43 replies to this topic

[RedOctober3829]

Mort:

Chip Kelly is the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, according to league sources.

https://twitter.com/...591464528519168

What a circus.

[phragle]

Well played by Kelly. He had all the leverage and he knew it.

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

What the hell? But he said... and they said...

Actually, I'm really excited by this. I thought the Eagles had the playmakers he needed to run his offense. Much better fit than the Browns anyway. Can't wait to see how successful he is or isn't next year.

[maufman]

As far as I can tell, Mort is the only one reporting this. Quite a scoop by him.

I think it's a dreadful hire for Philly, not least because it probably means they'll bring back Mike Vick instead of beginning the necessary rebuild.

[PedroKsBambino]

Suppose he got Eagles to write a bigger check, give more more authority, or both? Curious to see the details.

Also excited to see him in the pros; interesting to see the degree to which he brings his Oregon offense to Philly

[RedOctober3829]

As far as I can tell, Mort is the only one reporting this. Quite a scoop by him.

I think it's a dreadful hire for Philly, not least because it probably means they'll bring back Mike Vick instead of beginning the necessary rebuild.

Glazer, RapSheet, McMurphy all confirm Mort's report.

[RedOctober3829]

RT @DuckFootball: Oregon recruit RT @NicoFalah Chip Kelly left?!?! He was at my house 2 days ago ��

[JCizzle]

Poor browns. Just can't win.

[Jnai]

This is good for football.

[FL4WL3SS]

What the hell? But he said... and they said...

Actually, I'm really excited by this. I thought the Eagles had the playmakers he needed to run his offense. Much better fit than the Browns anyway. Can't wait to see how successful he is or isn't next year.

Will next year even matter when judging him as a coach, though? I mean, unless they go 1-15 or win the superbowl I'm not sure I can pass judgement for at least a couple of seasons.

[allaboutthesox]

With Chip Kelly coming to town it should definately make things interesting in the NFC East next year.

[sachmoney]

I'm really excited about this. I think Chip Kelly is one of the greatest minds in football today. Just a quick primer because the other thread had a "would his offense work in the NFL" spin to it: he has said in the past that he would tweak his offense for the NFL. His quarterbacks have never been purely about running. He wants a quarterback that can run, not a running back who can throw. He will not be going after a Tim Tebow.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he will do.

EDIT: Monte Kiffin must be shaking in his boots.

Edited by sachmoney, 16 January 2013 - 12:37 PM.

[bosockboy]

Sign of the times....all 6 hires thus far are offensive minded.

Two openings left (AZ/Jax) have terrible QB situations.

[Jnai]

So the NFC East will have:

1 Team Running the Pistol
1 Team Running the Spread Option
1 Team Running a Power Offense
1 Team Running the Romo

Kind of cool.

[bbc23]

I'm really excited about this. I think Chip Kelly is one of the greatest minds in football today. Just a quick primer because the other thread had a "would his offense work in the NFL" spin to it: he has said in the past that he would tweak his offense for the NFL. His quarterbacks have never been purely about running. He wants a quarterback that can run, not a running back who can throw. He will not be going after a Tim Tebow.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he will do.

EDIT: Monte Kiffin must be shaking in his boots.

Well Vick most certainly can't throw, so is that a vote of confidence for him?

[Dogman2]

This is good for football.

Absolutely.

Ayanbadejo is gonna be pissed.

[Dogman2]

I want Yammer's thoughts.

[axx]

Oregon sanctions in 3...2...1...

[Eck'sSneakyCheese]

Will next year even matter when judging him as a coach, though? I mean, unless they go 1-15 or win the superbowl I'm not sure I can pass judgement for at least a couple of seasons.

I meant the success of his offense, not so much the team as a whole.

[Tyrone Biggums]

Oregon sanctions in 3...2...1...

They have to be getting leveled or the Eagles outbid Phil Knight somehow

[Morning Woodhead]

They have to be getting leveled or the Eagles outbid Phil Knight somehow

I've been assuming he wasn't given the control over the roster that he needed. Maybe when the candidate pool started to dry up, Eagles changed their stance. It would be hard to run his offense if he's not picking the players.

[Rough Carrigan]

And eagles fans thought they didn't protect their quarterback well before this . .!

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

[OilCanShotTupac]

Poor browns. Just can't win.

