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What a turn of events for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fan base! After two weeks of preparation, countless hours of interviewing numerous candidates the Eagles have found their guy to be their next head coach to lead this team.
On Wednesday the Eagles named Oregon’s Head Coach Chip Kelly to become the 21st head coach in franchise history. This is coming after everyone was on the Gus Bus bandwagon after the Eagles met with the Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Tuesday for over seven hours. And the former Ducks head coach saying last week he was staying at the university, which questions his character pulling a Pete Carrol since the NCAA will be coming down with sanctions soon on the University.
The 49 year old head coach has compiled an astounding 47-6 record at the University of Oregon the last four seasons. He was named two-time Pac 10 coach of the year and three time Pac 10/12 champions. And he also brings his fast paced, aggressive offensive attack with him to the City of Brotherly Love and a lot of questions that need to be answered.
The real question is, can this style win in the NFL? Yes, under Kelly in 2012, Oregon averaged nearly 50 points per game (49.6) and his four-year scoring average with the Ducks was a whopping 44.7 points per contest and he loves to utilize his players’ speed which the Eagles have with RB Lesean McCoy, WR Desean Jackson and many others but look at the personnel on this team overall specifically at the quarterback position?
All we heard about that Foles is the guy in 2013 to start for this franchise. Now with the decision to go with Kelly does that squash the Eagles’ plans at QB? Foles just doesn’t have the mechanics or intangibles I feel to run this style of offense that has a lot of read options and mobility from the quarterback position. He is a guy that can extend plays in the pocket to give himself extra time to deliver the football but he isn’t a RGIII or a Michael Vick, a guy that relies to make plays with his legs which he doesn’t do.
So do the Eagles stay with Michael Vick and pay him $15 million next season to a guy that is turning 33 years old, a guy that has shown he doesn’t have the durability to stay healthy for an full 16 games and go put more punishment on his body? It just doesn’t make sense but unless the Eagles look in the draft and feel West Virginia’s Geno Smith is the guy their isn’t many other options to look at besides Vick to run this scheme. And with that decision I feel the Eagles may be doomed.
This is a league that thrives on the quarterback position to win. You need a quality quarterback in the NFL to succeed. Just look at the Bradys, the Brees, the Mannings, those are all guys who get the job done by throwing the football. This style wins in college because look at the level of competition that is at the college ranks. The NFL has a faster pace to the game where players have a lot more speed and agility and the defense eventually catches up to the offense. This is going to be another “fad” such as the wild cat that teams are going to figure out and hopefully Kelly is as a quality of a coach to adapt and adjust his offense to have the edge against his opponents. But until this style of offense and quarterback wins in this league, I will not be convinced that Chip Kelly was the right choice.
Especially with choices like Gus Bradley and Lovie Smith to help fix a team that has been unable to fill a void on defense and bring in a quality defensive minded coach since Jim Johnson passed away. This team had a defense that was bottom in almost every statistical category and has a lot of issues. It still remains to be seen what the plans are but right now Im not too thrilled with the turn of events.








