Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie on Wednesday explained he "made his decision to fire" coach Chip Kelly, claiming he was displeased that the club had "slipped to 'mediocrity,'" according to Zach Berman of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Lurie admitted during his press conference there "was a risk involved" in allowing Kelly to have the final say over player transactions. Lurie: "Sometimes the risks don't work, and this case it didn't work." He defended hiring Kelly in January '13. calling it a "bold choice" after 14 seasons with Andy Reid. Lurie also was "bullish in his public support of Kelly in March and again in September, but he said he acknowledged the potential pitfalls." When they were realized, Lurie "felt he needed to act." Lurie: "It would be a shame not to try, but the end result was mediocrity." He said that he "did not offer Kelly a chance to return as coach without personnel responsibilities." Berman reports Kelly "did not attempt to keep the job because it was clear that Lurie had made up his mind." Lurie explained that he had "three reasons for the 'early-ish' timing: the desire to get an early start on a coaching search; the opportunity for Kelly to view the coaching marketplace; and, most important for Lurie, a chance to meet with the players before they disperse during the offseason." Berman notes Lurie on Tuesday morning "held a team meeting" and "gathered with select players in the afternoon." He will "meet with players again Monday" following the season finale Sunday against the Giants (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/31). Lurie: "This was really a three-year evaluation of where we’re heading, what is the trajectory, what is the progress or lack thereof and what do I foresee for the future. That’s why the decision was made.” USA TODAY's Lindsay Jones writes the timing of the decision to fire Kelly on Tuesday evening, with one game remaining in his third season, "was unorthodox, but Lurie said it was an easy choice for him once he had decided that Kelly would not return" in '16 (USA TODAY, 12/31).
ALLOWED TO SINK OR SWIM: In Philadelphia, Bob Ford notes Lurie allowed Kelly to re-stock the roster and "expected him to either succeed or own up to his failures." Kelly "did neither, and the fact that Lurie's action so quickly followed a galling denial of responsibility could be coincidental, but I don't think so." Kelly "failed as a coach, but he might still have his job if he cared a little more about the interpersonal side of things." Lurie said of the next coach, "We're looking for someone who interacts very well and communicates clearly with everybody he works with and comes in touch with" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/31). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab noted while Lurie "didn't say that Kelly would have left if he wasn't granted full control" following the '14 season, it seems that Lurie "felt the need to find out if giving Kelly full control would work" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/30).
CLEANING UP THE MESS: In Newark, Eliot Shorr-Parks cites sources as saying that with Kelly and VP/Player Personnel Ed Marynowitz, who also was fired Tuesday, running the show, "working with the Eagles front office was a disaster." One agent said, "One of the most dysfunctional front offices I worked with all season. It was a mess" (NJ.com, 12/31). NFL Network’s Albert Breer said “This was very much a people decision by Jeffrey Lurie. He wasn’t happy with the climate in his building, and that goes back to the power struggle in January when Chip Kelly seized full control of personnel within the Eagles operation” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 12/30). In Philadelphia, David Murphy writes under the header, "The Chip Kelly Era Seemed Doomed From The Start." The "primary cause of the crisis of faith" was the personnel decisions Kelly made as GM that "created the biggest questions in the locker room, a circumstance exacerbated by the fact that the players were well aware of Lurie's caution and [Exec VP/Football Operations] Howie Roseman's outright opposition to Kelly's radical offseason renovation of the roster" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 12/31). In Wilmington, Kevin Tresolini writes by firing Kelly, Lurie "was making a trade." He was "swapping that failed endeavor for the safety and comfort that comes from cooperation." For recognizing his failure and "quickly attempting to rectify it, Lurie deserves credit." What Lurie did Tuesday was "return the Eagles to democratic rule." Kelly’s way "was autocratic and it failed in ugly, glaring fashion" (Wilmington NEWS JOURNAL, 12/31).
SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST? Lurie during his press conference confirmed that Roseman will "again head the team’s front office" and former senior advisor Tom Donahoe will "run the personnel department, under Roseman, even after the Eagles hire a coach to replace" Kelly. Lurie said that demoting Roseman and giving Kelly personnel control last year when the coach asked for that "was to make Kelly accountable -- to ensure that he couldn’t say he wasn’t given what he said he needed to succeed" (PHILLY.com, 12/30). The INQUIRER's Berman notes Donahoe "will handle the day-to-day operations of the department while working with Roseman on all roster decisions." The Eagles "will not hire" a GM. Donahoe also will serve as an "adviser in the Eagles' coaching search." Lurie, Roseman, and team President Don Smolenski "led the search in 2013 that produced Kelly." However, Lurie was "unconcerned, noting how the hire was hailed at the time." He "has confidence the same trio should be in charge of this hunt, which commenced Tuesday night" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/31). In Philadelphia, Les Bowen writes the fact that Lurie "slid Roseman so easily back into being in charge of Eagles personnel would seem to buttress the view that Lurie was never all that sure exiling Roseman was a great idea" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 12/31).
RIGHT FIT FOR THE LONG-TERM? CSNPHILLY.com's Reuben Frank questioned whether a "front office restructure where Roseman and Donahue wind up in charge is a recipe for long-term success" for the Eagles. Roseman "has his strengths," as he is a "skilled contract negotiator, and his ability to flip-flop draft picks and work the draft-day phone is extraordinary." But his drafting track record "is spotty at best," and he has "never been able to get along with anybody he’s worked with." Frank: "What the Eagles need now is fresh ideas. A new direction. A new approach." This is a franchise "crying out desperately for a highly regarded personnel man with a recent track record of success and an impeccable reputation league-wide." Why Lurie "can’t see that and instead is relying on two retreads with no track record to speak of is mystifying" (CSNPHILLY.com, 12/30). ESPN.com's Ashley Fox wrote Lurie needs a "strong, smart, football-minded general manager who can fix this mess, find the right new head coach and rebuild a roster Kelly eviscerated because he was foolishly convinced that his scheme and his coaching and his style would trump talent." Fox: "Lurie absolutely cannot whiff on this one as he did in hiring Kelly three years ago and as he did in giving Kelly full control of personnel decisions less than one year ago" (ESPN.com, 12/30).