Did he really fit in Cleveland, though? I think Philly's a better fit for him.

[bankshot1]

I want Yammer's thoughts.

It would probably be something along the lines of, "Chip gets me harder than your mom"

[LondonSox]

I am fucking pumped up as an eagles fan, I've wanted chip Kelly since mid wy through last season. Now I live on the west coast I have watched most oregon games over the last two years.
Firstly, Kelly is going to change football IMO. In terms of hiring he's a worthy successor to andy Reid, who helped change the norm for run pass balance in the league. It's also interesting o me as teams have increasingly (and understandably) focused on pass defence.
Secondly, mike Vick cannot run a Kelly offence. IMO the most important qb skill is his Brian and decision making. Vick has shown he cannot do this for years. Nick foles is a bad fit physically but he's got the arm and the brain.
I think the line is GREAT for Kelly, peters, Kelce, herremans etc are all very althletic and the o line does more for Kelly than any team, plus they are lighter and more mobile. I think this may be the biggest silent impact of Kelly.

Bottom line I think Kelly is legitimately the next great thinker in football, so hard to game plan for etc. excluding qb the personel is a great fit. This is great for football, watching the Kelly games is like watching a game on fast forward, less standing around, more action. I'm delighted he's in the NFL and couldn't be happier its with the eagles.

Don't listen to the misinformation from most, chip Kelly is not a qb runner, he needs the threat of running to help occupy the extra defender. Plus he will adjust.
Check out fishduck.com if you actually want to see what his system is.

[TheWalthamKid]

Kelly pulling a Pete Carroll and getting out of dodge before the sanctions come in.

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I am fucking pumped up as an eagles fan, I've wanted chip Kelly since mid wy through last season. Now I live on the west coast I have watched most oregon games over the last two years.
Firstly, Kelly is going to change football IMO. In terms of hiring he's a worthy successor to andy Reid, who helped change the norm for run pass balance in the league. It's also interesting o me as teams have increasingly (and understandably) focused on pass defence.
Secondly, mike Vick cannot run a Kelly offence. IMO the most important qb skill is his Brian and decision making. Vick has shown he cannot do this for years. Nick foles is a bad fit physically but he's got the arm and the brain.
I think the line is GREAT for Kelly, peters, Kelce, herremans etc are all very althletic and the o line does more for Kelly than any team, plus they are lighter and more mobile. I think this may be the biggest silent impact of Kelly.

Bottom line I think Kelly is legitimately the next great thinker in football, so hard to game plan for etc. excluding qb the personel is a great fit. This is great for football, watching the Kelly games is like watching a game on fast forward, less standing around, more action. I'm delighted he's in the NFL and couldn't be happier its with the eagles.

Don't listen to the misinformation from most, chip Kelly is not a qb runner, he needs the threat of running to help occupy the extra defender. Plus he will adjust.
Check out fishduck.com if you actually want to see what his system is.

I think this nails it. Vick is just not a good fit for a Chip Kelly offense. My guess is that he goes with Foles for next season but with the longer term plan of finding somebody else. There are at least three QBs (Bridgewater, Manziel, Mariota) and probably more coming out in the next couple years that are likely first rounders and would be intriguing fits for his offense.

Edited by Morgan's Magic Snowplow, 16 January 2013 - 01:49 PM.

[singaporesoxfan]

So the NFC East will have:

1 Team Running the Pistol
1 Team Running the Spread Option
1 Team Running a Power Offense
1 Team Running the Romo

Kind of cool.

I think you meant 3 Teams Running the Romo.

[RedOctober3829]

6 years ago he was the OC at UNH. Now he's a head coach in the NFL making high 7 figures. The guy has had an amazing run.

[SoxFanInPdx]

Well, at least he'll be going into a no pressure situation. I'm sure Philly fans will be ok with him taking them to big games like Reid did, but never winning them. Obviously, I don't like him, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be watching Eagles games for no other reason than watching him.

[rodderick]

I think the Eagles are the best-equipped team, personnel-wise, for Chip to try and implement his schemes and philosophies in the NFL. They may very well have the NFL's best team-speed on offense.

Edited by rodderick, 16 January 2013 - 02:07 PM.

