Chip Kelly at last has final say on personnel decisions for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he has already made many changes to a team that won the NFC East two seasons ago and narrowly missed the playoffs despite winning 10 games last year.
Free Agents To Avoid Philadelphia Because Of Chip Kelly?
Kelly has released two of the longest-tenured Philadelphia players, traded away star running back LeSean McCoy, and is losing his most productive receiver for the second consecutive offseason after news broke that Jeremy Maclin is expected to join the Chiefs. So while Kelly is working to build the roster that he desires, is he actually making the team any better with these moves?
At Oregon, Kelly routinely was able to rebuild within his system despite losing talented players to the NFL after each season. He clearly believes that the same is possible in the NFL based on these roster decisions. He likely thinks that with solid quarterback and offensive line play, he will be able to hang points on anyone. After two seasons, it is a hard position to argue, as Maclin easily replicated DeSean Jackson's 2013 numbers after the latter was released before the 2014 season, and other running backs have put up excellent numbers when filling in for an injured LeSean McCoy.
Also, the roster moves have freed up a lot of cap space for Philadelphia, which they are reportedly using to target secondary help. If the team upgrades their defensive backfield and can find a reliable pass rusher in the wake of Trent Cole's departure, the defense could easily profile as one of the league's best.
It is easy to look at these moves and say that Kelly has no loyalty to his players (and some players may feel that way), but Bill Belichick often exhibits similar dispassion when making roster moves, and free agents still flock to New England, as most players value winning above all else.
It is certainly too early to say that Kelly's brilliance as a coach will be matched in quality by his roster moves, but his early successes on the field should at least create some margin for error with his personnel decisions. Kelly's draft acumen may be the real litmus test, as successful draft picks are proven to be the most effective way to set a team up to win.
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