• March 28, 2024

Reports: Chip Kelly Is The Eagles Head Coach

Just moments ago, Chris Mortensen of ESPN tweeted that Chip Kelly is set to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jay Glazer has also reported that it’s a done deal.

Denny Basens

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Xevious
Xevious
January 16, 2013 12:15 pm

worst news this year…

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 12:15 pm

throw throw throw throw throw throw throw throw throw.. run.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:22 pm
Reply to  Stevo

what are you stupid??????? Stevo? Chip is run run run run run run run run throw

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 12:23 pm
Reply to  mhenski

yes. Im stupid for thinking the birds would actually give a damn about the D side of the ball for once.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:28 pm
Reply to  Stevo

dude you sound like a retard.

1st you say chip is gonna throw throw throw throw which chip has no history of doing and he has a history of doing the complete opposite.

2nd you imply that the eagles and chip dont give a damn about D but chip has coaching experience as a DC, special teams coach and secondary coach.

CHIP WAS THE MOST QUALIFIED GUY FOR THE JOB

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 12:47 pm
Reply to  mhenski

this will be a high flying O. I expect more throws then runs in Philly. Running works more in college than Pros anymore. This will put more pressure on the D and i think that is a mistake.

Its ok that i didnt want this guy.

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 2:35 pm
Reply to  Stevo

mhenski…. here where i am coming from with the pass pass pass thing….

1. Its ALL going through the QB’s hands… this style puts the qb at more risk… im not crazy about that.

2. More pressure on the D because they will need to be out there all the time.

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 12:17 pm

im so sick. I hate this. Soft D continues. Vick will prolly be the guy they keep for next year, Im so pissed right now.

Frank22
Frank22
January 16, 2013 12:19 pm

I’m excited for this. A interesting off season awaits. I hope they announce his staff shortly. I bet it’s the fla gators DC. He’s the person they have been pushing on the other coaching cantidates, supposedly.

pheags88
pheags88
January 16, 2013 12:36 pm
Reply to  Frank22

If its the Florida DCord…I hope he comes with Matt Elam.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:40 pm
Reply to  pheags88

that would be sick. good thing about chip is he is really dialed into the ncaa football world

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:28 pm
Reply to  pheags88

nice

Frank22
Frank22
January 16, 2013 12:21 pm

Vick will not be here. Tht had to be part of the deal.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:23 pm
Reply to  Frank22

i hope so. im all about this hire as long as it doesnt include vick

andrew p
andrew p
January 16, 2013 12:23 pm

Now we know why the Easles web site posted those college D Coords earlier, will probably be one of those.

haveacigar
haveacigar
January 16, 2013 12:23 pm

wait! does this mean howie and lurie aren’t bafoons since they ended up getting their man?

Xevious
Xevious
January 16, 2013 12:26 pm
Reply to  haveacigar

lets not go that far man. I am trying to accept this right now.

haveacigar
haveacigar
January 16, 2013 12:28 pm
Reply to  Xevious

i am having difficulty as well– i was/am pissed he is the first choice but for the last ten days i’ve read on here how stupid they were for not being able to get their first choice- getting every college coach in america a raise- ‘they bungled this search’ etc… now they come in with their number 1 choice?-wierd– if nothing else this will prove to be interesting.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:29 pm
Reply to  Xevious

yep they are pathetic and nobody wanted to work with roseman.

haaaaa

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:10 pm
Reply to  mhenski

Guess what fellas why do you think he changed his mind. No more Howie making roster and draft decisions, so yes nobody wanted to work with Roseman.

andrew p
andrew p
January 16, 2013 12:29 pm

haveacigar, not only does it mean that but it also shows how these reporters dont have a clue! What happen to the report that Bellechek convinced him not to come here cause of Roseman?

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:34 pm
Reply to  andrew p

haaaaaaaaaaa

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:29 pm
Reply to  andrew p

That was O’Brien not Kelly

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 12:31 pm

**Eagles News**

Confirmed Chip Kelly is the new Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles
Hearing that Chip Kelly had a “change of heart” last night and got in touch with the Eagles

My Thoughts: I thought the Eagles couldnt land a big name coach? I thought noone wanted to coach the Eagles? You guys can really be pathetic.. Let things to play out. They may have a really good HC here. Hes a leader, winner, innovator and has a plan. Hes the new Head Coach..

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:33 pm
Reply to  Jon Hart

haaaaaaaaaaa

what a total squid you are jon hart with the *******Eagles News********* no shit you are 30 minutes late

pdiddy
pdiddy
January 16, 2013 12:31 pm

@cigar, alright you made your point they had their game plan and they got their guy. Very happy that’s who I wanted from the start so when I am wrong I say I am wrong.

haveacigar
haveacigar
January 16, 2013 12:36 pm
Reply to  pdiddy

lets hope you are right! this is going to be very exciting…. i just don’t know if that means good exciting or bad exciting.
also… i beleive that maybe chip got wind of coming sanctions against oregon and thought….hmmm there are no sanctins in the nfl

btc24
btc24
January 16, 2013 12:47 pm
Reply to  pdiddy

Glad someone can admit when they’re wrong. I hope I have to eat crow at some point because I don’t think this is a very good hire.