[TheoShmeo]

I'm really glad that he didn't end up in Buffalo and will not be available when the Jets turf Sexy Rexy after next season. And while I agree that Chip Kelly to the NFL is a good thing, I wasn't crazy about the prospect of the Pats having to face his teams twice a season.

That he'll be in the NFC East and will torment the NY Giants for the indefinite future...well that's just an added bonus.

[Greg29fan]

Sure glad we hired Monte Kiffin. Merry Christmas Philadelphia!

[LondonSox]

I'm loving what is being said today
1) contract was never an issue was never about money
2) Kelly doesn't want full control, "I'm a coach" not doing contracts and cap management etc. this was a concern for me, the eagles always have been a step ahead on the cap
3) five year contract, lurie saying Kelly is here to build a program not an immediate turn around. This allows chip to focus on building not sacrificing the plan to win now to save his job. I think he will be competitive quickly but my belief is most struggling teams are desperate and fire too fast. This is why I think coaches do well on second terms, they learnt and adjusted and if not fired would have been successful at the first place
I also read up even more on Kelly's offence. I love it, it's simple but potent. Until last year he announced his play by formation and allowed the defence to over committ (something that will work IMO in the nfl)
Interestingly he says his o line is the most important piece of his team. Not what most would expect I think. Also he likes lighter more althletic lines, which could be a money ball type pricing advantage. Teams want size. I bet he finds some bargains on the line. Incidentally that Oregon line undersized and going against really good front sevens in cal, USC and Stanford is fucking amazing. I had no idea.

I also learnt why read option qb are running so much in the NFL because coaches are not doing what EVERY college coach does, force the play inside, which means handing off to the rb. The qb lose on the backside of the play is so hard to stop the gains can be huge. I think that will happen next year, but let's not pretend doing that stops the read option. It does however hugely reduce the hits on the qb. The read option defended properly allows a qb to account for a defender without being hit. The defence will screw up and allow qb runs of course but it's bad coaching so far that is leading to all this qb running off read option.

I'm so pumped about chip Kelly. McCoy is MADE for the inside zone read but also the outside zone read. Brown will be ok too.

I actually think the biggest problem Kelly is going to have is getting the wr to buy in and block. It's a huge part of the offence and we all know nfl wr have a lot of diva in them. Jackson is a huge weapon but can he block? Watching Kelly run plays where a wr takes two players out of the play is really interesting.

I also watched a break down of a Oregon vs Stanford game when Harbaugh was there. I love Harbaugh as a coach and kelly prison bitched him. He had a counter for everything Harbaugh did. Safeties deep, run it down their throats. Safeties in the box bubble screens. It was a clinic. Harbaugh moved his defence all over and Kelly had the counter pre planned all at his break neck speed. Amazing stuff.

The other huge issue is that at college Kelly had a much bigger squad to rotate, that ain't happening so the players are going to need to be in great shape. I never really got the "defence gets tired angle" doesn't the offence get just as tired.
I'm also interested to see if he goes 3-4 because the eagles have been 4-3 forever and they don't have a nose tackle, plus Ryans was dumped by the texans because he wasn't as good as a 3-4 backer. I think fletcher cox will be a monster at 3-4 end and graham too, but can cole play rushing lb? I bet yes he's a stud. Kendricks is a potential monster in 3-4 too though. So there are some interesting pieces but the eagles had more d line than they could use in the 4-3 so a lot of changes.

All in all I'm fucking pumped. I would bet good money that within two years the eagles will be must watch.

[SoxScout]

The Philadelphia Eagles made Chip Kelly one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL, giving him a five-year contract worth $32.5 million, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.


The lucrative deal, which is worth $6.5 million annually, was a crucial factor in Kelly's decision to join the Eagles after originally deciding to remain at Oregon, according to the source.

http://espn.go.com/n...ccording-source

[Tony C]

I'm loving what is being said today
1) contract was never an issue was never about money...

it never is.

(that said, I'm psyched to see what he can do, too)

[Wade Boggs Hair]

For those more familiar with Oregon's offense, would any free-agent QBs fit this system?  My first thought was Alex Smith because he ran Urban Meyer's offense at Utah, seems to make good, quick decisions, and is an accurate passer.

[LondonSox]

If you are really interested in the oregon offense check out the fishduck website it is excellent.

 

Secondly I totally do not agree with the "consensus" that kelly wants a rushing QB.

