Nick Piccone
We’ve told you about the several anonymous Eagles players that have thrown Chip Kelly under the bus after he was fired last night. We’ve also told you some players have come to Chip’s defense. Lane Johnson, though, doesn’t know what to think.
But there’s one guy who is apparently head over heels happy that Chip is gone, and his name is Marcus Smith. In fact, he said he was ecstatic that Chip is gone. That’s pretty heavy. Here’s more, via NJ.com:
I was ecstatic,” Smith said following Wednesday’s practice when asked what his initial reaction was to the news of Kelly’s release. “I didn’t expect it to happen right when it did. I didn’t think it was going to happen. I know speculation, that everybody was was talking about it on ESPN. I was actually getting a massage when it happened. I really can’t tell you how it happened. It just did.”
“It would give anybody an opportunity to be able to impress a new coach when we do what we do,” Smith said. “Whatever coach comes in, I just pray and hope I get the opportunity to do what I need to do and do the things that I want to do.”
Tell us how you really feel, Marcus. Though, I can’t necessarily blame him for feeling that way. He’s been killed by fans and even his coaches, who clearly see no ability in him. Why do they keep him, though, especially when he was a Howie Roseman draft pick? That’s still a mystery.
Billy Davis, whose future is also up in the air, and who thinks he’s getting fired next, says Smith needs to continue to get better.
Marcus continues to –” Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said prior to Tuesday’s practice. “All of the young guys have all the opportunities in practice and that’s kind of how we determine how long and how much we’ll play them. Marcus has got to continue to get better. There hasn’t been a whole lot of production yet. We’re still working and Marcus is working hard at it and hopefully we can get some production from him.”
Is Billy Davis racist?…
Clearly, Smith’s had no coaches here to build him up. Is that his fault? We might not actually know yet. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays under a new coach, if the team decides to keep him around. And with Roseman back at the head of player personnel, I think it’s a good bet Smith’s sticking around.
UPDATE: Literally seconds after clicking the publish button, Marcus Smith tweeted out that he didn’t mean ecstatic, he meant surprised.
So, that’s all well and good, I guess. Reading in context, it sure sounded like Smith meant to use the word surprised instead of ecstatic, but really, can anyone blame him for feeling ecstatic about this, if he indeed feels that way?
