He has earned a reputation for being a “forward thinker,” a true visionary.
As a result, he was given full control of team activities this offseason. He has used that power to completely restructure the Eagles roster, leaving some fans enthusiastic, some dejected and some frightened.
The shakeups Kelly has made, though controversial among Eagles fans, are exactly what Philadelphia needs to move forward in the league.
When Kelly traded the franchise’s all-time leading rusher LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills, many faithful members of Eagles Nation were ready to condemn him. McCoy, the NFL’s second leading rusher over the past four seasons, was shipped in exchange for Kiko Alonso, a 24-year-old linebacker coming off a torn ACL he suffered at the beginning of last season.
In hindsight, trading McCoy may prove to be incredibly beneficial to the Eagles franchise. It freed up enough cap space to sign Byron Maxwell, and it brought one of the fiercest young linebackers in the game to Philadelphia.
Alonso has a remarkably high ceiling, as proven by the Defensive Rookie of the Year award he received for his terrific 2013 campaign. Furthermore, according to extensive research by ESPN and NFL general managers, running backs peak at age 27. After that, their productivity drops very substantially very quickly. LeSean McCoy turns 27 this July.
After Kelly’s more recent maneuvers, though, the McCoy trade may seem like ancient history.
The Eagles unexpectedly traded quarterback Nick Foles and a draft pick to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for quarterback Sam Bradford and two draft picks. Trades involving two quarterbacks are rare. Trades involving two starting quarterbacks are nearly nonexistent. As such, this trade will make or break Kelly’s NFL career.
Bradford is a very intelligent quarterback with pinpoint accuracy and incredible strength. When healthy, he is a clear improvement over Foles. However, he is almost never healthy. After winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2010, he missed six games in 2011 due to a shoulder injury. In Week 7 of the 2013 season, he tore his left ACL. His recovery was going well, until he tore the same ACL in the 2014 pre-season. He missed the entire 2014 regular season.
If Bradford gets injured again this season, or if he does not meet expectations, Chip Kelly will be run out of Philadelphia by an angry mob of midnight green rage. But, if Bradford meets many of his expectations from college, though, and thrives in Philadelphia, Kelly will be celebrated for his unconventional mind.
Many critics are not convinced that Bradford will stay in Philadelphia. Rumors that Kelly wants his University of Oregon star Marcus Mariota have spread like wildfire for months. Even after Kelly explicitly stated that “we did not bring Sam here to be a [trade] chip,” talk persists of Bradford’s imminent departure from Philadelphia.
Rumors of a move sending Bradford (and other pieces) to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick have recently picked up steam.
Monday, though, Tim Tebow worked out with the Eagles. Is it “Tebow Time” in Philadelphia? It seems unlikely. However, Tebow’s arrival in Philly shows one thing: nobody knows exactly what Chip Kelly plans to do at the quarterback position.
To clarify, let’s look at some of the key players leaving alongside the key new pieces incoming.
Departures: LeSean McCoy, Nick Foles, Jeremy Maclin, Trent Cole, Todd Herremans and Cary Williams.
Arrivals: DeMarco Murray, Sam Bradford, Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, Ryan Matthews and Walter Thurmond III.
Kelly addressed Philadelphia’s desperate need for secondary help by landing Byron Maxwell, arguably the best available corner in this year’s free agent pool. Maxwell came at a hefty fee though, as he signed a 6-year, $63 million contract with $25 million guaranteed. Maxwell, Alonso and Thurmond give the Eagles an overall improvement on defense.
On the offensive side of the field, Chip Kelly virtually exchanged one elite running back (McCoy) for another (Murray). Unfortunately for the Eagles, Murray is older than McCoy and has been injury-prone throughout his career.
Murray’s addition, combined with the addition of Ryan Matthews and the return of Darren Sproles, gives the Eagles arguably the best backfield in the NFL. It will be exciting to see how Chip Kelly’s offensively gifted mind can operate three talented running backs to their maximum potential.
However, the Eagles receiving corps – which just two years ago was one of the best in the NFL, featuring explosive wideouts DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin – now appears desolate. Despite Maclin’s departure, Kelly appears confident in his team’s system to succeed even without elite personnel.
Perhaps Kelly is delusional and overconfident in his system. But, recall that Maclin and McCoy produced their best numbers in Chip Kelly’s high-octane offense. It’s not unreasonable to think that Philadelphia’s offense can produce without Maclin, and the current running back situation is far better than last year’s.
However, Jordan Matthews is not a number one wide receiver, and Riley Cooper is certainly not a number two receiver. The Eagles will need a better number one receiver, but not necessarily one capable of Maclin’s 85 catches, 1,300-plus yards, and 10 touchdowns.
It will be impossible to properly grade this offseason until the 2015 season starts. However, the success of the Philadelphia Eagles and their new players in 2015 may forever label Chip Kelly a fool or a genius.
