Some buzz was generated earlier this week when a petition to bring back the Eagles’ famous Kelly Green color scheme started gaining some momentum among fans. And while the team hasn’t publicly issued a statement on the state of its uniforms, nor do we know if its decision-makers are internally considering a switch, it appears unlikely changes will be made for this upcoming season.

The process is a lengthy one and takes into consideration a variety of factors, writes Tim McManus of Birds 24/7.

Changing uniforms in the NFL has become a lengthy and exhaustive process. According to the league offices, it essentially takes two years to make the switch once the request from the team is submitted. So if the Eagles today declared they wanted their primary uniforms to be Kelly Green, it wouldn’t actually come to pass until the 2015 season under the current policy.

The NFL does a lot of homework before giving its stamp of approval. They exchange design ideas with the team; test the uniform on the field, inspecting how it looks from every seat in the stadium (both indoors and out, at night and during the day), and how it looks on camera; they want to see how it would appear in stores, and get player feedback.

The team could perhaps cut down on some of the delay by attempting to swap its alternate black jerseys with a retro look, but even that process is a bit convoluted.

The best chance of seeing the return of Kelly Green in 2013 would be under a scenario similar to the one that occurred when the Eagles wore the throwback look for their 2010 season opener, writes McManus.

You can work a throwback into the mix on occasion as well (the Eagles wore the Kelly Green unis in the opener against Green Bay in 2010, for example) but getting that special dispensation isn’t as easy as you might imagine.

We’ll see if the team plans to make any changes to its look in the coming months.

There’s little doubt that fans in this city would love to see a new era of Eagles football ushered in with a new look, too. Well, sort of. Local Twitter all-star @Cranekicker teamed up with ZooWithRoy–the most ridiculous sports “bolg” in Philadelphia–to get the process going.

Cranekicker, who would prefer not to be identified by his real name, makes some hilarious if not completely logical arguments for bringing back the retro threads. Here’s the opening of his, um, proposal:

Hi! My name is CK and I am a local Twitter celebrity and ZWR contributing artist. I am also a lifelong Eagles fan that has hated the midnight green uniforms since their inception in 1996. I’ve heard from sources that the main player in the decision to ditch the sweet sweet kelly greens in favor of the pine tree look was your now ex-wife, Kristina. I get it man, happy wife = happy life. But guess what? She’s not your wife anymore. AND you just hired a coach whose last name happens to be Kelly, so let’s party. Really that last part doesn’t matter at all… I could care less if the coaches name is Dick Slippers, this is about the uniforms that we all love and cherish well except for like you and the ex-misses and probably Dave Spadaro because he likes whatever you like and also Andy Reid because he would’ve looked like a huge Green Lantern but he’s gone now let’s focus.

You can sign the petition here.

The Eagles could opt to make changes to the team’s uniforms this offseason. Perhaps they slightly alter their imagine, make a few modifications, or even appease the fanbase and revert back to the now appropriately named Kelly Green threads. A new era in Eagles football could call for a new look, but just don’t exact any drastic Duck-like alterations to the uniforms any time soon.

While Nike is now the official apparel provider of all things NFL, it is Kelly that spurned Nike founder Phil Knight to take over the job in Philadelphia. One can’t imagine that Knight or his team at Nike will be calling up Jeffrey Lurie to allow Kelly’s new team to take a page out of the Oregon fashion playbook. Still, given Nike’s new relationship with the NFL, both teams across the league (particularly one like the Eagles who could probably use a merchandising boost after a 4-12 season) and the apparel giant may be motivated to produce some new threads.