Besides picking up the pieces from getting blown out two weeks in a row, it seems Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is mostly busy refuting rumors about him leaving the team for one of the openings in college football.
Well, the good openings (USC for example) are running out, which means Kelly doesn’t have a cushy job to fall back on if he does love. And Kelly himself, if you can trust someone’s words and promise in the world of the NFL and sports in general, said he isn’t going anywhere, at least not until the Eagles decide they’ve had enough of him. With a 4-7 record and not that great of an outlook regarding making the playoffs, especially while Mark Sanchez keeps playing quarterback, it won’t be surprising to see the Eagles decide they’ve had enough.
While the USC job isn’t available anymore, Kelly has been mostly asked about the Trojans position, saying he hasn’t spoken to anyone from the university. He has also spoken to his players, assuring them he’s not going anywhere while his bosses still want him doing the job, as he’s about to complete his third season with the Eagles and in the NFL, winning 20 games in the first two years on the job including making the playoffs in 2013, but missing the postseason last year and not looking on the right path this season.
So while Kelly and possibly his players want him to still be the head coach next season, it’s not that certain he’ll get to keep the job. Last season going 10-6 wasn’t going to hurt his standing, even without making the playoffs. But the overhaul he made in the offseason put a target on his back, and the inability to turn those massive changes into something positive for the Eagles, especially in such a weak year for the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys winning just three games so far, makes it more and more difficult to defend the job he’s doing.
Trying to look at it reasonably as a big, grand-scope project and not just season-by-season approach, it doesn’t make sense firing Kelly one year after giving him complete control over the team. His main concern right now however, as teams love to talk about thinking week-to-week and not anything else, is stopping the defense from giving up so many points. It would help if Sanchez would stop turning over the ball, but counting on Sam Bradford to stay healthy is another big decision that will be held against Kelly when it’s to decide whether or not he stays.