Honeymoon Over Between Chip Kelly and Philadelphia Eagles Fans
By Mike Gibson
@papreps
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Some people are lucky enough to never reach that moment when the first signs appear that the honeymoon is over, but when it comes to NFL head coaches and their fans, that moment almost always comes.
For Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach, Chip Kelly, that little annoying moment might have come earlier this season when an open microphone caught him saying “culture trumps talent” during a game. Just about every fan knew exactly what he meant. Kelly was probably referring to his release of immensely talented wide receiver, DeSean Jackson, without getting anything in return and expecting the void to be filled by a journeyman like Riley Cooper.
It was a captured moment of arrogance that came back to bite him big time on Saturday in a 27-24 loss to the Washington Redskins. Jackson taught Kelly a couple of lessons on Saturday with four catches for 126 yards. One, talent trumps culture and, two, this isn’t college football anymore, where you can cut someone and easily replace him with a five-star recruit.
Coaching in the NFL means getting along with divergent personalities and that is something Kelly is going to have to learn if he’s ever going to be a Super Bowl winning head coach. Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski has a radio show in Philadelphia and tells the same story just about every Monday night to illustrate how Kelly could have succeeded with Jackson. Jaworski said when he played with the Miami Dolphins, Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula would come into quarterback meetings and say how he’d like to get rid of a certain receiver but could not. Shula said the guy was a pain, but that he had to deal with him until he could get someone better.
Kelly’s arrogance about Jackson was the first sign that the honeymoon was over with Eagles fans and his loss to Jackson on Saturday might have been a bigger step in that direction.
Mike Gibson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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