Firing Chip Kelly Is Absolutely The Right Move For Philadelphia Eagles

The Chip Kelly era is over.

Black Monday came early for the Philadelphia Eagles this season.

Not even a full year after gaining full control over personnel, Chip Kelly has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Eagles.

Here’s a quick recap of Kelly’s tenure in Philadelphia:

Kelly joined the Eagles in 2013 after Andy Reid‘s 14-year tenure as Philadelphia’s head honcho came to a close. In his first year as the Eagles’ coach, Kelly went 10-6 and was even able to take the Eagles to the playoffs, but were one and done after losing to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round. In 2014, the Eagles would go 10-6 yet again, but were unable to make the postseason.

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In the 2015 offseason, Kelly and former GM Howie Roseman were in the midst of a power dispute, which Kelly was ultimately be able to secure, making Kelly the new GM as Roseman was “elevated” to the Executive Vice President of Football Operations.

That offseason, Kelly gave Philadelphia a complete makeover. Not long after cutting two of the Eagles’ longest-tenured players in Todd Herremans and Trent Cole, Kelly traded Philadelphia’s all-time leading rusher LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for third-year linebacker Kiko Alonso, who missed all of the 2014 season with a torn ACL.

Quarterback Nick Foles was also expendable. In a hugely controversial trade, Kelly would move Foles, as well as a fifth-round pick and 2016 second-round pick, to the St. Louis Rams for injury-prone signal caller Sam Bradford.

These moves allowed Kelly to spend big in free agency, bringing in DeMarco Murray, who led the NFL in rushing in 2014, Ryan Mathews and prized cornerback Byron Maxwell. While Kelly focused on bolstering Philadelphia’s backfield, longtime Eagles wideout Jeremy Maclin found a new home with the Kansas City Chiefs, coached by none other than Andy Reid.

During the 2015 preseason, the Eagles were considered Super Bowl favorites. With a deep running back corps and revitalized defense, Philadelphia had nowhere to go but up.

False.

The Eagles are now 6-9 and have had one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history. Kelly joined the Eagles with the tools to turn the Eagles into one of the NFL’s elites, but with each passing year, the Eagles continued to regress.

Even though the decision to fire Kelly is a setback for Philadelphia, the Eagles couldn’t be better off. Kelly was predictable, egotistical and, evidently, slightly racist. And according to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie asked Kelly to step down as the overseer of player movement, which Kelly was not willing to do. It also helps that multiple players had voiced their disapproval of Kelly to Jeffrey Lurie in recent weeks (if not longer).

Lurie released the following statement Tuesday night.

“I have made a decision to release Chip Kelly this evening. I spent the last three seasons evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team. As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change.

As we move forward, the search for a new head coach will begin and will be led by myself, Don Smolenski and Howie Roseman. To the extent that we are able, we will try to keep you informed as we go through this process.

Pat Shurmur will be our interim coach for the Giants game Sunday.

We have also released Ed Marynowitz, vice president of player personnel. Tom Donahoe, who has been our senior football advisor since 2012, will assume the role of senior director of player personnel.

I am determined and excited to select a new coach to help us obtain our ultimate goal.

Thank you for your consistent and enthusiastic support. It is always appreciated.”

It’s unknown which direction the Eagles will go as they search for a new head coach, but regardless of who takes over, the Eagles will likely no longer have to deal with a coach as polarizing as Kelly and that, to me, should be considered a small victory for a team that has been nothing but a massive disappointment in recent years.

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