Failed in Philly

From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

It’s painfully obvious that Chip Kelly has failed in Philly in his first go-around as a head coach in the NFL. It’s official. Stick the proverbial fork in him. He’s done.

As obvious as it is to Eagles fans at-large – and don’t ever underestimate the astuteness of Eagles fans – it should be equally obvious to Eagles owner Jeff Lurie. But it probably isn’t. Remember, it took Lurie several years to realize the time had come to cut Andy Reid loose. Whereas Eagles fans reached that conclusion two to three years earlier.

On his last two hires, Lurie allowed a pair of glib snake oil salesman to convince him they were the right men for the job.

First came Andy Reid with a stack of three-ring binders – alphabetically referenced and cross-referenced – explaining a system guaranteed to produce a string of Super Bowl winners. And get this – Reid’s system didn’t require superstars. Especially at wide receiver. Players were interchangeable. He could plug-and-play anyone into his system and the Eagles would roll to victory after victory.
A decade later came Chip Kelly with an up-tempo offense geared to rack up tons of points, one win after another, and Super Bowl after Super Bowl. And best of all – his parts were interchangeable. He didn’t need talent to win; culture was more important. He could plug anyone into his up-tempo offense and crank out victories. He could even plug in players with histories of crippling injuries because he’d resuscitate them with smoothies, by monitoring their sleep patterns, and by using sports science. While, of course, all the while ignoring them as human beings. And if someone played at Oregon, all the better.

Make no mistake about it. The storage areas inside Jeff Lurie’s mansion are crammed full of crates of snake oil and horse liniment – but there’s nary a Lombardi Trophy. He’s a sucker for a good old song and dance and both Andy Reid and Chip Kelly snookered him. He fell for their ballyhoo hook, line, and sinker.

In retrospect, Andy Reid took the Eagles to the playoffs and one Super Bowl appearance before his message lost its sting with the players. But not so with Chip Kelly. While failing to deliver a playoff victory, he has systematically destroyed the franchise in less than three years.

Forget about not knowing how to coach in the NFL. Chip still hasn’t mastered fundamentals like clock-management and play-calling. And speaking of play-calling, why in hell does he need such an unwieldy chart when he only calls a handful of plays? Why does he refuse to make adjustments to flaws in his system?

I’m afraid the Eagles are going to lose the rest of the games this season. And when I look at the Eagles roster, it reminds me of Mother Hubbard’s cupboard – bare of talent. It’s going to take three years to rebuild the Eagles and Kelly has no idea how to do it. There’s nothing to gain by waiting.