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 12:34 pm

This was there original guy from the beginning of this whole coaching search process and they got there #1 main guy of them all Chip Kelly. I have to applaud them for this hire..

pdiddy
pdiddy
January 16, 2013 12:35 pm

Lets get behind chip and let’s build this team back up to respectful level

Butch007
Butch007
January 16, 2013 12:37 pm

uhhgggg…I hope he’s all a lot of people think he’s cracked up to be and I’ll eat crow if he is, but I have a bad feeling about this. I hope he can get an experienced NFL DC. I would feel so much better if they brought Lovey Smith on board.

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
January 16, 2013 12:39 pm

HOORAY! MY FIRST CHOICE!! IN CHIP WE TRUST!!

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 12:41 pm

Not my prefereance, but I support Coach Chip Kelly and hope he comes in with both gun’s a blazing.. In the end, the Eagles had a make noise and with that,comes some some risk, with their next HC Hire after 14 Years of Andy Reid.. I am excited to see who he lines up to join him and do remember, that Kelly’s background is on the Defensive Side of the Ball and has had some great Secondaries at the U or ORegon..What I have not seen from their Team is big,strong dominated Def/Line so it will be interesting to see him put a Staff together..
The best news is now the Eagles have their man, and can move forward for their is a lot of work to do..
The only thing I did hear about from a SOurce close to Mayor Nutters Office is that William Penn will be removed from City Hall Building and replaced by a Large Duck., Outside of this, I am ok with everything…

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 12:41 pm

johnny football next year?

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 12:52 pm
Reply to  mhenski

No on Johnny Football.. Too small to play at the NFL Level, in my opinion..
I like the QB Boyd from Clemson.. Reminds me of a young McNabb but more advanced at this staffe of the game, throws a great Deep Ball ,can run when needed to, but looks to pass first. has great leadership, smarts and toughness..(As does Johnny Manziel, but lets see how he does next Season with his top #WR and LT gone off to the Pro’s)

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 1:34 pm
Reply to  paulman

Tell that to Russell Wilson who isnt very tall but is very effective and has all the entangibles and all he does is win win win..

pheags88
pheags88
January 16, 2013 2:18 pm
Reply to  paulman

Johnny Football is listed above 6 feet…taller than Russell and an inch shorter than RG3. The dude can flat out play…plays in the SEC and has beat the best in Bama as a freshman. I would be all for Manziel. His style is similar to Wilson but I think he will be better.

Xevious
Xevious
January 16, 2013 12:42 pm

i really feel like the Redskins now….trying to buy a bowl then when that fails lets bring in Steve Spurr…I mean Chip Kelly….I have a really bad vibe. But I could be wrong. Not gonna jump ship…just gonna be looking hard for Ice Bergs.

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 12:43 pm

The GusBus got steamrolled by the the ChipShip.

pdiddy
pdiddy
January 16, 2013 12:45 pm

Rather you like it or you don’t like it learn to love it cause it’s the best going today. Lets go chip

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 1:02 pm

I thought noone wanted to work for Howard Roseman? I thought everyone hated Howard Roseman and couldn’t work with him?

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:08 pm
Reply to  Jon Hart

Jon Hart, I will bet you big money they enticed him by saying here it’s all yours, roster draft the whole deal.

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 1:22 pm
Reply to  Biglion821

I doubt that Big, even Andy didn’t have that kind of power when he was first hired. From what Im hearing he will have some say some power but not total control of personnel, draft etc etc.

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 1:06 pm

So im hearing that Chip Kelly will have some power on personnel. Thats what was the original holding point that they had causing talks to stall…. I think Chip will try to turn Nick Foles into the next Tom Brady, they will be running a very similar offense. Look out

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 16, 2013 1:13 pm

Well then.

Interesting to say the least. I am pretty mixed on this.

I love Kelly’s innovativness. Love running a play every 13 seconds. Love the giant placards. Love the no punting. Love going for 2 every time. Love many elements of the blur offense. Will be exciting.

I do not love the read option. I will not love watching a new QB every 6 weeks as what will happen if Kelly runs the read-option Offense all the time here.

I hope that Kelly understands this and moves forward with a modified version of the Blur.

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 1:13 pm

GM Roseman annouces the Signing of a couple Free-Agent Players

WR Chad Hall (5-8 180kbs)
LB Keenan Clayton (6-2 218lbs)
OT Gene London (6-4 268lbs)
QB Doug Flutie Jr (5-8 174lbs)
WR Harold Carmichael III (5-10 182lbs)

More details at 6pm

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 1:20 pm

Reports of some Staff HIres

DL – Mike Mamulla
LB – Juan Castillo, Jr
Secondary – Izell Jenkins

OL – Stacy Andrews
TE – Keith Krefple Jr
WR – Todd PInkston
RB – Dave Megget

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 1:22 pm

Strength and Conditioning –
Howie Roseman’s College Roomate — Chip Levinstein..

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 16, 2013 1:29 pm

Chip is bringing a record of 46-7 overall record along with him. All the guy does is win. Everyone raves about his offense.. Oh btw didnt the Browns hire a guy that runs a similar offense? Its clear that the browns loved Chip it wasnt just to ruin the Eagles chances, looks like the Birds won haha I love it

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 1:31 pm

WHAT!? But I thought….
But you said….
Okay then. Looks like the Birds got their guy. Mystery Team’ing their asses off again. Does this mean every shit-talking reporter needs to bow down and suck Howie Roseman’s dick now?

