It wasn't long after the Philadelphia Eagles and owner Jeffrey Lurie decided to cut ties with head coach Chip Kelly in what immediately became the most shocking move of the 2015 NFL season, that we got an inkling as to where Kelly may wind up next. Or, at least where Kelly would potentially be interested in winding up next.
While many have made the assumption that a return to college is in Kelly's future, nearly every report in the last 24 hours has suggested that Kelly is determined to remain in the NFL and chase a Lombardi Trophy. And though his reputation is almost certainly tarnished, it really wouldn't be surprising to see the Browns and owner Jimmy Haslam, who pursued Kelly so heavily three short years ago, to alter course, fire head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer, and install Kelly.
Reports have already emerged indicating that the Browns, and presumably Haslam, lay the blame for this season's failures at the feet of Farmer, not Pettine. And while that seemingly bodes well for Pettine, it also doesn't sound or look like they're all that invested in a guy who has now gone 3-17 in two years on the job. Pettine himself said recently that no assurances have been made regarding his job status going forward.
Kelly, for all the talk of his poor communication and the alienation of those around him in Philly, is an incredibly intelligent coach and an innovative mind. Did all those innovations work with the Eagles? No. Will he have to make significant changes to his approach, just as Bill Belichick once did after flaming out with, ironically, the Browns? Yes.
But as egotistical as Kelly apparently is, he's also just as smart. And it may take a little soul-searching, but the bet is that he'll figure out that less stringent parameters on a players physical and mental makeup and more of a focus on talent, not culture fit, will do wonders for him the next time around.
Enter the Browns. Johnny Manziel has struggled with training, practicing, and really just acting as a professional, following all-too-closely in the unsteady footsteps of Josh Gordon. Another video of the quarterback partying emerged shortly after Christmas, shocking absolutely no one. But could you imagine what Kelly would be able to accomplish with those two pieces, along with wide receiver Travis Benjamin, running back Duke Johnson, tight end Gary Barnidge and athletic offensive linemen Alex Mack, Joe Thomas, Mitchell Schwartz and Cameron Erving as the main elements of his offense? Of course, that assumes Gordon, one step from NFL banishment, comes back and keeps his nose clean. Ditto Manziel.
Sure, tweaks would come. Kelly never showed an interest in a run-oriented quarterback during his time with the Eagles, but after his initial NFL stint fell apart, there's every reason to believe that the kid gloves will come off and Kelly will be willing to take chances he didn't the first time around. And Manziel, a notorious scrambler and improviser, probably doesn't exactly fit the mold of the automaton Kelly had been seeking as his signal-caller, but maybe that too is a hard lesson learned in Philly.
At some point, his schemes will break down or fail outright, and at that point Kelly simply has to rely on the players he employs to play, to make something out of nothing. Not all the time, not always, but like a band leaving moments for improvisation open within songs, Kelly must allow for the human element to come forth on his team. Belichick's Patriots wouldn't be as successful as they are today were it not for Tom Brady - I know, I know, he's Tom Brady - and his ability to slide in the pocket and make a play when one needs to be made.
The hyper-strict Kelly needs to learn to let go, just as players like Manziel and Gordon need to learn discipline and self-control, on and off the field. It could be a mess. It could blow up in everyone's faces and make the 26-21 record Kelly amassed in his first three seasons in Philly a distant memory. It could also be a glorious fusing of need and availability.
Manziel would be the first quarterback Kelly had at the professional level able to actually freeze the backside defender on those play action fakes that his power spread is predicated upon. No one believed Sam Bradford was going to tuck the ball and run. That's why any time DeMarco Murray was in the game, the defense would key on him and ultimately stop him for no gain or negative yardage as he strung out the run farther and farther toward the sideline. Manziel would not only be a threat to run, he'd do it gladly, willingly. And Gordon, Barnidge, Benjamin and Johnson all have the kind of ability that will leave Kelly salivating, especially after watching his Eagle receivers' and running backs' hands turn to stone time and again this season.
The Browns even run a base 3-4, Kelly's preferred defensive alignment, which is heavy on linebacker bodies to help increase the athleticism on special teams and defend sideline to sideline. Barkevious Mingo, a former first-round pick, has a very similar frame to Dion Jordan, a linebacker Kelly once made great use of during his time at Oregon. Mingo hasn't lived up to the hype in the NFL, but perhaps an altered role would help get his career back on track.
Kelly, much like Belichick, seems the kind of coach who will learn from his failures and, unlike Nick Saban or Steve Spurrier, won't run and hide in college when the NFL going gets tough. Kelly will succeed at the NFL level, it just became apparent to Lurie, based on the issues that had clearly developed within the Eagles' building, that it wasn't going to happen in Philly. Maybe Kelly will always make some questionable personnel decisions. Maybe that, maybe gauging a player's value, may never be his strong suit. But with the talent the Browns already have in place, maybe that's not going to be an issue.
And maybe, as Jay Glazer reported, Chip doesn't even want personnel control at his next stop.
For Philly, everyone needed a fresh start, hard as that may have been for Lurie to admit. He's the owner who gave Andy Reid 14 seasons to win a Super Bowl and defended Kelly until the bitter end.
Much of the talk in coming days will center on the Tennessee Titans, who are seeking a head coach of their own and drafted Kelly's former star pupil at Oregon, Marcus Mariota. But if there's a team and a city willing to bet the farm on a radical new approach to football with a coach determined to redeem himself, a city desperate for a winning NFL franchise and unafraid to take a leap of faith to make that dream a reality, it's Cleveland.
Pettine may be the answer, though his Browns seem to be trending steadily in the wrong direction after starting the 2014 season 7-4, and his ousting at this point would likely mean an incomplete grade as an NFL head coach. But Kelly, for all his warts, is a proven commodity, a proven winner, and a man seemingly willing to do whatever it takes to win.
