Kelly Says Offense Must Fit Personnel
Oregon coach Chip Kelly, widely acclaimed as the Eagles' top candidate for their head coaching job, met with reporters for the last time Wednesday morning before Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl matchup with Kansas State.
Kelly Says Offense Must Fit Personnel
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
SCOTTSDALE, Az. -- Oregon coach Chip Kelly, widely acclaimed as the Eagles' top candidate for their head coaching job, met with reporters for the last time Wednesday morning before Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl matchup with Kansas State.
"Anything you do has to be personnel-driven," Kelly said, when asked a question about offensive adaptations flowing out of the college game into the NFL. "You've gotta be able to adapt to the personnel that you have. There's a lot of great offenses out there, but does it fit with the personnel you have? I think the key is being sure what you're doing is giving your players the chance to be successful."
Kelly's innovative, run-based spread offense is a huge unknown, when it comes to the pass-driven NFL. Some of Kelly's ideas have filtered into the league, but recent NFL rules changes have heavily tipped the pro game toward passing. It has been suggested that Kelly's offensive acumen could lead him to design something substantially different, if he were faced with NFL challenges.
"I don't think anybody knows any answers, until someone does it," Kelly said when your Eagletarian asked him how he thought his offense might work in the NFL. "I think the Washington Redskins (with Robert Griffin III) are doing a pretty good job -- I forgot the name of their quarterback -- but he's done a decent job, and the kid at Carolina (Cam Newton) has done a pretty good job. It depends. I don't know. I've never coached in that league. I've visited practices and talked to people about it, but the one thing about that, the one thing about everything is, you've got to have good players. I think sometimes the coaching aspect is way overrated. We don't play the game. College football is a personnel-driven game, the National Football League is a personnel-driven game. Your job as a coach, very simply, is to put your players in position where they can make plays, then get out of the way so they can go make 'em."
The "personnel-driven" part might be especially pertinent to Eagles fans; slow-footed Nick Foles would seem to be the polar opposite of a prototypical Kelly quarterback.
Kelly talked about how he developed his spread attack.
"It really started for us, to be honest with you, when we were at New Hampshire and we were running out of fullbacks," he said. "We still wanted to be able to run the ball, but we wanted to be able to get our best 11 guys on the field. It really just started to develop more out of necessaity than that we wanted to change. It was just, 'how can we still be an effective team?' We were in the Northeast. You've got to be able to run the ball when you're in areas like that, because of the weather ... 'What's the best way to try to expand our running game, but still get our best personnel on the field?' "
Kelly showed a flash of wit when asked about recruiting fullbacks.
"That's a tough sell. 'Come to our program. You're 6-foot-2. We want you to be a glorified guard in the backfield. You'll graduate at 5-foot-10. You're just going to run full speed and slam full speed into people. No one's going to know who you are. We'll put a 30 number on you, but you really should have a 60 number.' There's not a lot of kids out there that want to play that position ... most of those guys want to be linebackers. I don't fault them, either."
Kelly has not addressed whether he will be willing to move to the NFL after wrapping up his season Thursday, but people around the Oregon program seem to assume he will. Kelly came close to taking the Tampa Bay Bucs coaching job last year.
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It's interesting that Kelly is in the Phoenix area right now, because a source close to former Eagles coach Andy Reid confirmed Wednesday that Reid was heading to the Valley of the Sun to interview with the Cardinals for their vacant head coaching job. Reid met with Kansas City Chiefs officials in Philadelpbhia before beginning his journey, the source confirmed.
--- Les Bowen
The two QBs that Kelly mentioned are RG3 and Cam Newton. If Chip Kelly is the next coach, say goodbye to Nick Foles, and say hello to Geno Smith, or get ready for the Mike Vick experience part II. This is what Lurie always wants.— 4in5out7gone- Just hire the guy who's won four Super Bowls! Jeez, how hard is this?— p-diddy
- "Anything you do has to be personnel-driven," Kelly said, when asked a question about offensive adaptations flowing out of the college game into the NFL. "You've gotta be able to adapt to the personnel that you have. There's a lot of great offenses out there, but does it fit with the personnel you have? I think the key is being sure what you're doing is giving your players the chance to be successful."
