Eagles dismantle Chip Kelly era in one fell swoop
The Philadelphia Eagles aren't wasting anytime in scrubbing the stench of the Chip Kelly era off their roster.
In two key moves Monday, de facto general manager Howie Roseman traded three players specifically targeted by Kelly in the dreaded offseason of 2015. The highest profile moves of the once and future king of Philadelphia have been loudly swept under the rug.
After shipping LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Alonso, Kelly went about his business by adding cornerback Byron Maxwell and rushing champion DeMarco Murray on big-money deals in free agency. While no one questioned the talent of the players acquired, the seemingly patchwork nature of the roster makeup made little sense.
Unless you bought the Chip Kelly is a football genius theory.
The franchise certainly appeared content to let Kelly build a team powered only by his sense of self-satisfaction. After all, he'd taken the team to back-to-back 10-6 seasons with one playoff loss. Made sense. Who needed players that played on a team with a top-5 offense and top-10 defense just two years prior?
The purge was further highlighted by the release of veterans Cary Williams and Trent Cole and the apathetic approach to re-signing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
Eagles fans were sold on the endless genius of Kelly's "up-tempo offense" that needed three running backs to split limited carries, a defense that featured four inside linebackers for two starting spots, and Kelly's personal ability to make Sam Bradford into Nick Foles circa 10 starts in 2013.
Of the 10 players acquired under Kelly between the beginning of free agency and the draft, five are no longer with the team. In addition to those traded Monday, Miles Austin was cut during the season and Tim Tebow was released in training camp after failing to invent a new position: preacher/two-point specialist.
And it doesn't end there, as Ryan Mathews is rumored to be on the trade block, Walter Thurmond is unlikely to be retained, and Seyi Ajirotutu is Seyi Ajirotutu.
That's a staggering commentary on the moves considering the name recognition involved and the relative stagnation of NFL rosters in relation to other sports.
Now the Eagles find themselves in the midst of an all-out rebuild, retaining middling-to-solid players on large but team-friendly deals - in the hopes they develop into stars - to help keep the franchise out of cap hell for the time being.
What tangible assets will the franchise be left with from the Kelly era? A few solid draft choices that may develop (Jordan Matthew, Nelson Agholor) and a begrudging re-signing of Sam Bradford in a depressed quarterback market.