The Philadelphia Eagles gave head coach Chip Kelly more power over personnel and moving forward he could re-shape the team more to his image and that could mean a major trade for Marcus Mariota or Colin Kaepernick at quarterback over Nick Foles and this comes as Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy have their futures up in the air heading into 2015.
Kelly was promoted in a sense after the season, as he now has the power over player personnel, while Howie Roseman went from general manager to executive vice president of football operations. According to ESPN.com, Kelly now has the power over players and Roseman is out of that decision making process. Kelly has some QB questions moving forward, as he could try and trade for Marcus Mariota or Colin Kaepernick, or he could stick with Nick Foles.
Kelly also has some major questions when it comes to Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. Maclin is a free agent after signing a one year deal last year and he had a strong season with 85 catches for 1318 yards and 10 TDs and he could be a major target on the market. McCoy said he wants to return, but the team is looking for him to get his cap number down from $12 million and he could be gone without restructuring his deal. McCoy is a great player, but Kelly also likes Darren Sproles and Chris Polk, who took away some of his snaps in key situations this year.
The Eagles faltered down the stretch this season, going 1-3 over the final four games and that is why they missed the playoffs. The team lost a crucial matchup to the Cowboys and Dallas ended up winning the NFC East. The Eagles dealt with an injury to Nick Foles this season and that left Mark Sanchez to take over and while he played solid, it wasn't good enough to get to the postseason. Moving forward Kelly may try and bring in his own quarterback as he did not draft Foles and could look at a long term replacement.
Foles ended up with 2163 yards and 13 touchdowns in eight games, but he also threw 10 interceptions and was less than 60 percent in completing his passes. Last season Foles had 27 touchdowns and just two picks while completing 64 percent of his passes and that regression could lead to Kelly making a move. The trade up for Mariota could end up being too much to deal with, but if he somehow slips in the first round into the picks 5-20 range, Kelly could look at moving up.
The Eagles went 10-6 this past season and ended up out of the playoffs and now after the front office shakeup, Kelly has power over personnel and also has the chance to hire his own GM. The Eagles took some power from Howie Roseman after dismissing Tom Gamble and many around the NFL saw all that as a power move by Kelly. Gamble was let go by the Eagles and after that Kelly was promoted and so was Roseman, but Roseman no longer has a say in personnel like he previously did.