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:33 pm
Reply to  mhenski

Nope my first question would be why the hell did you send your private jet to Seattle and interview Gus Bradley for 9 hours. Fair question right?

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 1:49 pm
Reply to  Biglion821

Thats what I want to know Biggie.

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 1:56 pm
Reply to  gmcliff

Bradley probably told Roseman, “I want bigger, DT, OL, and Secondary Players,and bigger, faster, Linebackers that can cover.”

and Howie said, “No, we need smaller, faster players”,

and Gus said “Look, do you want to change the history of this Organization, or what!!??”

and Howie said,”We’ve been okay for the last 14 years”, and Bradley said, “HA!!! {for about an hour}, and said okay, Good luck with that, and gave them half a peace sign.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:03 pm
Reply to  Biglion821

due diligence bro. quite obvious gus didnt have a good enough plan.

safe to say you will never get an answer from our front office as football organizations never show their hand. its a respect thing

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:32 pm

Where is realtalk, maybe Dennis Dixon can get a real shot. LOL just joking. He cannot repeat cannot draft Geno Smith at 4.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 16, 2013 1:34 pm
Reply to  Biglion821

Y I thought about that 2 mins ago…you beat me to the punch.

Dixon is IN! at qb!

daggolden
daggolden
January 16, 2013 1:35 pm

Howie Roseman getting high marks. Apparently Howie is getting credit for mastering recruiting 101. Its being reported this is the Eagles #1 choice. Howie recruited him hard but never made offer. He than backed off and let Kelly think. Then they kept telling him hes still thier #1 choice. They than made a offer this morning and he agreed. Recruiting 101.

daggolden
daggolden
January 16, 2013 1:37 pm

Eagles odds to win superbowl just went from 30-1 to 22-1 in vegas.

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 1:48 pm
Reply to  daggolden

I don’t know why!!!!

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 1:46 pm

This hiring sucks. When this experiment fails, I am going, non stop on the I told you so’s. He is not an NFL Coach.

I know what Howie is envisioning, but I don’t think its going to work, and you haven’t solved the biggest problem,…. that you defense cant stop anybody. Run Defense, Pass Defense,….and Pheags give me a break on Matt Elam, he is a mediocre prospect son, and any Defensive Coordinator from College…What the F%^# does he know about stopping NFL Offenses?

Now I’m hearing, this is the future; the read option……so was the west coast Offense, and it has come and gone. Good D-Coordinators eventually figure these things out. What, is this new wrinkle unstoppable? Gus Bradleys Defense stopped it.

I know some say if Robert Griffin III, wasn’t hurt they would have lost. No they wouldn’t have!! Seattle would have won that game regardless; They were still a better team. It may have been closer, if he wasn’t hurt…but Seattle would have still won.

I hate Howie Roseman, and I hate this hiring. Chip Kelly WILL FAIL AS ANNFL HEAD COACH!!!

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 16, 2013 1:54 pm
Reply to  gmcliff

What Kapernick did on Saturday night will change the way some Owners and GM’s look at how NFL football should be played. If San Fran wins handily on Sunday watch out.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 16, 2013 2:10 pm
Reply to  Biglion821

You had a GB D in man coverage most of the game with DEs crashing to the QB instead of playing wide. Absolute worst thing you can do against read-option. Atl sees Newton 2x a year and also did very well against Washington this year……

So I don’t expect SF to have the same success as they did vs GB. Perhaps I’m wrong.

I actually expect SF to do the exact opposite this week and run a pro-style offense ass ATL undoubtedly has been prepping all week to srop the option. It would be the smart thing to do.

Regardless – fulltime read option = 2 to 3 QBs a year. Not a good strategy.

jakedog
jakedog
January 16, 2013 1:52 pm

Eagles are a joke of a Philadelphia franchise, I would be ecstatic if Lurie moved his pussy brand of football to the west coast, get a new owner in here, new eagles franchise, I am with you gmcliff, this is a dark day for eagles and the future

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 2:08 pm

5 Areas that if Chip Kelly can’t improve, this Team is going nowhere

#1) Turnovers — Limit on Offense, Create on Defense
#2) Red-Zone Efficiency on Offense — Score 7 Pts and do not settle for FG’s
#3) Red-Zone Efficienc on Defense — Prevent a gimme TD every time an Offense gets in the Red-Zone, hold Teams to FG’s at least 30% of the time
#4) Penalties/Negative Plays — Players must be more disciplines and aware of game situations, toss the ball out of bounds, don’t hold on a 3rd &12 Play when on Defense, Can we have a return without a block in the back ???
#5) Special Teams — I always felt this was an area of the Football Team that Caoch AR completely neglected and put very little emphasis on as far as momentum swings, sending a statement out to your opponenets.. Look at all the Top Teams year in and year out and they excel in Special Teams ..I see Teams like 49ers with Bowman, Gholston flying down the field making plays.
A quick way to changethe Culture on the Practice Fields/Locker Room is to have serious SPecial Teams competions between players and flat out statae, my best players will play no matter what..

