Andy Reid settling in to Kansas City scene

MOBILE, Ala. - Same familiar black short-sleeve shirt, different surroundings.

Andy Reid was sitting with some of his new Kansas City Chiefs cohorts Tuesday afternoon at the South team's Senior Bowl practice, Reid getting a faceful of sun in the East stands at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Like Chip Kelly, his replacement with the Eagles, Reid said he has spent much of his time since being hired by his new team "mainly just hiring coaches."

Then, with new Chiefs general manager John Dorsey sitting next to him, Reid said: "We went through the process of hiring a general manager. That's a pretty tedious process."

Eagles fans were a little surprised that offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg didn't join him in Kansas City; Mornhinweg, who also moved on from the agent he and Reid shared, Bob LaMonte, is now running the Jets' offense.

"Marty, I thought did a phenomenal job calling the plays . . . I wanted to get back into doing that," Reid said. "I didn't think that was really fair [to ask Mornhinweg to come with him, without playcalling responsibilities] . . . we talked. It was a mutual thing. I didn't want to put him in a bad position.

"He'll help them; that's a great thing for [Jets quarterback Mark] Sanchez right there."

Reid said nothing happened between himself and Mornhinweg, who worked with him on four staffs over the years and came to the Eagles in 2003 after being fired as the Lions' head coach.

"There was no falling-out or any of that; that's not right," Reid said.

Reid said he hasn't kept up with what's been happening in Philadelphia since he left. He said he was unaware that Kelly hasn't hired a defensive coordinator yet (as far as we know). It's funny how now, you aren't even hearing about people interviewing for the job; the obvious conclusion is that the Eagles are waiting for someone involved in the Super Bowl who can't be hired until that game is over. It seems quite possible there is an against-league-rules (wink, wink) tacit agreement with someone, which would account for the fact that the Eagles seem to have assembled a defensive staff in Mobile, except for the coordinator.

One name that has been mentioned along those lines is that of 49ers defensive-backs coach Ed Donatell, the former Falcons and Packers defensive coordinator. Most Eagles fans know Donatell as the Packers' d-coordinator for the Eagles' fourth-and-26 conversion that led to an improbable playoff victory 9 years ago. So his hiring would not result in rejoicing in the streets.

After making a show of checking to make sure fourth-and-26 was still a sore spot for Dorsey, then the Packers' college scouting director, Reid said: "Ed's a good one. You'll like Ed a lot."

The Eagles' offensive coordinator is here in Mobile; he just isn't official. Kelly doesn't want to announce any hires until he completes his staff, but Pat Shurmur, the former Browns head coach who was Reid's quarterbacks coach during Donovan McNabb's prime, is the unofficial OC. "Pat's a smart football man," Reid said.

One of the strangest things about the transition from Reid to Kelly is that Reid served as a resource for Kelly when Kelly was trying to decide whether to take the job. What advice did Reid give him? "Just to be himself," said Reid, who said he told Kelly, "You'll like Philadelphia. Just be you."

Reid offered that, "You've got to give Howie [Roseman] and Jeffrey [Lurie] credit. I think they did a nice job there."

Reid said he and his family are settling into Midwestern life quickly. They've found a house; or rather, Tammy Reid found one, and Andy approved it. "She did all the work; she narrowed it down to three places, I went and looked. Pretty easy," he said.

Oregon running back Kenjon Barner, playing for the North squad in the Senior Bowl, got a chance to chat this week with his college coach, Chip Kelly.

Asked if it seemed weird to be chatting with Kelly, who was wearing Eagles attire, in a hotel ballroom on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Barner said: "It was. I can't lie; I'm so used to him being out in Eugene. It was a little weird, but at the same time, it's a good situation to be in."

Asked about playing for Kelly, Barner said: "It was a lot of fun. At any point in time, a play could go."

As a departing senior, who'd talked at the Fiesta Bowl about the possibility of Kelly moving on to the NFL, Barner wasn't as crushed by the news as some people in Oregon were.

"I was extremely happy for the man. He deserves everything that he's getting," Barner said. "He's worked hard for it; there's no one that's more deserving than he is."

Schemes aside, Barner said he thinks Kelly will succeed "just because of his work ethic. He wants to go out and prove everyone wrong. If there's a challenge, he wants to meet that challenge."

It isn't clear how much of his run-oriented option offense Kelly will bring with him, but Barner said Eagles fans should be reassured on one point, at least: "He absolutely likes to run the ball. I don't think anybody will question that."