Will Philly teams' makeovers soar or sink?

I'M NOT YET SURE which it will be, but in the near future, somebody either will lead a parade down Broad Street or a lot of guys will ride a midnight train out of Philadelphia.

On Tuesday, in a transaction that cannot be officially announced until next week, newly anointed Eagles Chief Officer of All Things Football Chip Kelly traded Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for talented but injured linebacker Kiko Alonso.

That move surprised Philadelphians just slightly more than Sixers Grand Pooh-bah of Basketball Matters Sam Hinkie trading point guard and reigning rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee for a protected first-round draft pick.

Neither of those moves was as dynamic as Flyers first-year general manager Ron Hextall acquiring a 2015 first-round pick, a 2015 second-round pick, a 2016 conditional pick that could become second-rounder, a 2015 third-round pick and young defenseman Radko Gudas for soon-to-retire defenseman Kimmo Timonen and not-really-going-to-be-missed defenseman Braydon Coburn.

All were bold moves enacted by newbie professional sports bosses looking to change the status quo of their respective teams.

Whether you agree or disagree with what any of them is doing, it's hard to argue against the idea that Kelly, Hinkie and Hextall have not only walked out onto tightropes, but they've done so while pulling the safety nets from under them.

These guys aren't making hedge bets.

They are going all in on themselves that they know what they are doing and will ultimately bring championships back to franchises that have not experienced one in decades.

We can only hope that they are right, because if any of them is wrong . . .

Everyone in Philadelphia knows the ugly details.

The Eagles have not won an NFL championship since 1960; the Flyers have no Stanley Cups since 1975; and the Sixers are without an NBA title since 1983.

Hinkie was talking only Sixers when he explained his transactions by saying, "We're all focused on building something that can win at the highest level, and that's rare.

"It's rare in Philadelphia. How do you get all the way there?"

The reality is that he might as well also have been speaking for Kelly and Hextall.

Time is the only thing that will tell whether they are right or wrong, but all three are displaying the confidence, hubris or arrogance by saying, "I know how to get us to that special place."

That is, at the same time, both incredibly exciting and nerve-wrecking, because there doesn't seem to be much margin for error. You look at what these guys are trying to do and say it either will succeed spectacularly or fail miserably.

Right now, it's still just a 50/50 call as to which one it will be.

Kelly creamed former Eagles general manager Howie Roseman in Roseman's ill-advised apparent power struggle.

With the keys to the kingdom, Kelly has wasted little time in starting to build the Eagles in his image for success.

With the impending trade of McCoy, plus the releases of offensive lineman Todd Herremans, cornerback Cary Williams and linebacker Trent Cole, Kelly will have around $54 million in salary-cap space to take into free agency.

That's how you begin to build a team in your image.

Maybe this is just a prelude to Kelly making the ultimate franchise makeover, by finding a way to move up in the draft and acquire Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota - his protégé at the University of Oregon.

Whatever Kelly's endgame is, releasing Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson a year ago and now trading McCoy, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, are dramatic statements about his confidence in his system to produce.

If the Eagles are correct and Kelly truly is this new-age guru of football, the Birds could be rewarded with the ultimate prize by letting Chip do whatever he wants.

On the other hand, if Kelly is in reality a college coach whom is in over his head in trying to run an NFL team, a Birds collapse could be catastrophic.

That Hinkie refuses to give even a hint of a time frame for when his franchise might show tangible success on the court should not be viewed as a lack of confidence. There is not a hint of doubt from him that he believes in what he is doing.

Many Sixers fans are on board with the notion of a complete rebuild, but the trade of Carter-Williams for an undetermined draft pick looks like a reset to some.

Maybe Hinkie is right in his believe that the upside of Carter-Williams is not high enough to help the Sixers reach the level they are seeking, but that doesn't change the fact that Sixers coach Brett Brown had invested a lot of time in developing Carter-Williams for his program.

Now he'll have to start over again with a yet-to-be-known entity.

Some have called Hinkie's approach to rebuilding unprecedented and are taking stock in the belief that it is the only way the Sixers can get back to a championship level.

As with Kelly, that will be great if Hinkie is correct. If he is wrong, however, the days of being a seventh or eighth seed with little chance of doing damage in the playoffs will seem like the glory days.

Hextall is fighting against a franchise culture that has been ingrained since its establishment in 1967. The Flyers personify the idea that change can be frightening. For nearly a half century, the Flyers have a fairly high rate of success by doing things the same, so change can be scary.

The Flyers appear committed to letting Hextall do his thing, but if things get bumpy, there could quickly be an idea to go back to the old ways.

The thing about Kelly, Hextall and Hinkie is that there doesn't seem to be a default plan or safeguard mechanism.

There seems to be no middle ground.

It either will be rise to the top with the success of these guys or burn with the ashes of their failures.

Columns: ph.ly/Smallwoodphi