Frank Gore's decision to renege on his handshake deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to join the team once the NFL free agency period officially opens late Tuesday was, by any measure, a surprising one.
Gore's reported reasoning behind the move may, in fact, be even more surprising, verging on alarming, especially for the Eagles front office and fans of the team.
"A source said Gore also indicated to a friend he was concerned with what he heard about Kelly's overbearing approach in Philly," reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. "Kelly's intense, no-nonsense approach - which has helped make him successful throughout his college and professional coaching career - initially rubbed McCoy the wrong way, though McCoy and Kelly were able to patch up their relationship for a good part of their two seasons together."
Then came a report from Rand Geltin of Yahoo! Sports that "Kelly is divisive" and that his "reputation among players around the league isn't stellar."
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com tweeted earlier that free agent receiver Andre Johnson was being pursued by Philly but that he preferred to head elsewhere.
Kelly joined the Eagles after finding immense success at the collegiate level. He's helmed the team to two 10-win seasons and one playoff berth - were it not for a crowded NFC field last season and injuries at the quarterback position, it may very well have been two.
Still, Gore, who played under another coach with a reputation for an overly aggressive, grating, over-bearing style in Jim Harbaugh, seemed perturbed by the manner in which Kelly has operated thus far in his NFL tenure.
That wasn't his only concern though.
"Gore had second thoughts on several fronts, including the financials," Garafolo reports. "The Colts' offer is slightly more lucrative than the deal Philly was ready to give him. But Gore also had significant concerns from a football standpoint, and one of them was whether the Eagles would struggle without Maclin and without a big-time receiving threat."
Gore, per Garafolo, is "intrigued" by the chance to play alongside Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
With the Eagles losing Jeremy Maclin - their de fact No. 1 wide receiver - and lacking a concrete answer at the game's most important position, the Colts and Luck - and their heftier contract offer - were apparently too alluring to ignore.