This already puts him head and shoulders above Reid. Reid thought it possible to put a square peg in a round hole. Kelly believes the best course to put a round peg into a round hole. HUGE DIFFERENCE. If it don't fit, DON'T FORCE IT.— essell - Put players in the position to win...that's typical football jargon. The trick is to get the right players who when put in the position to win, WIN. That's something that Andy some how forgot. Somehow, I think Chip Kelly will get it done. An innovative offense coach which is what Andy never was.— walt1
- He couldn't remember RGIII's name? Really?!?!? Who is this guy kidding? They shouldn't hire this guy out of principle....— flex
- Chip Kelly has only been a head coach for the Oregon Ducks for only THREE SEASONS...before that he was an offensive coordinator at tiny NEW HAMPSHIRE, that's terible, come on THIS IS RIDICULOUS.. Kelly is not ready for being under the PRESSURE packed spotlight of demanding Philly fans and is not qualified to take the Eagles to the SUPER BOWL..— jim35
- What do you know about who's "qualified" to coach? What made Belicheck qualified? He got fired in Cleveland. What made Coughlin qualified? He got fired in Jacksonville.
Do you need to have won a Super Bowl? There are only 6 of those active and they already have jobs.
Chip Kelly sounds like a guy who would thrive in Philly to me...— cdedrick05 - I am very afraid that Chip Kelley is closer to being a Spurrier than a Harbaugh or even a Carrol (maybe Carrol his first time around)
— Unstable1 - I don't like Chip either...he's a fad and besides ever listen to an interview with him? Would not last in this city with the pressure. Sidenote lose the golf visor hat if you do make it to the NFL...IT'S NOT A COUNTRY CLUB
— glove69 - How has Bill O'Brien proved any more than Kelly? He had TOM BRADY!!!! Mike McCoy has PEYTON MANNING! Kelly turned a guy named Ricky Santos into one of the all time I-AA passing greats with his offense @ UNH. If he has WR's, he will throw the ball. At Oregon he has had RB's so they run.
- At least Kelly adapts to his players instead of Reid forcing his ways onto his players. Square peg, meet round hole!!!
- Why dont we get Sylvester Stallone for QB, he was a "boxa" he can be taught to be a pocket "passa..LOL Philly Fans!!LOL— keithf35
- For some reason I'm thinking jim35 doesn't like Chip Kelly.— Sidewinder7
- People get uncomfortable and defensive if they don't understand something, or are ignorant on the subject. They reach for uneducated opinions and tend to make fun or be critical. There isn't any logical reason to not be excited to get a Chip Kelly....if in fact he comes here.
The myths - "he needs a running QB" - not true, he prefers to run the ball with RB's and have the QB win with his arm.
"he throws too much" - he actually ran 2 to 1 this year.
"offense wont work in NFL" - its working now. Watch Seattle, Washington, and New England in the playoffs. They use his philosophy of running read option plays and up tempo. The read is hand off or pass...not hand off or run. Two TE sets. Dictating personnel.
He would be a good choice...
— cdedrick05 - —There's no given with the Eagles, no coach who's guaranteed to turn them around, but Chip Kelly might have a chance, depending on who he would get to run his defense, which is something you would definitely have to know before hiring him. It's good to hear Kelly talking so honestly about personnel though, because it's the absolute truth. You can't run his offense with Foles as QB. It's kind of joke to even be thinking of Foles as somebody to build around anyway.