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 16, 2013 2:12 pm
Reply to  paulman

Well..one thing that the eagles might improve on is red-zone offence…we won’t be settling for FGs because Kelly doesn’t kick them. We’ll be going for it on 4th a lot more so that means more td opportunities.

Frank22
Frank22
January 16, 2013 2:08 pm

Luries ” pussy ” brand of football?
He’s not even the couach. He does not to pretend to be the football genius.He lets his coaches to their thing. The way a good ownner should.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 16, 2013 2:14 pm

Now on trading block: Alex Henery.

Should be able to get a 3rd rounder don you think?

Kelly doesn’t kick FGs anyway.

pheags88
pheags88
January 16, 2013 2:21 pm

Alex Henery was our franchise player this season.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
January 16, 2013 6:43 pm
Reply to  pheags88

Kelly doesn’t kick FGs

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:18 pm

The money quote, from Kelly’s college coach, Bill Bowes of New Hampshire:

“You have to hand it to him,” Bowes said … “Chip is very insightful, and not pretentious. (Former UNH and UO offensive coordinator) Gary Crowton had a good offensive mind, and Chip has taken that and expanded that, created new things, new concepts, new offensive ideas. And I think Chip will continue to do that. He has a mind for offensive football.

“He’s bright enough to know you have to match your offense with the talent you have. Not all coaches have that — the ability to make changes or adaptations, and the foresight to analyze and evaluate the personnel you have, and create the best offense for your personnel.

“Some of that is being stubborn, and some of it is not being inventive, not understanding the game that well. They don’t have that ability. They take what they’ve learned, but they cannot create themselves. Chip is one of those guys that can create. And I don’t think there are many guys in college that are creative themselves.

“They’re copycats. They’ll go other places and copy what other people do. Chip has done that. But he also has the ability to be creative himself.”

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 2:24 pm
Reply to  mhenski

I get it Mhenski , my brother, but I still don’t like it.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:21 pm

DURHAM, N.H. — On a bright day this spring in the Field House on the University of New Hampshire campus, head football coach Sean McDonnell sat at his desk lunching on a salad, pausing to recall the instant in that same office years before when Chip Kelly took perhaps the first significant step on his path to Oregon.

It certainly didn’t seem momentous at the time. The Wildcats were at a crossroads, but who knew then that taking the path they did would eventually lead Kelly all the way across the country?

In hindsight, though, it makes perfect sense. That moment called for Kelly to draw on all the skills that would make him one of college coaching’s brightest new stars, and ultimately lead to his being named the Ducks’ head coach, replacing Mike Bellotti.

Confidence. Creativity. Charisma. Energy. Ingenuity. Intelligence.

All those qualities were on display that day in 1999, Kelly’s first year as New Hampshire’s offensive coordinator after five seasons as a position coach. All induced Bellotti to name Kelly as Oregon’s coach-in-waiting in December, and all, too, will be on display when Kelly leads the Ducks onto the field for his first game at the helm, Sept. 3 at Boise State.

Back in McDonnell’s office in 1999, the longtime friends and associates were trying to figure out how to overcome the graduation of all-America tailback Jerry Azumah, the first player in Division I-AA (now FCS) history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The Wildcats had been a traditional power running team, using a zone blocking scheme that Kelly had introduced as offensive line coach.

But with Azumah gone, and athletic passer Ryan Day in line to take over at quarterback as a sophomore, Kelly looked at the depth chart and figured change was in order.

“He said, ‘Mac, why are we playing this kid, just for the sake of playing him?’ ” McDonnell recalled.

In other words, Kelly was asking, why go with a guy at one position just because he fits the old scheme, when you’ve got a wealth of talent elsewhere whose only drawback is that it doesn’t fit the scheme as well?

“I said, ‘Well, what are you going to do?’ ” McDonnell recalled, between bites of his salad. “ ‘How are we going to run the ball?’

“He goes, ‘I don’t know. But I’ll go find a way.’ ”

Kelly took to the road, visiting several schools that incorporated spread-option concepts. That fall, using the new scheme, New Hampshire finished a game better than the year before and raised its scoring average by a touchdown a game, despite the loss of Azumah.

Kelly’s genius for offensive football was affirmed.

Ten years later, the Ducks hope it will be reaffirmed in Eugene. But before Chip Kelly attempts to make history at Oregon, it’s worth looking back at his own.

A thinking quarterback

Kelly, 45, is loath to discuss his life off the field. When he’s asked questions that even hint at requiring self-analysis, you can almost hear his eyes rolling.

But others are more than happy to fill in the blanks.

“I’m really proud to say I coached him, and to call him a friend,” said Bob Leonard, Kelly’s coach in football and track at Manchester (N.H.) Central High School. “He was in my wedding. Since day one, we’ve been friends. He’s the best.”

Kelly was a star in both sports for Leonard, but his athletic background traces back much further. He is the third of four brothers, all athletes. Their parents supported the boys’ athletic endeavors; their father, Paul, later became a regular presence at UNH football practices when Kelly played there.

The other three brothers stuck mostly with individual sports; Keith, who is two years older than Chip, is an accomplished distance runner who once was the top finisher from New Hampshire in the Boston Marathon.

But team sports were Chip Kelly’s calling. He played CYO basketball, and was a rugged winger in the Manchester Regional Youth Hockey Association. Truth be told, hockey was Kelly’s first love, but he was better at football, which ultimately became the focus of his energies.

