No, Chip Kelly doesn't want a yes-man

"When I hire people, I want to hire very, very smart people. I wanted somebody who came from a different system. I didn't want a yes-man. I wanted someone who would bring new ideas to our system."

BY ALL indications, in his 2 years as the Eagles' head coach, Chip Kelly hasn't hired a yes-man yet. He seems to dislike the concept.

Kelly hires good people.

To be more exact, he hires competent subordinates. Keep that in mind as Kelly conducts his worldwide search for what is being perceived as his personal personnel pawn.

In the quote above, Kelly is talking about Mark Helfrich in an ESPN.com article.

When Kelly was promoted to head coach at Oregon in 2009, he hired Helfrich to replace him as offensive coordinator and gave Helfrich a considerable amount of autonomy in planning and running Kelly's fast-paced spread scheme.

Helfrich replaced Kelly as head coach when Kelly left for the Eagles in 2013. Helfrich groomed Marcus Mariota into a Heisman Trophy winner and possibly the first pick in the draft; is 24-3; has two bowls wins; and will play for the national championship on Monday night.

So, it is unfair to assume that Kelly will seek a spineless sycophant to replace deposed general manager Howie Roseman, who now is the team's capologist and administrative overseer, which comes with a raise and one of those green plastic visors.

Like every coach who ever stood on an NFL sideline, Kelly wants more power to control the players who will write Kelly's legacy.

Like every coach who ever got that power, Kelly's future will depend on his willingness to trust the men who vet and grade those players.

"I don't understand how any head coach can find the time to evaluate personnel as well," one former NFL executive told the Daily News at the NFC wild-card game at Dallas on Sunday.

They don't, of course.

A successful coach/GM doesn't evaluate talent. He evaluates the reports and reviews the evidence gathered by a team of talent evaluators that he trusts. After Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie hired Kelly - understand, only owners hire head coaches - Roseman oversaw two drafts and two free-agency periods.

Those drafts produced Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Bennie Logan, Jordan Matthews and, by trade, Darren Sproles, as well as special-teams splurges. The free-agency periods netted Connor Barwin and Malcolm Jenkins, and, if you want to split hairs, included the contract extension of Jeremy Maclin.

Those drafts also included first-round enigma Marcus Smith, Jaylen Watkins, Ed Reynolds, Earl Wolff and Matt Barkley. Those free-agency periods saw the acquisition of Isaac Sopoaga, Bradley Fletcher, Cary Williams, Nolan Carroll, James Casey and Mark Sanchez - all moves the Eagles expected to make them significantly better. Throw in the re-signings of Riley Cooper and Nate Allen, and the 2-year track record looks even less impressive.

(Players with ties to Oregon, Kelly's point of origin, have been excluded; Kelly might have a bias toward Oregon, and his personnel department might have pandered to it. For instance: Patrick Chung.)

The inability of the personnel department to produce a single defensive back who was consistently proficient at covering above-average receivers arguably cost the Eagles a playoff spot this season, in which Kelly's offense set team records for the second straight year.

Kelly's mistrust of the Howie Roseman Coalition is justifiable.

But that should not indicate that Kelly will not trust Roseman's successor.

Kelly inherited Roseman.

Reports recently leaked anonymously (from the NovaCare Complex) indicate that Roseman frequently and correctly advised Kelly against drafting players who Roseman believed would be available later. (Wonder who leaked that information).

It might be naive to assume that Roseman never advised Kelly incorrectly; that is, once or twice a player whom Kelly wanted did not last as long as Roseman expected.

All of that is water under the draft board.

What matters today is that Kelly trusts his guys; at least, he trusts his coaches.

Perhaps the most revealing instance of Kelly's management methodology came Oct. 5, when running-backs coach Duce Staley replaced franchise back LeSean McCoy with Sproles at a key point late against the Rams. CSNPhilly.com reported 2 days later that Staley, like all position coaches, has the power to decide which back plays when.

This was remarkable, considering the perception that Kelly micromanages every facet of the offense.

That revelation helped validate offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's contention that he had a large role in constructing Kelly's pro version of the machine-gun offense and weekly has considerable input into formulating and implementing the game plan, even if Kelly calls the plays.

That validation no doubt helped Shurmur become a head-coaching candidate in Oakland and Buffalo.

That Kellly hired Shurmur at all was a testament to Kelly's lack of insecurity. Shurmur has NFL bloodlines and was a West Coast offense disciple fresh off a 2-year stint as the Browns' head coach with 14 years of NFL experience, mostly as an assistant under Kelly's predecessor, Andy Reid.

All in all, hiring Shurmur was a fine formula for treachery. Kelly hired Shurmur anyway. Shurmur has been loyal to a fault and a resolute asset.

Kelly also trusted the most important job on his staff, the offensive line, to Jeff Stoutland, who had 27 years of experience, but all of it at the college level. In the past two seasons, Stoutland has produced amazing results, working with a mix of Pro Bowl veterans, rookies and retread talent. His efforts have meant more to the team's 20 wins than any other coach's.

Kelly hired Oregon assistant Jerry Azzinaro, who has a master's degree in psychology, to oversee a combination of young defensive linemen who, with the exception of Logan, simply did not fit the new 3-4 scheme. They fit now.

Azzinaro also is the assistant head coach, which you may read correctly as Chip's Biggest Ally and Spy.

Tom Gamble also was Kelly's ally, but Roseman fired him . . . and, perhaps unwittingly, instigated a power struggle in which Lurie sided with Kelly, who would have been the most attractive coaching candidate on the market had he quit.

Whoever replaces Gamble will, of course, be more than an ally; he will be beholden to and accountable to Kelly.

Whoever replaces Gamble and Roseman also will be more than just a lackey.

On Twitter: @inkstainedretch

Blog: ph.ly/DNL