Chip Kelly was fired as Eagles coach last night because of what happened to the franchise after Owner Jeffrey Lurie "handed him complete control of the team" following the '14 season, according to Lindsay Jones of USA TODAY. Kelly "immediately went to work making bold moves to reshape the Eagles' roster to his liking." That included trading RB LeSean McCoy to the Bills for LB Kiko Alonzo, signing RB DeMarco Murray and CB Byron Maxwell in free agency, allowing WR Jeremy Maclin to sign with the Chiefs and cutting G Evan Mathis "over a contract dispute." The changes were either "setting him up to look like a genius if they worked, or setting the Eagles up for disaster if they failed," and the "latter happened." The team's roster and salary-cap situation are in "far worse shape now" than a year ago. Those personnel moves, combined with Kelly's "unorthodox coaching style, offensive scheme and personality that could be perceived as being arrogant and aloof, ultimately became his downfall" (USA TODAY, 12/30). Philly-based WIP-FM's Ike Reese said, "This was a high-risk sort of personnel makeover that he went through, and the only way that you were going to be able to justify the moves that he made is by winning" ("SportsNet Central," CSN Philadelphia, 12/29).
HE DID THIS TO HIMSELF: In Delaware, Meghan Montemurro writes Kelly the GM "set up the failures" of Kelly the coach, and he "ultimately deserves the blame for the short comings during his tenure." The "arrogance of Kelly believing he could plug anyone into his system and have it thrive contributed to his downfall." Montemurro: "The decision to move on from marquee players, potential game changers, over the past three years highlights Kelly's stubbornness to employ a plug-and-play philosophy that consistently failed the work" (Wilmington NEWS JOURNAL, 12/30). In Portland, John Canzano writes Kelly "was the problem," as he "lost a bunch of games because the roster he put together was [a] disjointed mess." Canzano: "He blew it. It's on him" (Portland OREGONIAN, 12/30). NFL.com's Judy Battista wrote Lurie "can be blamed for giving Kelly absolute power" (NFL.com, 12/29). USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell writes the Eagles firing Kelly is "more about how Kelly failed to deliver after Lurie shook up his front office structure and granted Kelly the power and authority to imitate Bill Parcells shopping for groceries." Bell: "Kelly might have longed to have the clout to call all of the shots, but it's clear that he was not ready for that" (USA TODAY, 12/30). YAHOO SPORTS' Charles Robinson: "Kelly got his shot at pulling the personnel strings. And what resulted was largely a tangled mess" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/29). NFL Network's Nate Burleson: “Once he had full control, he lost control, and we all saw it fall apart” ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 12/29). SI's Chris Burke: "The ending to this chapter in Kelly's NFL story may have been far, far different had he limited himself strictly to coaching" (SI.com, 12/29). ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia: "Too often Kelly's solution was to simply get rid of the players who presented problems. In a vacuum, none of those decisions doomed the Eagles. But with Kelly, the process often left a lot to be desired" (ESPN.com, 12/29).
CULTURE CHANGE WAS NEEDED: In Atlantic City, David Weinberg writes Kelly "needed to go," as his "act had already started to wear thin among the players, who were finding it [increasingly] difficult to swallow his arrogance." Lurie likely "heard the resounding boos from the fans" during last Saturday's loss to the Redskins, saw the "mass exodus from Lincoln Financial Field once the Eagles fell hopelessly behind ... and realized there was no reason to wait to make a change" (PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY, 12/30). ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan wrote Kelly has "many of the personality traits" of Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Kelly is "self-confident bordering on arrogant, and he doesn't suffer fools very well." Sheridan: "Since he is pretty sure he's the smartest guy in every room, the supply of those he considers fools is endless. The difference is that Belichick's team has won four Super Bowls" (ESPN.com, 12/29). Sheridan added that Kelly's firing marks a "shocking fall from grace" (ESPN.com, 12/29).