“I was always just enamored with it,” Kelly said in a rare moment of public self-reflection. “I think it’s just the competitive nature. You wanted to win, so how are you going to figure out ways to win? That’s what it was all about.”

At Manchester Central, Kelly ran the second leg on a 4×100-meter relay team that once held the New England record, Leonard said. Quick feet made Kelly a whiz through the turn, and helped him in football as well. He took over at quarterback for Central’s “Little Green” — a nod to nearby Dartmouth College’s Big Green — as a sophomore, also playing safety.

“He won’t tell you this — he’ll say ‘I wasn’t this, I wasn’t that’ — but he had great speed,” Leonard said. “He was only about 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, but he had a great sense about him, offensively and defensively.”

Kelly was Leonard’s coach on the field. As a safety, he made sure none of the other defenders was beaten for big plays. Offensively, he blossomed after being switched from running back.

“When he moved to quarterback, there was just no stopping him,” Leonard said. “He understood what we did so well, and he understood what the people across the way were doing. And he just made one miraculous play after another.”

Kelly put his quick feet to use in an offense developed at Syracuse, which thrived using rollout passes. Even now, Leonard says, he sees hints of that scheme in what Kelly does at Oregon, getting his quarterbacks outside the pocket where they can see the whole field and throw on the run.

Back then, locals in Manchester compared Kelly with Minnesota Vikings legend Fran Tarkenton, for his toughness and ability to escape the pocket. Mentally, Kelly’s command of the game was also high.

“He would look to the sideline for a play, and more often than not I’d just point to him and say, ‘You make the call,’ ” Leonard said.

Later on at New Hampshire, as both a player and coach, Kelly developed a respect for the importance of the running game as the bedrock of offensive football. But at Central, Leonard said, it was the other aspect of offense that intrigued Kelly.

“Chip believed right from the get-go that if you threw the ball, good things were going to happen,” Leonard said. “And being his high school coach, I witnessed that. He threw the ball when other people wouldn’t. It gave me pause on more than one night. But he never threw into trouble.”

As a senior, Kelly was named all-state at quarterback. That fall, after a Thanksgiving Day game, Leonard told the team he wasn’t returning as head coach.

Kelly’s response? “No, don’t do it — I want to coach with you some day,” he told Leonard.

“He knew from the time he first stepped on the field,” Leonard says now, “that he wanted to be a coach.”

A way with offense

After graduating from Central, Kelly walked on at New Hampshire for legendary coach Bill Bowes. Though Kelly’s speed didn’t translate well to the college level, he caught on as a reserve defensive back.

“You put him out there as a corner on a fast wide receiver, you were holding your breath,” Bowes said this spring over a soda in his favorite Durham coffee shop. “But he was the kind of kid that you wanted on the team, that was going to be there every day, practice hard every day, set the tone for everyone else.”

Put another way: “Chip knows the work end of the shovel,” Leonard said.

While playing for Bowes, who coached the Wildcats from 1972-98, Kelly didn’t betray his future coaching intentions. But he impressed Bowes enough to get a partial scholarship, a hard-earned feat under the tough former offensive line coach.

“Usually when I gave those out, they would be to a walk-on kid that you thought maybe had the potential to be a starter,” Bowes said. “But in his case, I wanted him to stay on the team. I wanted him to hang with it.”

Kelly ended up earning some playing time with the Wildcats, then returned home to Manchester. He was named offensive coordinator at Central, where his old coach, Bob Leonard, was back on the staff coaching defense.

Still enamored with slinging the ball down the field, Kelly would sometimes confound Leonard with the frequency with which his offense went three-and-out. But already, Leonard was seeing Kelly’s creativity at work.

Later, when Kelly turned dual-threat quarterback Ricky Santos into a spread-option demon at New Hampshire, and when he ran the Statue of Liberty play for a touchdown in his first season as Oregon’s offensive coordinator, at Michigan in 2007, it all looked familiar to Leonard.

“He had an idea of where this thing was going a long time ago,” Leonard said of Kelly’s offensive philosophy. “Every one of those ‘plays of the week,’ he saved those from somewhere. Every now and again I’ll be watching him coach and I’ll think, ‘Yep, you came back with that one, I remember where that came from.’ But he put it all together in a different package.

“And when the (quarterback) goes out on the field to run this offense, the kid really is in charge, because Chip makes him in charge. That’s what Chip can do: He can make other people do things that even they don’t know they’re capable of doing.”

Such as Dennis Dixon, who lost the UO starting job in 2006, then blossomed into a Heisman candidate under Kelly in 2007.

“And he’s been doing that since day one, even as a player,” Leonard said.

Student of the game

Sean McDonnell, who last fall completed his 10th season as head coach at New Hampshire, first encountered Kelly when he was still the quarterback at Manchester Central and McDonnell was an assistant at Manchester West.

From 1985-87, McDonnell worked at Boston University, and Kelly asked to drop in and study some of that staff’s philosophies.

That began a long tradition of Kelly traveling to other schools, personal homework assignments that included a 2006 visit to Oregon, setting in motion Kelly’s joining the UO staff a year later.

“He was like a sponge,” McDonnell recalled. “Every time he went someplace, he wanted to soak up what they were doing.”

