On the opening Monday of the 2013 NFL season, the league and its fans were witnesses to the launch of what was supposed to be a new era of professional football: the Chip Kelly era. On Monday Night Football, the regular season’s biggest stage, Kelly, the Philadelphia Eagles’ new head coach and famed offensive innovator, made his NFL coaching debut. Two minutes into the third quarter, many were convinced that Kelly would materially change professional football and instill fear into defensive coordinators across the league. This sentiment would be short-lived.
THE CHIP KELLY EXPERIMENT
Before Kelly arrived in Philadelphia, he was the hottest coach in college football. As the University of Oregon’s offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2008 and head coach from 2009 to 2012, he presided over one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation. Under Kelly’s tutelage, Oregon implemented a high-octane, no-huddle offense that was virtually unstoppable in the Pac-10 Conference. In four years as Oregon’s head coach, he led the Ducks to a 46–7 record. From 2009 to 2012, Oregon averaged an NCAA-leading 43.6 points per game. In 2010, Kelly led the program to its first National Championship game, losing narrowly to Auburn.
Kelly’s offense at Oregon was so swift, it was referred to by some as the “Blur” because the team moved so fast and frenetically that the defensive players on the field often couldn’t catch their breath. Most no-huddle offenses take 20–25 seconds from when the ball is spotted until the next snap. Oregon, at its fastest, averaged around 15 seconds. Defensive players would sometimes fake injuries just to slow things down. It was like nothing college football had ever seen, and had never been implemented in the NFL, at least as a team’s normal offense.
Hired by the Eagles in 2013, Kelly replaced longtime head coach Andy Reid, who was terminated after a 4–12 campaign in 2012. Kelly was hailed as an offensive mastermind. However, there were questions about whether his Oregon offense could translate to success in the pros. Centered on tempo, Kelly’s offense strived to snap the ball quickly at the line of scrimmage and used a variety of formations to keep defenses off-balance and create mismatches. One concept he frequently utilized was the “run-pass option,” or “RPO.” With an RPO, the quarterback, after the snap, reads the reaction of a defender, then decides whether to hand the off the ball or throw a quick pass.
There have been teams in NFL history that used predominantly no-huddle offenses to much success. But by 2013, only Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and a few others were frequently running no-huddle plays. Most teams in the NFL did not do it consistently throughout the course of a game. Even when they did, it was at a much slower pace than what Kelly’s college team was running. His Blur offense at Oregon was noticeably different. So much so that it was frequently categorized as a “gimmick” and viewed by some as a college offense that could not function as efficiently in the NFL.
“THEY TOLD US THEY WERE GONNA GO FAST. I’VE NEVER SEEN IT THIS FAST” (2013)
The fascination with Kelly’s offense was palpable on the Monday Night Football broadcast. The game was at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, against defending NFC East Champion Washington. As soon as the Eagles began their opening drive, ESPN play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico focused on their offensive tempo and counted the number of seconds it took for the Eagles to run each play.
On their first drive, Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick immediately got to work. First, a 6-yard pass to wide receiver Riley Cooper. Then a 28-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek. A 16-yard pass to wide receiver DeSean Jackson and a 6-yard run by running back LeSean McCoy followed. By the time the fifth play was snapped, an incomplete pass from Vick, only 1:27 had come off the clock. After a few more plays, Jon Gruden, Tirico’s partner on the broadcast, was blown away. “They told us they were gonna go fast. I’ve never seen it this fast,” he said.
The Eagles kept their foot on the gas until a backward pass got away and was returned by Washington for a fluke touchdown. Despite this setback, that first drive set the tone. After the Eagles kicked a field goal, they immediately received the ball back following a Washington fumble. Soon thereafter, Vick threw a pass down the middle to wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown. A few minutes into the second quarter, up 12–7, Vick hit tight end Brent Celek in the middle of the field for a 28-yard touchdown. The Eagles got the ball back again with over four minutes left in the quarter and, after a heavy dose of LeSean McCoy runs, Vick scored a three-yard touchdown on a zone read quarterback keeper. Philly was up 26–7 at the half.
The halftime stats were off the charts. The Eagles had 21 first downs, while Washington ran 21 plays. Philadelphia ran 53 plays in the first half, the most in the NFL in 15 years. After cornerback Cary Williams intercepted a Robert Griffin III pass on Washington’s first drive of the third quarter, the Eagles immediately took advantage and scored on the second play of the ensuing drive, as LeSean McCoy ran through a gaping hole and cut outside, hardly touched, for a 34-yard touchdown run. Philadelphia led 33–7. It could not have gone better for Kelly in his debut.
“THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN INDEED” (2013)
In that first game, Chip Kelly had the football world convinced his offense was going to be a problem for the rest of the league. Numerous media members and other analysts chimed in on Twitter throughout the game.
Keep in mind these vaunted NFL Defensive Coordinators have had 8 months to slow down this “gimmick college offense”
—ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit
NFL GMs are sitting at home drooling over this Chip Kelly offense, and they are gonna want [then sophomore University of Oregon quarterback] Marcus Mariota to run it for the team
—Bleacher Report NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller
Wow, you think Chip Kelly’s offense will work in the NFL? You have your answer now
—Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb
I kept hearing (and strongly disagreeing) all off-season that NFL D coaches would figure out this Saturday offense. Uhmm… I don’t think so.
—Super Bowl–winning quarterback and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer
Man, every def coordinator who has Philly on their schedule is gonna have nightmares tonight. #boogieman
—Former NFL quarterback, and ESPN college football analyst Danny Kanell
This is not an “after one game” thought. Many of us who followed Oregon knew [what] Chip Kelly’s tempo was going to mean to the NFL.
—NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein
When I talk to guys who have coached with or against Chip Kelly, the most common reason they think he’ll succeed is “he’s too smart to fail.”
—Sports Illustrated NFL writer Albert Breer
Happy National Chip Kelly NFL Offensive Revolution Day.
—CBS Sports’s Bill Reiter
Just wait until Chip Kelly gets his quarterback.
—CBSSports.com college football writer Dennis Dodd
That sound u hear is the phone ringing of any spread up tempo offensive coach in college football.
—Former NFL defensive tackle and Tampa area radio host Booger MacFarland
McCoy’s touchdown run was the last time the Eagles scored that night. The offensive juggernaut slowed down a little and Washington closed the gap to make it look close, but the Eagles won 33–27. McCoy finished with 31 carries for 184 yards and a touchdown. Jackson finished with seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Vick threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Chip Kelly’s opening NFL act continued the next day. A THING OF DEBUTY, read the headline on the cover of the next day’s Philadelphia Daily News, followed by a subhead: “The Revolution Has Begun Indeed.” In Business Insider, sports reporter Tony Manfred wrote that the game gave viewers a “glimpse of what football will look like in the future.” Later that week, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported that demand for Eagles tickets on the secondary market was up 175 percent.
More praise for Kelly rolled in throughout the week. “The Eagles offense isn’t a fad,” said Colin Cowherd on his national radio show The Herd on ESPN Radio. “They’re technology advancing… and we’re NEVER going back to dial-up.” Former Cowboys and twice Super Bowl–winning head coach Jimmy Johnson was also impressed. “I love it,” he told USA Today after the game. “That was thoroughly impressive. He is going to give defensive coaches fits.” Toronto Star columnist Cathal Kelly wrote that Chip Kelly is going to change the NFL forever by starting the no-huddle trend that will eventually eliminate the huddle altogether.
Include ESPN analyst and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski among the impressed. “[The Eagles’ win] changed the landscape of the NFL from a philosophical, schematic approach to how the game is played,” he said the week following the Eagles’ opener. “It was spectacular, and it will be sustainable.”
Longtime commentator Dan Dierdorf raved about how perfectly some of the Eagles’ personnel fit in its new offensive scheme. “In this offense, you’ve got to have players who are good in space, and Chip Kelly has three of the best space players in the NFL in Vick, McCoy, and Jackson,” he said. “These three guys were just made for this offense.”
Local Philadelphia sportswriter and radio personality Angelo Cataldi acted like Kelly was a gift from the heavens. Included in Cataldi’s Metro Philadelphia column:
Chip Kelly is the answer to our city’s prayer, a man who follows no rules and suffers no fools. He is a visionary in a city blinded by 53 years of football futility. He is the best reason—if not the only reason—to fall back in love with sports right now in Philadelphia…
Kelly is more than just a tactical wizard. He makes everybody around him better. Mike Vick looks like he’s 25 again. LeSean McCoy had the game of his life. DeSean Jackson is not just a deep threat anymore… And every one of them believes in the new coach. They love the guy…
Everybody loves Chip Kelly because he is exactly what we have lacked for more years than we can calculate. He is smarter than the rest, and equal to the task. Even after just one game, there is no denying the new direction he is charting for a city desperate to celebrate a championship in the sport we love the most.
