Chip Kelly orchestrated some Eagle-on-Eagle crime this evening: poaching Ryan Day from Boston College University. Day has been offensive coordinator in Chestnut Hill the last two seasons. Prior to that, Day bounced back-and-forth between Boston College & Temple, with a brief stop in Gainesville, before being plucked from Atlantic Coast Conference mediocrity tonight.
Chip Kelly went back to the well with this hire. He & Day are both alums of the same high school in Manchester, New Hampshire. Ryan Day played QB for Kelly at the University of New Hampshire; where he thereafter coached tight ends for Kelly’s offense. But what does it mean? Let’s look at it.
In 2013, Andre Williams rushed for 2177 yards & 18 touchdowns under the light of (Ryan) Day. That same year, Day oversaw a quarterback who completed nearly 62% of his passes for nearly 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns compared to just 8 interceptions. An 2013 offense centering around a strong run game and featuring an efficient, turnover-immune QB? Which Eagles are we talking about?
In 2014, Boston College’s rushing attack averaged over 250 yards per game and was a top-15 rushing attack in the country. The passing game, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. In 2014, Day’s quarterback completed just 57% of his passes for 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Not the best numbers out of a signal caller and an eerily Foles-ian regression in statistical production from 2013 to 2014. But before you go and write-off the QB as an anchor weighing down the ship, consider this: the QB detailed above was also the leading rusher in 2014. Tyler Murphy was a University of Florida transfer student brought to Boston College prior to the 2014 season. Here are some of Murphy’s 2014 stats according to ESPN.com:
Rushing: 181 attempts, 1184 yards, 6.5 yards/attempt, 11 touchdowns
Passing: 1623 yards, 7.1 yards/attempt, 13 TD, 10 Int, 126.2 passer rating
This may be the smoking gun that we’ve been waiting for in the mystery that is Chip Kelly. Kelly hired an old colleague—a mentee, really—who is just one season removed from coordinating an offense where a 6’2”, 213 lb mobile quarterback totaled the second most rushing yards in the nation. Has Chip brought Day to Philly because Day knows what it’s like to see QB play regress? Was it a bond forged over 12 years among colleagues? Or was it a glimpse into what Kelly wants his offense to look like in 2015? For those wondering, Marcus Mariota is 6’4” & 219 lbs.