McDonnell later moved on to Columbia, and in 1990 he greased the wheels for Kelly to get out of Manchester and coach freshman football at the Ivy League school. A group of coaches shared an apartment near Morningside Park in New York, and Kelly “was like a hayseed” upon being introduced to the big city, McDonnell said.

One night, McDonnell said, “he kept hearing these cracking sounds. He goes, ‘Firecrackers, huh?’ One of the guys from New York says, ‘Firecrackers? Those are gunshots!’ ”

McDonnell returned to New Hampshire, where he’d also been a player, in 1991, narrowly missing Gary Crowton, who had just completed a three-year stint as offensive coordinator there and who would later precede Kelly at Oregon. In 1994, McDonnell took over as offensive coordinator and hired Kelly, the start of a 13-year working relationship at UNH.

Kelly started out as running backs coach, working with Azumah. Then, in 1997, Bowes needed to hire an offensive line assistant. A former line coach himself, Bowes was particular about the men who handled the position on his staff. In an audacious move, Kelly applied for the job.

“He had the gumption to come in and say, ‘Hey coach, I am really interested in that position,’” Bowes said. “I think it was his way of learning more. That was my strength.”

By then renowned for his work ethic, particularly in the film room, Kelly approached McDonnell about a zone rushing scheme that he’d picked up at clinics and in conversations with coaches elsewhere. Using the new scheme that fall, Azumah ran for a school-record 1,585 yards. The next year, as a senior, Azumah ran for 2,195.

In 1999, Azumah graduated, McDonnell replaced Bowes as head coach, and Kelly was promoted to offensive coordinator. After meeting with McDonnell, Kelly scrapped the record-setting offense and started again from scratch.

The next season, Day began a meteoric three-year run as New Hampshire’s quarterback. The prolific numbers he put up were later surpassed by Ricky Santos, who holds UNH records in attempts, completions and yards and who, in Kelly’s last season at UNH in 2006, won the Walter Payton Award as the nation’s best I-AA player.

In eight seasons with Kelly as coordinator, the Wildcats averaged 400 yards of offense per game seven times. They set school records for total offense in 2004, and scoring in 2005.

“You have to hand it to him,” Bowes said from his booth in the Durham coffee shop. “Chip is very insightful, and not pretentious. Gary Crowton had a good offensive mind, and Chip has taken that and expanded that, created new things, new concepts, new offensive ideas. And I think Chip will continue to do that. He has a mind for offensive football.

“He’s bright enough to know you have to match your offense with the talent you have. Not all coaches have that — the ability to make changes or adaptations, and the foresight to analyze and evaluate the personnel you have, and create the best offense for your personnel.

“Some of that is being stubborn, and some of it is not being inventive, not understanding the game that well. They don’t have that ability. They take what they’ve learned, but they cannot create themselves. Chip is one of those guys that can create. And I don’t think there are many guys in college that are creative themselves.

“They’re copycats. They’ll go other places and copy what other people do. Chip has done that. But he also has the ability to be creative himself.”

‘A smart guy’

Despite all that, it took a while for the rest of the nation to take notice of the gaudy numbers New Hampshire was putting up under Kelly.

“There wasn’t a big buzz,” McDonnell recalled.

McDonnell said Kelly interviewed with Randy Edsall at Connecticut, and turned down Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants because Kelly got no assurances a quality control job would eventually earn him a promotion to the field.

All the while, Kelly was traversing the country, participating in clinics, and visiting the likes of Clemson and Northwestern to pick up new offensive wrinkles.

“He interned in Canada one year for three weeks, and came back with all these funky motions and stuff like that,” McDonnell said with a touch of amazement.

Kelly was an aggressive coordinator who would get spitting mad when McDonnell called for field-goal attempts. After 20 years studying the game, he was confident, and creative, and charismatic, and energetic, and ingenious.

And, McDonnell stressed, don’t forget intelligent.

“That’s a point that gets mixed up in all this,” McDonnell said. “You can be a hard worker, you can be an energetic person, but he’s a smart guy. He knows kids, knows people. He has a good sense for that.”

In 2006, Kelly took one of his annual forays to another school, this time meeting former UNH coordinator Crowton at Oregon. A year later Crowton left for LSU, and Kelly was back in Eugene to interview with Bellotti.

“I knew when he walked through the door after the interview that he wasn’t long for this place anymore,” McDonnell said. “If Bellotti offered him the job, he was gone. He really liked Mike.”

It was mutual, and Bellotti named Kelly as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. What followed were the two most prolific offensive seasons in school history, exploiting both the versatility of quarterbacks Dixon and Jeremiah Masoli and a punishing running game. It was the passing game of Kelly’s heart combined with the ground game he came to embrace.

Now, Kelly is making the transition to head coach. If there’s any question about his ability to thrive in that role, it’s whether the master schematic coach can handle all the administrative duties associated with the job.

“He’ll be good at it,” McDonnell said, “because he was good at it here. When we had to have him talk to a bunch of alumni, he’s got a sharp memory and can connect with people.

“The biggest thing is, knowing Chip, he’ll be able to surround himself with people who can do things that he would probably not like to do.”

Missing from that list is play calling. Kelly has said he intends to do that this season, despite hiring Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator. McDonnell said he wouldn’t be surprised if Kelly is still calling plays five years from now.

