Chip Kelly helped the Eagles improve from 4-12 to 10-6 and win the NFC East in his first season as head coach. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
On New Year’s Eve 2012 with 2013 just hours away from beginning, the Philadelphia Eagles started a new chapter in franchise history. Andy Reid was out.
The Eagles always had their leading candidate for coach long before the interview process. They wanted Chip Kelly. Eagles fans knew that Oregon’s appearance in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl could be a preview of what the team would look like under Kelly’s direction.
Kelly was hired on Jan. 16, 2013. 353 days after that hiring, the Eagles are hosting a playoff game.
One of the big reasons for the Eagles success is the coaching style Kelly brings. They have a style that is all their own. They were among the NFL’s best offenses. By the end of the season, a defense that looked porous and weak was also among the best in the league.
He managed to get everyone on board with his style. Nick Foles was promoted to starting quarterback. LeSean McCoy put together the best season of his career. The Eagles had multiple receiving threats. Many unsung heroes emerged on defense.
Kelly changed the franchise for the better. It may be too soon to tell if the Eagles have returned to being a perennial contender as they were in Reid’s golden years. But in Kelly’s first season, they greatly exceeded expectations.
The Eagles were supposed to be 6-10 at best. That was what everyone believed. And why wouldn’t they? The Eagles had just suffered their worst season since Andy Reid took over in 1999. How could this team even be a part of the playoff picture?
Kelly brought in the sports science method and his team is the healthiest entering the playoffs. He had to change quarterbacks midway through the year. They were 1-3 and 3-5 and had to fight just to stay in the playoff race, let alone make the playoffs.
Perhaps the best part of Kelly’s first season were the last two games. After losing the way the Eagles did in Minnesota, Kelly’s team responded with a defining win against the Chicago Bears. Then they finished a hard-fought game against the Cowboys with good defensive stops to clinch the division.
Winning the NFC East alone makes Kelly a hero in Philadelphia. The Eagles are relevant. Once they snapped a 10-game home losing streak, they became dominant at home. The fan base is pumped up about the Eagles again less than one season after all hope was lost.
That may be the biggest reason Kelly deserves to be Coach of the Year. He was looked to be the savior of the franchise and he has done it with good players, good decision and innovative style.
Not only that, but Kelly has paved the way for college coaches. Bill O’Brien is first hiring of the offseason in the NFL. There are still four vacancies in the NFL as of now. Perhaps a team will be willing to give a unique college mind a chance now that Kelly has paved the way.
Isn’t that certainly worthy of Coach of the Year? A six-win difference between seasons, taking a 4-12 team and making them a division winner in his first season in the NFL. Kelly did it with a unique group, using the individual positives of every player’s game and putting it to good use.
Kelly knows this team. More than that, he values each aspect of a game. He paid attention to detail. He was willing to try new things and potentially fail if it made his team better.
Chip Kelly certainly made the Eagles better, and that kind of turnaround should be rewarded.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Look for his Game Preview and recap every weekend and his Monday Review the morning after every Eagles game. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