—The only QB on the Eagles roster who could run Kelly's offense is Michael Vick, and at this point he might be too injury prone. But if u hire Kelly, you're probably going to have to keep Vick, it doesn't matter how fans feel about it. And you're gonna need a younger guy to challenge him for the job and back him up as well. The best candidate might be Terrelle Pryor who looked OK in his first start on Sunday. But Oakland is almost definitely not going to go with Pryor as a starter next year and he could gotten, for a price, from the Raiders.— aintnorep - What exactly has the over hyped Chip Kelly ever won...ZERO....how many good players did Kelly send to the NFL...ZERO....How long has Kelly been a head coach...only THREE SEASONS..EVER...come on, Kelly and his gimmick offense is a BIG GAMBLE...get a PROVEN NFL coach like O'Brien who coached Tom Brady in the SUPER BOWL..or MCCoy who is coaching Peyton Manning and is 13-3 this season.— jim35
- Kelly has been at U of O for 6 years, 3 as head coach, he was the driving force of the team when he was O cord.
Kelly won the Rose Ball last year, finished 3ed in country this year, and won the Pac-10 several times in last 6 years.
Kelly has placed about 12 solid players in the NFL, and if he had placed zero like you said, you would have to call him a great coach for finishing 3ed in BCS with no NFL talent. Other then that you are correct.
— camasbud - Said all the "right" things. Even if he doesn't believe them, he's smart enough to say them.— doctorhim
- NO Chip Kelly...Even Kelly admits nobody knows if that gimmick offense will work in NFL..so why gamble with an unknown gimmick offense coach, when you can get PROVEN NFL coaches like O'Brien who went to SUPER BOWL with Tom Brady..or MCCoy who is 13-3 this season with Peyton Manning...these guys can teach young Nick Foles to be an outstand QB for Eagles for many years.— jim35
- NO Chip Kelly...Even Kelly admits nobody knows if that gimmick offense will work in NFL..so why gamble with an unknown gimmick offense coach, when you can get PROVEN NFL coaches like O'Brien who went to SUPER BOWL with Tom Brady..or MCCoy who is 13-3 this season with Peyton Manning...these guys can teach young Nick Foles to be an outstand QB for Eagles for many years.— jim35
- If Kelly's system is so bad, how come Bellichek, who has Brady, went to Kelly and has been using some of his system with the Patriots? — mike l
- Why do you call it a "gimmick"? Because he is 45-7 in 3 years? Because he runs the ball at a 2-1 ratio?
Watch the playoffs this weekend, because New England, Washington, and Seattle are all using his stuff...
I am not saying I want Kelly over B.OB or anyone else....but I think Kelly will do just fine. He actually will need to pass more, since the rules are benefiting QB's and WR's so much...but he could definitely win in the NFL. Needs a solid DC though...as does any HC.— cdedrick05 - I don't know if he'll "actually need to pass more." If you watched the game between Washington and Dallas Sunday, you should have noted that Washington's RGIII was 9/18. In other words, Washington only called eighteen passing plays and STILL WON 28-18. Reid calls a million pass plays per game and loses like 42-7. Good riddance Reid and PLEASE take MORONweg with you. — essell
- "Your job as a coach, very simply, is to put your players in position where they can make plays, then get out of the way so they can go make 'em."
times yours?
— bloodymess - Reid meant it to. All these coaches believe many of the same things philosophically when it comes to preparing a team, taking things one week at a time, putting players in position to make plays, and keeping information in house (most press conferences are boring). It shouldn't shock you that he said those things, it's just that for some reason many of my fellow Philly fans want the coaches and players to go on record before the game and say we're gonna kill our next opponent because we hate 'em and then we want the coaches and players to cry or throw things at the end of the game if they don't win. As if that's productive when you've got 7 days and sometimes less to get ready for your next game. The Jerry Jones Cowboys and the Rex Ryan Jets will get you all the bluster, drama, and nonsense if that's what you're looking for. — mx55
- Reid said a lot of things. He may have meant them too. But, it's one thing to say it and quite another to actually DO it. Reid said it, just never DID it. he acknowledged the offense should be more balanced, for example, then would go out the very next game and call 100 pass plays. He notoriously drafted players at one position and then suddenly switch them to another completely foreign position and soon thereafter, cut them. His firing was the happiest day I've had in FOURTEEN YEARS. Maybe now, I'll live a little longer. — essell
- "too" — mx55
- For some reason, that line sounds VERY familiar LOL — SteveS11
