Seth Vigdor
We posted earlier an interesting quote from Chip Kelly’s introductory press conference as Eagles head coach. It’s been getting a lot of play lately, not only because as general manager, he’s created more holes than he’s filled, but because the speculation is neverending about his desire to go back to college.
With the news that the LSU Tigers are keeping Les Miles as their head coach, at least for another year, it’s time to continue with the speculation of where Chip Kelly may end up next year if he’s not the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s time to continue with the speculation because we have NFL Insider Ian Rapoport speculating that the future of the Chipper is very much in doubt.
While Rapoport has been wrong in the past – most notably his diagnosis of Jordan Hicks’ pectoral injury as being only a 2-4 week injury hours before the team put him on IR, he’s still an NFL Insider, and regardless of how much shit he flings to the wall
And that’s where USC comes into play, who have apparently already reached out to Kelly. Some more, per Rapo’s report:
“My understanding is that after the ugly loss to the Lions in front of the entire country, Chip Kelly was despondent, frustrated and feeling the heat for the first time, aware it seems that his job status may actually be in doubt after grabbing all the power this past offseason. That said, he seems intent on fixing this issue, understands that his back is against the wall and is looking at making some possible changes with a little mini break after the Thanksgiving Day game. But at the end of the season he is gonna face a decision. It seems it is a little bit of a longshot for it to come from another NFL team, but USC still maintains interest in Chip Kelly. It seems like they will at least touch base with him after the season. He is gonna have to make a call on what his future holds after this season with the Eagles ends.”
Rapoport also states that the Tennessee Titans could make a play for Kelly as well if he becomes available. Because, you know, Marcus Mariota.
“Do not discount the Tennessee Titans, especially if Kelly did not want personnel control, which of course would seem to be a huge ask considering what happened in Philly this year.”
As long as the Eagles are losing, you can expect the speculation of where Kelly goes to be all over the place. At the end of the day, the ultimate decision will come down to two people: Jeffery Lurie and Chip Kelly. Either Lurie will have had enough of the drama and the losing and decide to fire Kelly, or Kelly himself will make the decision to walk away from the organization that he blew up with matches still in hand. Then there’s always the possibility that Lurie and Kelly decide to march forward together to try to rectify the problems, which sounds like that’s the angle they’re taking right now. Will there be a scapegoat? There almost always is. And, in this case, Billy Davis would be sent his walking papers after the season, one could surmise.
However, this isn’t exactly the end of the Chipper’s time in Philly. He wants to fix this team. He said as much after Thursday’s embarrassing loss.
Hang on, Philadelphia. The speculation is really starting to gain steam, and we haven’t seen anything yet.