Those are his roots, after all. Roots that stretch back to Manchester, N.H., and that could thrive and flourish as never before in Eugene.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:23 pm
Reply to  mhenski

the above is long but if you read this about chip and are not excited for him to be our coach then so be it.

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 2:25 pm
Reply to  mhenski

I’m not impressed. I want to see him do it in the NFL.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:31 pm
Reply to  gmcliff

I feel ya Cliff. I want to see it too. I have every reason to believe he will get it done in the NFL.

Based on everything I read he sets up his schemes based on personnel and he knows how to run basically every scheme in the NFL and his scheme.

I’m excited about the hire. I cant really be anything else as a fan. No point in sulking. Im the type of guy that says I will give you the benefit of the doubt until you prove me wrong.

I wanted Gus myself because I want a smash your fucking skull in defense. But after listening to Sal Palatonio last night I didnt want him. Gus literally has 0 experience on the offensive side of the ball 0… Not qualified for a HC job

All I can do is :

Root for the Eagles
Root for the Eagles to get rid of that dumb fight song
Root for the Eagles to bring back the Kelly green with Coach kelly

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 6:15 pm
Reply to  mhenski

You know I’ll root for the EAGLES, but I be darn if today isn’t the worst day to hear that was our choice. I really hope we play Seattle next year.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:32 pm

Put Kellys resume against against Gus and every single NFL GM picks Kelly as long as names are hidden…

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 6:16 pm
Reply to  mhenski

I doubt it , because Gus has actually coached and been successful in the NFL….Most wouldn’t take the risk………

pheags88
pheags88
January 16, 2013 2:39 pm

Jeff MClane saying Chip will go 3-4 on defense…

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:42 pm

Gus has no clue about defense – haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Anyone know who coached Haloti Ngata in college ?

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 2:49 pm
Reply to  mhenski

sorry that was supposed to say chip not gus

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 2:55 pm

Mhenski…. if you can put your pom poms down for a second i will tell you y so many here are less than thrilled……

We grew up watching the eagles tackle…. wrap guys up… and make big hits. Im not talking about cheap shots… im talking about tough football.

When Andy came… he brought J.J. and that was good.. for a while.

Pman said it earlier….. this next gen of eagles fans have NEVER seen a tough eagles D. Im afraid those days are continuing. IF… IF…. they get a hard nosed D mind i will feel better. BUT….. im tired of all O all the time.

We are tired of speed speed speed and no meat.
We are tired of all the focus being on scoring 50.
We are tired of throwing 80 yards down field when its 3rd and 1.
We are tired of trying to outsmart everyone.

I for one want SMART and STRONG… not RISK and CREATIVE.

Its fine that you are pumped for this….. the rest of us are less stoked.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 3:04 pm
Reply to  Stevo

i hear ya and want those same things but where were you gonna get that from ? who plays football like that right now? seattle, pitt and san fran thats about it. maybe chicago and new england.

i think a lot of the physicality we seek comes down to we arent getting the right type of players on defense…

i want that defense bro and i want it bad but you cant just be stupid and get Gus because he will get you that because at the same time he brings absolutely zero to the table on the other side of the ball. Gus wouldve been a disaster.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 3:06 pm
Reply to  mhenski

Chip wont throw 80 yards on 3rd and 1, he will run.

chip wont try to outsmart everyone because really he is smarter than 99% of the coaches in football.

all i am saying was Chip was the most qualified guy for the job.

im hoping we hire Gus as asst HC.

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 3:13 pm
Reply to  mhenski

not gunna happen. Not even sure they can do that.

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 3:30 pm
Reply to  Stevo

they can do that but i agree wont happen but for real the best job in the NFL for Gus would be that job

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 3:50 pm

I sense Bradley staying in Seattle and keeping an eye for the Jobs that will be open next Year (Jets/Cowboys/Lions/Titans/Panthers and possibly the Raiders) if they all fail to improve
I bet he spends the Off-Season picking some Offensive Coordinators brains about some Offensive Schemes/Game Planning to do a little networking..

btc24
btc24
January 16, 2013 3:58 pm

I’m a little bummed that we didn’t get Gus. I really liked him.

upperdecker19
upperdecker19
January 16, 2013 4:27 pm
Reply to  btc24

I don’t get the GusBus fascination. Admittedly, he had a great run this year. But no one really can say how much of that success was attributable to him (Carroll, GM, etc.). I like the guy’s demeanor and all, but is he really someone to get this buttsore over passing over?

Kelly on the other hand….I see as low risk, high reward.

Low risk meaning….we’ll get an idea very quickly as to whether he’s the real deal or not (ala Steve Spurrior). If he sucks….he’s gone. He gets rehired in a second by a college program, and the Eagles owe him nothing.

High reward….meaning…..I’d rather be on board with the franchise that is bold enough to give this system a shot. Heck, Bellichek and the Pats are picking this guy’s brain. And they’ve won a few games here and there. I’d rather see if he could succeed here, rather than going to another team and winning a Super Bowl and saying….heck, that could have been our guy.

