Responding to a Monday report that suggested he met recently with USC officials, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly adamantly denied that such a meeting took place, telling reporters he has had “no contact” with USC or other colleges, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
Kelly had made a habit in the past of shooting down this sort of report, even when it’s hard not to believe that the report is true — for instance, he claimed this spring that he hadn’t had trade talks involving any of his players during the first day of the draft. In this case though, I’m inclined to believe that the details of today’s story – that Kelly met with USC officials in Philadelphia on Friday – are off. Still, it seems unlikely that Kelly or his agent have never spoken to anyone from USC at all, even if it was just to politely turn down an inquiry.
In any case, Kelly isn’t going anywhere for now. As we wait to see if he can get the Eagles back on track after a disastrous Thanksgiving loss, let’s check out some others notes out of Philadelphia and the rest of the NFC….
- We’ve heard recently that the Eagles‘ struggles this year actually reflect relatively well on former GM Howie Roseman, who lost control of personnel decisions after the 2014 season. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, perception is shifting outside the Eagles’ building as well, with talk around the league suggesting that Roseman could draw interest elsewhere this winter. As Garafolo writes, it’ll be a delicate situation for owner Jeffrey Lurie, who has a good relationship with Roseman and will likely make an effort to keep him if other clubs come calling.
- According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), the 49ers were able to track how much time players spent studying game plans and plays on tablets assigned by the team, and found that Blaine Gabbert studied about four to five times more than Colin Kaepernick did. While Kaepernick’s lack of preparation was an area of concern for the team, players aren’t thrilled with teams’ ability to track their studies, arguing that it may take some players less time than others to learn the same things. According to Cole, there’s a chance the NFLPA could take up the issue with the league.
- Having been placed on IR with the designation to return in September, Lions cornerback Alex Carter won’t be activated to the 53-man roster and will remain on IR for the rest of the year, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Carter, selected in the third round by Detroit back in May, will have to wait until 2016 to make his NFL debut.
- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers admits the Packers need to improve their preparation on offense after losing four of five games, but denied that the club has reached the point where a players-only meeting is required, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. During NBC’s Thanksgiving telecast, Cris Collinsworth alluded to the club holding a players-only meeting, but Rodgers said no such meeting happened.
