Be careful what you wish for.
During the offseason, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly pushed for more control of the roster in a power struggle between him and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman. Kelly won and remade the roster in his image, most notably swapping quarterbacks Nick Foles and Sam Bradford, trading running back LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso and signing DeMarco Murray in free agency. But after back-to-back 10-6 seasons, the Eagles find themselves just 4-7 and in 3rd place in the underwhelming NFC East.
This has led to rampant speculation that Kelly would jump ship for the cushy USC job or another attractive college option. However, that is not the case, according to Kelly himself. Jeff McLane of Philly.com reports that on Monday, Kelly said that he "has never spoken to anybody from USC, I've never emailed anybody from USC, I've never had a phone call from anybody from USC."
In Tuesday's team meeting, Kelly opened up directly to his players about the rumors that have constantly dogged him this season. He promised the team that he has no desire to the leave the Eagles and his remarks were appreciated by several team leaders, particularly offensive lineman Jason Peters.
"I don't read into the media or listen to the radio," Peters said. "There was speculation that he might leave. It was good to hear it from him that he said he was with us for the long haul."
Kelly has made it clear the he wants to remain with Philadelphia for as long as owner Jeffrey Lurie will have him. This should put to bed the whispers of him taking off for any of the attractive college programs that have openings at the moment. However, it does not mean that Lurie will keep Kelly on for good.
While the third-year head coach will almost assuredly return for a fourth season in Philly, there's no denying that this year has been a disaster. Though Foles has floundered with the St. Louis Rams, Bradford has not been much better. The oft-injured QB is sidelined at the moment with yet another ailment and was not playing consistently well when healthy.
Elsewhere, the Eagles have regressed on offense as a whole. In 2014, the team's offense finished fifth in yards per game (396.8) and third in points (29.6). While the defense is slightly improved this year, the offense ranks 12th (361.5) and 20th (22.1) in those same categories. Kelly will have to have a quick turnaround to ensure his job security.