Welcome to Philadelphia, Chip Kelly. You got here just in time.
The euphoria from that great night wore off quickly. The Eagles lost their next three games. But they eventually turned it back around. After Michael Vick went down with a hamstring injury in Week 5, second-year backup Nick Foles took over at quarterback and ended up having a breakout season. Foles made the Pro Bowl and posted an astounding ratio of 27 touchdowns against only two interceptions. In the Eagles’ eighth game, playing the Raiders in Oakland, Foles threw seven touchdowns, tying an NFL record. The Eagles won seven out of their last eight games and the NFC East before losing a heartbreaker in the Divisional Round of the playoffs at home to New Orleans on a last-second field goal.
Ultimately, Kelly’s first season in Philadelphia was a success. The Eagles improved their win total from the year before by six games, and the new offense showed great potential, especially by the end of the year. Foles turned out to be the biggest surprise of the season, especially because he lacked a common trait possessed by all of the Chip Kelly’s Oregon quarterbacks and by Michael Vick: speed. At Oregon, Kelly invariably used dual-threat quarterbacks. Foles was a tall pocket passer who was slow on foot. But in 2013, the Foles-led offense was very proficient. He seemed like a revelation. Others also shined. McCoy won the NFL’s rushing title, running for 1,607 yards, a franchise record. Jackson also had a career season with 82 catches for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns. Philly.com’s sports editor Matt Mullin was excited about the future. “The rest of the NFC East should be concerned,” he wrote. “Chip Kelly isn’t going anywhere, and he’s only going to get better.”
“THANKS TO CHIP KELLY, THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT, WE GOTTA WEAR SHADES” (2014)
The end-of-the-season optimism was high in Philadelphia. A few days after the playoff loss, 94WIP Philadelphia Sports Radio host Glen Macnow made a declaration: “It’s going to happen [eventually]. [The Eagles] will win a Super Bowl with Chip Kelly.” Cataldi maintained the rosy, unwavering belief in Kelly he had expressed in September: “Thanks to Chip Kelly, the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades.” In Metro Philadelphia, writer Mike Greger wrote: “[The 2013 season] was the tip of the iceberg. With a franchise quarterback firmly in place, along with an ever-improving defense and some of the best skill players in the league, the sky isn’t falling in Philadelphia. If anything, the Eagles are the sky.”
While Kelly continued to look to supercharge his offense, he was still trying to adapt to personnel management in the NFL. With his first season in the books, he began to assert more control over the Eagles’ roster.
Kelly’s personnel moves generated much less enthusiasm than his offense. In April 2014, he made the first of many controversial roster decisions. At Kelly’s behest, the Eagles released wide receiver DeSean Jackson without giving a specific reason. This was the same DeSean Jackson who had caught over 80 passes in 2013. In addition (as described in a later report by NJ.com), during the months leading up to the 2014 Draft, Kelly began to undermine general manager Howie Roseman and the Eagles’ scouting department. According to a former Eagles front-office official, “[R]ight before the draft, the scouts set the board. Then Chip got a hold of it and totally turned it around… Anybody that Chip didn’t want, that player’s card got removed from the board and thrown in the trash.” The draft turned out to be less than fruitful. In terms of drafted players, just one Eagles draftee, third-round pick wide receiver Jordan Mathews, turned out to be a productive player for the franchise.
There were high expectations going into the 2014 season, but it didn’t turn out quite like 2013. The Eagles led the division most of the season but collapsed at the end, losing three out of their last four to finish 10–6 and miss the playoffs. There were numerous injuries on the offensive line, plus a four-game suspension to star right tackle Lane Johnson for using performance-enhancing drugs. McCoy still had a productive season, but Foles regressed. After an unimpressive span, where he turned the ball over far too much, he broke his collarbone during the Eagles’ ninth game of the season. Philadelphia had to turn to Jets cast-off Mark Sanchez to run the offense the rest of the way.
“HE WAS THE WORST COMMUNICATOR OF ANY COACH I’VE EVER BEEN AROUND” (2015)
By early 2015, Kelly had gained even more power. When the 2014 season ended, Roseman fired Tom Gamble, Kelly’s hand-picked VP of player personnel. Infuriated, Kelly convinced Eagles owner Jeff Lurie to demote Roseman and give Kelly full control over the roster. Kelly then proceeded to blow the roster up, disposing of most of the remaining players from the Andy Reid era, including key contributors to the team that had won 20 games the previous two seasons. He even traded Foles, who in December 2013 Kelly had called the Eagles’ “starting QB for the next 1,000 years” for the oft-injured and former No. 1 overall draft pick (2010) Sam Bradford.
