The hiring of Chip Kelly by the Philadelphia Eagles was a big surprise to football fans, especially the supporters of the Oregon Ducks.
Kelly was looked at as a favorite for the job, but then decided to remain at the school after interviewing with the Eagles. In a stunning turnaround, Kelly accepted the job on Wednesday after interviewing with multiple NFL teams, including the Eagles, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills. Following his interviews, Kelly said he planned to remain with the Ducks, but apparently had a change of heart. ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that the deal could be for five-years and up to $6 million per year.
"Chip Kelly will be an outstanding head coach for the Eagles," said owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. "He has a brilliant football mind. He motivates his team with his actions as well as his words. He will be a great leader for us and will bring a fresh, energetic approach to our team."
Kelly has been courted by the NFL for multiple years, including last season when he was seemingly set to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers job. Over four years with Oregon, Kelly has developed a high-scoring and wide open offense that has started to make its way into the NFL.
The news was quickly overshadowed by the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax situation, but fans in the city appeared excited about the move. Kelly was extremely successful at Oregon, going 46-7 over four seasons while running one of the most innovative and explosive offenses in the country.
The biggest question for Kelly as he moves to the NFL is about his scheme and whether the Eagles have the players right now to support his offensive system. The team has a solid roster of athletic players like LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Demaris Johnson, but quarterback Michael Vick is likely not sticking around past this season, leaving Kelly with Nick Foles at quarterback.
While at Oregon this season, Kelly had dual-threat quarterback Marcus Mariota as well as speedy running backs LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner. Not everyone was as excited about the hiring as the fans though.
On NFL.com, contributor and former player Heath Evans was particularly harsh on the move, writing: "Now that the Philadelphia Eagles have reeled in perhaps the biggest fish on the coaching market, I am going on the record calling Chip Kelly one of the worst hires in pro football history."
Evans describes the reasons as that the NFL is very different from the college game, including with recruiting and injuries. He also describes how Kelly was outcoached by Stanford while he was at Oregon, writing:
"Nearly two months ago, Stanford beat Oregon 17-14 to ruin the Ducks' hopes for a perfect season. Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason had 20 working hours that week (mandated by the NCAA, which includes practice, weightlifting, and meetings) to prepare for this so-called NFL-ready offense, and he held them to two touchdowns, 4-of-17 on third down, 0-for-2 on fourth down, and forced a turnover."
This season Oregon was ranked second in the nation in scoring with over 50 points per game and gained over 550 yards per game on offense, ranked fourth in the country. The Ducks scored at least 40 points in every game this season, apart from the 17-14 loss to Stanford in overtime, which was Oregon's only defeat of the year.
The Ducks would likely be playing in the national championship this season had they not lost to Stanford, but they have a great matchup against Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks won their first 10 games of the season by wide margins, including a 59-17 win over California. The previous week Oregon got into a shootout with USC, winning 62-51 on the road.
The game against the Trojans shows how effective the Kelly offense can be. The team scored nine touchdowns with no field goals and had 34 points on the board before halftime. Running back Kenjon Barner had an amazing game, rushing for 321 yards and five touchdowns, while quarterback Marcus Mariota had 304 passing yards and four touchdown passes.
The Eagles were looking for a new head coach for the third time under Lurie. Reid was with the franchise for 14 seasons and went 130-93-1, winning 10 postseason games while going to the playoffs nine times. He led the team to five NFC championship games, including four consecutive appearances from 2001-2004, and to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004.
The biggest chance for Kelly to improve the team from last year's 4-12 record will be through the NFL draft. He doesn't have the option of an Andrew Luck or a Robert Griffin like last year, but there still are many players that could fit into his system as he brings to the NFL.
The top target could be West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, who has the athleticism and ability to handle an offense like Kelly's this season Smith had one of the best starts of any quarterback in the country, throwing 25 touchdowns and two interceptions over the first half of the season. He finished the year with 4,205 yards and 42 touchdowns with just six interceptions while completing over 70 percent of his passes.
Kelly likes a guy who can be accurate, but also someone who can extend the play and keep things moving fast. Smith can do that, plus he has shown an ability to avoid pressure in the pocket. His current quarterback Nick Foles was solid over the second half of the season for the Eagles, but does not possess the speed of a quarterback Kelly has used in the past.
Kelly praised him while at Oregon, saying: "I catch myself watching him in awe sometimes," Kelly said, according to the Tucson Citizen. "Nick is a hell of a football player. That kid's a warrior. He's as good as anyone in the country."
Another possibility could be a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for Alex Smith, who showed athletic ability and speed while playing at Utah for coach Urban Meyer. He also could trade for his former quarterback Dennis Dixon, who was a Heisman candidate for Kelly while he played at Oregon. He currently is on the practice squad for the Baltimore Ravens.
Kelly will likely have a few years to rebuild the team after coming over from Oregon, but unless his offense works successfully with the Eagles, it could be a short stint in the NFL like former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier, who was fired as head coach of the Washington Redskins after coming over from Florida.
