Eagles Hire Oregon HC Chip Kelly

[Guest]

The Philadelphia Eagles made Chip Kelly one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL, giving him a five-year contract worth $32.5 million, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

The lucrative deal, which is worth $6.5 million annually, was a crucial factor in Kelly's decision to join the Eagles after originally deciding to remain at Oregon, according to the source.

The 49-year-old Kelly, who was officially introduced Thursday, became the 21st coach in Eagles history and will replace Andy Reid, who was fired on Dec. 31 after a 4-12 season.

The enigmatic Kelly reportedly was close to signing with the Browns after a long interview Jan. 4. He met with the Eagles for nine hours the next day, setting up a soap-opera scenario in which the Eagles were competing with Browns CEO Joe Banner, their former president and longtime friend of Lurie who left the organization after a falling out. But that roller coaster ended when Kelly opted to remain -- temporarily -- in Eugene, Ore.

An offensive innovator, Kelly ultimately was lured away from Oregon, where he went 46-7 in four seasons and turned the program into a national powerhouse.

Though Kelly has no previous NFL experience, the Eagles are banking on him to turn around a franchise that has just 12 wins in the last two years and zero playoff victories since 2008.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/88...cording-source

[wingsfan77]

You had to know it was going to be a huge figure to get him away from Oregon, doesn't really matter to me since it doesn't count against the cap or anything.

[Guest]

You had to know it was going to be a huge figure to get him away from Oregon, doesn't really matter to me since it doesn't count against the cap or anything.

Given the track record of NCAA to NFL coaches, it's lulz-worthy.

[ralaw]

Eagles in talks to reunite Chip Kelly with Dennis Dixon

The Philadelphia Eagles are putting off the decision to cut Michael Vick until Mar. 12, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. As such, the Eagles need to find out whether they have any better options at quarterback, or if they can find one in the draft or free agency, before cutting Vick or not. Therefore, negotiations have begun to bring one of Chip Kelly’s old quarterbacks into the fold.

Rumors spread before the Super Bowl that Kelly wanted to sign former Oregon Ducks quarterback Dennis Dixon away from the Baltimore Ravens. According to Comcast SportsNet’s Geoff Mosher on Feb. 5, negotiations have begun to sign him, as the Eagles can sign Dixon before the start of free agency on Mar. 12 since he is on the Ravens’ practice squad.

Because Dixon is a practice squad quarterback with a handful of NFL starts in his five-year career, he can’t be the ideal choice to run the Eagles. However, Kelly coached him when he was the Ducks’ offensive coordinator in 2007, and made him a Heisman candidate before he hurt his knee.

Kelly’s work with Dixon was the first sign that his high-octane offense would take off in Oregon, and he built on it when he became the head coach. Therefore, it may be fate that Kelly could turn to Dixon to help launch his pro career as well.

Mosher did state that Dixon would only “compete for a job” if he comes to Philadelphia, as it would make no sense to give a practice squad quarterback the frontrunner position. Still, the Eagles need to build up options, since they really have none at the moment to replace Vick with yet.

Philadelphia had to put off releasing Vick today because Nick Foles isn’t a definitively better option, at least not in Kelly’s system. In addition, there aren’t many appealing quarterbacks to pursue in the draft or free agency yet. As such, signing Dixon and getting something to build on might be better than nothing for the time being.

No deal has been made yet and the Eagles are not commenting on any rumors. With most eyes on the Vick dilemma and on the search for a new defensive coordinator, Philadelphia can afford to keep things with Dixon under the radar.

[Diivox]

Did Pete Carroll get suspended by the NFL after jumping from USC to avoid sanctions?

it was super unusual for them to suspend Tressel, but I think the difference there is Tressel was already "out" as a bad guy. Carroll and Kelly jumped ship when theer was still tons of smoke, but were already in the NFL by the time everyone saw the extent of the fire. The NFL does not give a crap about what comes out AFTER the contract is signed, just before

[BrntO4Life]

it was super unusual for them to suspend Tressel, but I think the difference there is Tressel was already "out" as a bad guy. Carroll and Kelly jumped ship when theer was still tons of smoke, but were already in the NFL by the time everyone saw the extent of the fire. The NFL does not give a crap about what comes out AFTER the contract is signed, just before

It was a rhetorical question.

[Obst]

Bump.

[Aso]

So much Thomas hate on Chip from the second he got hired. Gonna be a tough one for him to swallow. Especially since Chip is gonna be putting W's on his Redskins twice a year