Next on the chopping block was McCoy. Kelly shipped the running back to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso, who had missed the 2014 season because of an ACL injury. After that, Kelly released veteran defensive lineman Trent Cole and offensive lineman Todd Herreman, and elected not to re-sign free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Maclin was coming off a 1,300-yard, 10-touchdown season. To replace McCoy, he gave a hefty five-year, $42 million contract to Cowboys free agent running back and 2014 NFL rushing champion, DeMarco Murray. He also signed Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell to a six-year, $63 million deal.
The 2015 season was a disaster. The Eagles’ offense slipped down to the bottom third in the league. In Football Outsiders final DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) rankings of total offense for the 2015 season, the Eagles finished 22nd out of 32 teams, down from seventh in 2014. It was a far cry from Kelly’s Oregon days.
The only time the Eagles’ offense really resembled the Blur from Kelly’s Oregon days was during that first half against Washington in 2013. From then on, the Eagles began taking it much slower between plays, while every so often “sprinkling” the faster up-tempo stuff.
As the 2015 season went along, Kelly’s offense became more predictable and one-dimensional. Opponents began to figure out how to change coverages to counter Kelly’s RPO attacks. Murray only got half the carries he had when he won the rushing title at Dallas. By Week 13, Murray had been demoted to second string for the faster and smaller Darren Sproles. Murray played in only two games where he had over 20 carries. On December 30, with one game left in the season and the Eagles sitting on a 6–9 record, owner Jeffrey Lurie fired Kelly.
Despite Kelly’s 26–21 record over three seasons as head coach, Lurie had seen enough of him. His drastic roster decisions were costly, and the relationships between Kelly, Lurie, and the Eagles’ front office, had fractured. Numerous people spoke out about Kelly’s lack of communication skills. Merrill Reese, the play-by-play announcer for the Eagles for 40 years, said he had absolutely no relationship with Kelly. “He was the worst communicator of any coach I’ve ever been around,” Reese later recalled.
Some went even further. Cornerback Brandon Boykin, who is Black, said that although he didn’t believe Kelly was racist, he didn’t relate to players, and was “uncomfortable around grown men of our culture.” A few months before the 2015 season began, former Eagles offensive lineman Tra Thomas, who worked as a staff intern in 2013–2014, said, “[Certain Eagles players] feel like there is a hint of racism” in the Eagles’ locker room. Some current Eagles’ players, former Oregon players, and former coaches have since spoken out against the racism claims and defended Kelly.
Not long after Kelly was given the pink slip in Philadelphia, he was hired as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners were in complete rebuilding mode, but Kelly didn’t last long enough to see the team revive. In his only season as head coach, San Francisco went 2–14 and he was unceremoniously fired. As of 2022, Kelly is back in college, as the head coach of UCLA, where he was hired after the 2017 season.
While Chip’s offensive “revolution” didn’t materialize as planned, he did play a role in the modernization of pro offenses. Although not the first coach to use the RPO in the NFL, Kelly was the first to make it a staple in the league. Since 2013, the RPO has been adopted by many teams who have expanded it and developed more complex and effective variants.
Kelly’s successor in Philadelphia, Doug Pederson, with assistance from offensive coordinator Frank Reich, integrated some of Kelly’s RPO concepts into his offense with the Eagles. In 2017, when Eagles starting quarterback Carson Wentz went down with an ACL injury, Foles, who was brought back to Philadelphia before the 2017 season as a backup, took over and was masterful executing RPOs throughout the playoffs. His denouement came at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, where he was named MVP after leading Philadelphia to a 41–33 victory over Tom Brady and New England. It was the first Super Bowl title in the history of the Eagles franchise.
CULTURE VERSUS SCHEME
When Kelly was hired by the Eagles, the underlying question above all else was whether his offensive scheme would work in the NFL. Most in the NFL world seemed to have an overwhelming belief that if it worked, everything else would fall into place. Although his offenses weren’t as dominant as in college, Kelly fit the bill as an offensive mind at the next level. But when it came to most of the other responsibilities of an NFL head coach—like building a culture, making sound decisions, and managing personnel—he was in over his head.
In 2014, an NFL Films camera and microphone once caught Chip Kelly on the sidelines before a Sunday night game saying, “Culture wins football,” and that “Culture will beat scheme every day.” In his case, it was rather prophetic.