Mariota rushed 100 times last year and he's an excellent rusher,

In 2011 Thomas rushed 56 times. That's less than Aaron Rodgers this year for example in the NFL. Compare this to over 200 for Colin Klein in 2012

 

He needs a QB who is enough of a threat to make the target of the read option to make the defense care. He WANTS the ball handed off to the RB, if the QB isn't a threat at all then the DE or DT will take the RB an leave the QB alone, even though he will be on the backside of the play with a good chance of a big gain.

(Incidently this is why QBs running the read option are picking up so much as the NFL players are not forcing the handoff. I almost guarantee they will next year)

To be this level of threat you don't need to Joe Webb your need Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers type mobility. That's not THAT much of an ask.

 

I think Alex Smith would be a very interesting target for Kelly myself because he has run a spread offense, and he's accurate and experienced. Accurate is number 1), smart is number 2) and rushing is number 3) in order of importance. Kelly runs a ton of bubble screens etc when the safties move inside to stop the run.

 

That all said, I think this is a rebuilding year for the Eagles, especially if they switch to 3-4 defense from 4-3, there is a big adjustment coming. If Smith is released instead of traded then I think they would give him a shot, plus if someone like manuel slips late that could be an option too. I highly doubt they will mortgage the future the team has a ton of needs to address if they are switching the defense. I doubt they will giv eup a lot for a QB. If they find value in the draft they could go that way, as if smith is available cheap. Otherwise I wouldn't be surprised for them to go for Foles and a very different offense and see if they can get a perfect Kelly QB next year, when Jonny Football and of course Mariota and others will be potentially in the draft.

[JimBoSox9]

If by "consensus", you mean "tiny minority", I agree with you. Kelly's ideal QB profile is both easily discerned via stats and explicitly stated by the coach himself. Someone mentioned Alex Smith upthread and it seems like such a perfect fit in both directions (same conference being the only pollutant) that I almost think it can't possibly happen.

Edit: the irony is that Kelly saying he wants a pass-centric QB who can also make something happen when he pulls it down enough to make the option draw effective is just another way of saying "I want a five-tool elite QB", but whatever, he's used to college ball, it's not like there was a salary cap.

Edited by JimBoSox9, 24 January 2013 - 10:10 PM.

[LondonSox]

Most analysis on espn, and locally in Philly and a lot of mainstream media thinks Kelly uses a running qb, and wants one. I've read three articles on why joe Webb is a candidate. Or that Vick would be a good fit. I don't see how thats a tiny minority...

He wants a qb who is althletic enough to be able to run if that is the option the defence gives him. Most young qb are that althletic, but I'm not sure foles is.

P.s. mariota was not even a top 100 high school recruit, if I remember correctly barely top 200. There is more to Kelly than Nike recruitment. Johnny football committed then backed out and he had mariota ready as a red shirt freshman.

[JimBoSox9]

I'll cop to overreaching with "tiny minority" (I wasn't thinking along the lines of the MSM as a whole), but I hope you'll agree that the majority of people who post here or are serious about football understand that Kelly isn't looking for a run-first QB.

[LondonSox]

I hope so yeah! But the misinformation from mainstream media is pretty amazing and if you are casual fan you may not know. I would trust sosh for baseball but for west coast college football it is more likely to be second hand info, which is shockingly bad. I know I didn't know until I moved to the west coast and could actually watch the games live.

[LondonSox]

A little surprised to hear that Vick restructured his deal to a one year deal.
Reportedly 3.5mm signing bonus, 3.5mm salary, 500k roster bonus, 500k for 50% playing time, 1mm for 90% playing time, 1mm for sb win (haha)

My take is that Kelly doesn't see a guy he wants available, unless some qb is available late and cheap in the draft I guess.
In which case I would guess he's worth trying out to see if Kelly can fix him, I mean if Kelly can improve or simplify his reads the skill set is there. I'm thinking Alex smith.
I know I'm trying to rationalise a decision I dont like but I will admit I have no clue who would be available that is a long term fix and he's probably tradable or could be cut. If another option turns up the cost isn't that high. The eagles are now 20mm under the cap even after this deal so there are a lot options.
I think no one is seriously expecting the eagles to be contenders next year so blah. The 2014 draft could be full of talent for a long term Kelly guy.