Eagles coach Chip Kelly is good, and he's only getting better

Chip Kelly made quite an impression in his first season as an NFL.

His Eagles made the playoffs by winning the NFC East after going just 4-12 last season under Andy Reid. Furthermore, there was little personnel turnover, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and players like LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Nick Foles, and Riley Cooper - among others - had career years playing in the former Oregon coach's system.

Calling it a career year would be selling this offense short, as they have set 12 team and individual season records, and another handful of single-game records. That's impressive on it's own, but think about some of the dynamic offenses the Eagles had under Reid.

Kelly wasted no time making us forget about that 2004 team with Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. Or the 2010 team that featured the return of the Michael Vick Experience.

With a playoff game looming Saturday night against Drew Brees and the Saints, the rest of the NFC East should be concerned by this: Kelly isn't going anywhere, and he's only going to get better.

He isn't Steve Spurrier 2.0.

First, take a look back at what Kelly did in Eugene.

In his first season as head coach, the Ducks went 10-3 and finished ranked 11th in both polls following a Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State.

Over his next three seasons, Kelly's teams won 12 games each season and went 2-1 in bowl games, with the only loss coming in the 2011 BCS National Championship to Cam Newton's Auburn squad.

Perhaps the most impressive part of that 2010-11 season is that it was played without Jeremiah Masoli, the team's starting quarterback, and backup Darron Thomas suffered a season-ending injury in the team's sixth game.

Still, Kelly was able to plug into his system a previously unheralded quarterback, Nate Costa, without missing a beat. And when Costa suffered an injury prior to the BCS title game, Thomas returned and nearly led the Ducks to an upset.

Kelly's offense remained potent throughout. The rest of the PAC-12 was unable to figure it out - or if they did, they were unable to stop it.

His schemes and philosophies may not be bulletproof, as exhibited against the Vikings, but they're also not set in stone.

It has become apparent throughout this season that Kelly is adaptable - you certainly remember the Lions game - just as he was in college.

Another reason to expect continued success out of Kelly is that he is still learning the NFL game. Whenever a coach enters the game with a "revolutionary offense" the talk immediately turns to how long it's going to take for the rest of the league to figure it out and, ultimately, stop it.

Good luck with that, because Kelly, as he has said all season, takes things one game at time. He is meticulous, scientific. Teams never caught up to him. In fact, he only got better as the season went on. Perhaps, that was because he was figuring out the NFL at faster pace than the rest of the NFL was figuring out his system.

Kelly moving at a faster pace than the rest of his peers? It wouldn't be the first time.

It's easy to forget that this team started 3-5 before running off seven wins in their final eight games - five of which came against teams with at least seven wins. Add to that a scoring average of just over 33 points a game in the second half of the season - 10 points higher than their first eight games - and it's clear to see that no one has figured out the Eagles quite yet. Heck, they Eagles had just five turnovers since Week 9. They had five in one game against the Chiefs earlier this season. Sure, Vick was under center back then, but the point still stands: Kelly's getting better.

Finally, another draft and offseason to acquire new players - the kind that fit into Kelly's system - can only benefit the Eagles.

In his first draft as an NFL coach, Kelly was impressive, landing Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Bennie Logan, and Earl Wolff, all of whom have contributed this season.

And when free agency rolls around, the team should have a decent amount of money to spend. Luckily for them, they have a young quarterback in Foles, still on his rookie contract - a la Russell Wilson in Seattle - freeing up cap space for them to address areas of need.

In past years, that may have been a concern. It's funny how time changes things - and leave it to Kelly to do so at breakneck speeds.

So take solace in that, Eagles fans. Win or lose on Saturday night, you'll have plenty to look forward to next season.