The Chip Kelly Era – A Failure

The first play of the Chip Kelly era was a short pass from Mike Vick to Riley Cooper for six yards, the last offensive play fell incomplete - Sam Bradford intended for Jordan Matthews.

The Chip Kelly era started with the Redskins and it ended with the Redskins.

What many people don't remember about the first drive of the Kelly era is while it started fast and fun - it was cut short by a Vick fumble that the Redskins returned for a touchdown.

While there were plenty of highs during the Kelly era, the lows always seemed to get in the way - and finally the lows piled up - high - and Kelly was released with a terse statement by the team.

“We appreciate all the contributions that Chip Kelly made and wish him every success going forward,” said Chairman and CEO of the Philadelphia Eagles Jeffery Lurie via a press release by the team.

So why did Jeffery Lurie fire Chip Kelly?

“I spent the last three seasons evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team," Lurie said in a statement.  As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change."

As the embarrassing losses piled up, the rumbles grew louder and louder - a brief two game win streak put those rumbles on pause, but two more embarrassing efforts followed, pushing Kelly out the door.

"The organization has watched this thing deteriorate very rapidly," ESPN NFL reporter Sal Paolantonio said on Sportscenter.

When DeMarco Murray fumbled a pitch on a outside sweep play Saturday night, a play that he ran for most of the 2015 season, without much success, it was a image that singled the end of the Kelly era that was filled with square pegs in a round hole.

Kelly wanted full control and got it, but wasn't willing to adapt to the talent that he hand picked.

"Chip Kelly the general manager let down Chip Kelly the coach," ESPN.com NFL insider Adam Schefter said on Sportscenter.

Schefter is right, Chip Kelly the GM got in the way of Chip Kelly the coach and now he is gone.

Murray spoke to Lurie recently and  expressed a lack of confidence in Kelly, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Lurie saw his $40 million running back sitting on the sidelines and running to the outside and realized this isn't the team he wanted to oversee anymore.

Lurie was already becoming aware that the locker room wasn’t thrilled with Kelly but now players were beginning to question Kelly the coach. His unwillingness to change finally did him in and his inability to adjust at the NFL level singled the end of the road for Kelly. 

Dropped passes, penalties and undisciplined play were just some of the things that consistently reared it's ugly head into the 2015 Eagles season.  Hopes were high but there always seemed to be a dark cloud hanging over the head of this team.

The Kelly era might have opened with a bang, but what people forget about that first night was the Eagles started fast, but ended sloppy in a 33-27 win over the Redskins - just like the entire Chip Kelly era - which ended with a 38-24 loss to the Redskins - I guess they got the last laugh.

Fast and fun and a failure.