Let’s let it play out for a year or two. Just like the Josh McDaniels experiment in Denver. They cut the cord quick, and didn’t set their franchise back at all moving forward.

btc24
btc24
January 16, 2013 4:51 pm
Reply to  upperdecker19

Fair points.

pdiddy
pdiddy
January 16, 2013 4:13 pm

, come on big dog it’s time to get on the Chip ship man. This is what I am going to do I am going purchase your ticket. And your gonna sit right between me and JH. If you get motion sickness I will have the medicine on deck for you come on board everybody. LOL

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 16, 2013 6:18 pm
Reply to  pdiddy

I’m pissed Diddy…..

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2013 4:32 pm

Did they get their guy? Yes! Did they get the right guy? Not in my opinion!
This is a feast, or famine move! This goes to show me, that Lurie’s ego, cluelessness & delusions, are far worse, than I thought. This hire basically is saying, I know better than anyone, & I’ll show them! It’s asinine, that they hired a gimmicky HC, that has ZERO, NFL experience, in playing, or coaching! NONE at all! Lurie better put a good coaching staff around him, & Kelly better modify his Offense to the NFL, because it WILL NOT work, & will set an already horrid team, back 5 years! I DO NOT like this, but hopefully, a good team is put around him, for him to succeed, because right now, it don’t look good!

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2013 4:39 pm
Reply to  DCar

I hope he is as smart as everyone is hoping he is, because his Oregon style, will not work in the NFL! We do not have the personnel, to fit his Oregon offense. He HAS TO modify it. Vick WON’T be back! Foles is a HUGE???? Our WR’s are small, frail, & injury prone! Our TE’s are practically non-existent, & our O-line needs to be rebuilt! Not even mentioning, the entire DF is atrocious, devoid of a secondary, are TOO small, & now may be changed to a 3-4 scheme!

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2013 4:41 pm
Reply to  DCar

SB BOWL BABBBY!!!! CAN’T WAIT!!!!

paulman
paulman
January 16, 2013 4:47 pm

1st Play from Scrimmage in next Season Opener versus the KC CHiefs at the Linc, Foles pitches to L McCoy around left side, who flips the ball to D-Jax on a deep reverse and then D-Jax throws down the righ side-line to a wide open Nick FOles for a 65 Yard TD pass
(Unfortunately, The Play-Clock was malfunctioning and the play is called Dead by the Officials)
The Eagles never cross the 50 Yard Line the rest of game as KC Chiefs QB
Matt Flynn rips the Eagles Secondary for 388 Yards picking on CB Asmo most of the game and Jamall Charles rushes for another 160 Yards as the Chiefs beat up on the Eagles 31-0 …
Fans go out and burn their Eagles Jersey and Chant , “Bring Andy Back, Bring Andy Back” Chip Kelly Resigns on Monday and returns back to the University of New Hampshire as a Sociology Professor…

SONGSRME2
SONGSRME2
January 16, 2013 4:51 pm

2-14

Stevo
Stevo
January 16, 2013 4:57 pm
Reply to  SONGSRME2

2-14 what? Is that the date RG3 returns in 2014?

2-14, is that the amount of games you root for the eagles and root for the skins?

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2013 5:00 pm
Reply to  Stevo

POW!!!! In yo face, Front running, bandwagoner!!!! LMFBO!!!!!

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2013 5:03 pm
Reply to  DCar

Good one Steve! Do you think he’s now a Kapernick fan? I already know that answer! Last week it was Wilson! The week prior, it was RGIII! When Vick was healthy it was him! See the trend! FRAUD rooting for individuals, rather than his so-called team!!!!

btc24
btc24
January 16, 2013 5:12 pm
Reply to  SONGSRME2

Haha. Hey Songs, go fuck yourself dude. Did nfl.com ever give you a refund on that RG3 jersey?

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 6:10 pm
Reply to  btc24

Haaa songs what a fuckin mush Mushed philly mushed rg 3 mushed Wilson. Haa what a cunt

upperdecker19
upperdecker19
January 16, 2013 5:48 pm
Reply to  SONGSRME2

Yep….the Cowgirls hired Kiffin to run the defense…..and Kelly OWNS Kiffin! So that’s 2 likely wins.

jakedog
jakedog
January 16, 2013 6:29 pm

You guys are tough talking pussies to attack a poster who has checked out like many of you should, skins have rg3, with chip Kelly we now have pbj, piggy boy junior

greenfan
greenfan
January 16, 2013 7:18 pm
Reply to  jakedog

Why do you continue to kiss Songs ass everytime he posts on here?

mhenski
mhenski
January 16, 2013 7:59 pm
Reply to  greenfan

only a real pathetic loser pussy would quit on the eagles pledge their allegiance to the redskins and then still come to an eagles site. only a total pathetic pussy cunt would do that

jakedog
jakedog
January 16, 2013 8:04 pm

Green you are a smart man but I don’t kiss anyone’s ass except for the beavy of broads I roll with, but if someone says something insightful I will agree, and songs says a lot of. Intelligent commentary, he doesn’t just fall in line, I respect that although we have sparred about the quarterback

coldbrewski
coldbrewski
January 16, 2013 8:10 pm

First I’ll welcome Chip Kelly as the new HC of my team. I truly hope he’s successful. But I just love how Songs is somehow a Pariah but the rest of bitches aren’t after trolling the site for years bases on who played QB. Some of you have already indicated you’ll lose your mancrush for Kelly if he retains Vick as the QB. Bunch of frauds.