No More Stench Of Chip Kelly

In 2013, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie made a bold move when he hired Chip Kelly to be the team’s head coach. Kelly would replace a legend in Philadelphia in Andy Reid who in 14 seasons as the head coach of the Eagles would go 130-93-1 with one NFC Championship. Lurie literally handed over the keys of his franchise to Kelly as he now had the final say in the personnel decisions in spite of the fact that he didn’t have any prior coaching experience in the National Football League. Kelly made some very unpopular decisions which included parting with a pair of veteran wide receivers in DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, as well as running back LeSean McCoy. In nearly three seasons with the Eagles, Kelly’s record was 26-21 which included one NFC East Title. However in 2015, Lurie was left with no choice but to fire Kelly as he had a mutiny on his hands. The locker room had turned on Kelly as he didn’t fully realize that he was now dealing with grown men in the NFL as opposed to college where he ran the show.

Lurie would learn from his mistake of hiring Kelly as he decided to go back to the formula that brought him his success as the owner of the Eagles. Lurie once again made Howie Roseman the team’s main point man in regards to making personnel decisions, and together they would hire a head coach who knew how to get things done in Philadelphia.

The Eagles would hire Doug Pederson to be their next head coach. In 1999, Pederson started seven games for the Eagles at quarterback as he was keeping the seat warm for the team’s first-round pick in Donovan McNabb. And from 2009-2012, Pederson would serve on Reid’s staff in Philadelphia as an assistant coach.

Pederson’s hire meant that the Eagles were going back to the formula that brought the Eagles success, and the combo of Roseman and Pederson were not shy in regards to their methods of turning around the franchise.

At the 2016 National Football League Draft, the Eagles would move up to the second overall slot in the draft to select quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz had caught the attention of several NFL scouts after he flourished collegiately at North Dakota State, and the Eagles saw him as their future franchise quarterback.

Wentz would be named as the Eagles starting quarterback to begin the 2016, and with him under center, Philadelphia would win their first three games of the season. The Eagles would finish in last place, but their 7-9 mark was nothing to look over as they had swept the division champs in the Dallas Cowboys.

The Eagles would take that momentum into 2017 as they began the season like gangbusters. Philadelphia began 2017 with a record of 10-1 as all signs pointed to them getting to the Super Bowl. Wentz was playing like an MVP candidate as he had thrown 33 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions and the Eagles were rolling. But during the Eagles 43-35 in Week 14 versus the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz suffered a torn ACL which abruptly ended his season and also put Philadelphia’s dream of winning the Super Bowl in doubt.

However Pederson would plug in Nick Foles to replace Wentz, and the Eagles have not slowed down.

Wentz would come out of the bullpen in relief of Foles to defeat the Rams as the victory clinched the NFC East Title for Philadelphia which he followed up by throwing 4 touchdowns versus the New York Giants in Week 15 to secure a first-round bye. When it was all said and done the Eagles had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and their was not anyone within the organization who did not believe in Foles.

In the Eagles playoff victories over the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings, Foles completed 77.8% of his passes, while throwing 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions to help Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 13 years as the plan of Roseman and Pederson has come to fruition rather quickly. But it just was not about drafting Wentz as this franchise has done a good job in regards to putting a solid team around him.

Last year saw the Eagles make some key moves in free agency as they signed wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, running back LeGarrette Blount, and defensive end Chris Long. These three players have not enjoyed big statistical seasons for the Eagles, but they have helped to change the culture of the Eagles. Jeffery has helped to provide the Eagles with more depth in the red zone; especially as a wide receiver who has the ability to box out defensive backs in regards to jump ball situations, while Blount and Long have brought championship experience with them. Blount and Long were starters for the New England Patriots in Super 51 when they defeated the Falcons as these two vets know what it takes to win in February.

There’s nothing that sticks out about this Eagles defense when you look at their defense on paper as they don’t have stars, but they work tremendously well together as a group. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has taken the Eagles defense back to the days of former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson as this team blitzes on nearly every play in order to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.

Lurie drank the Kool-Aid on Kelly in 2013 as he was looked at as an innovator on offense who could build off of what Reid had started. However Kelly’s ego destroyed that dream, while crippling the Eagles franchise for a short period of time. And if Kelly were still the head coach of the Eagles, the franchise would be hanging on by a string as players such as Blount and Long would have stayed away in free agency. It was a wise move for Lurie to quickly cut his losses and go back to the formula that brought his team the most success as Philadelphia is 60 football minutes away from potentially doing something that no other team in Eagles franchise history has been able to do which is to win the Super Bowl.