Chip Kelly

Eagles Notes: Boykin, Kelly, Shepherd

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:52am CST by Zachary Links

Brandon Boykin, who was traded from the Eagles to the Steelers late last week, made some comments on Sunday that seemed to echo criticism of other ex-Eagles players, who have said that Chip Kelly harbors some type of racial bias. Boykin later clarified those, comments, however, telling Judy Battista of NFL.com (Twitter links) that Kelly just has a hard time relating to players overall.

Of course, Boykin’s comments quickly became the focus for Eagles beat writers. Quarterback Mark Sanchez made it clear that he’s tired of answering the same old questions, as Tucker Bagley of Philadelphia Magazine writes.

“[During stretching today], guys were like, ‘Sanchez, ain’t you Mexican? And [Sam] Bradford aren’t you Native American?‘” Sanchez said. “And Kiko [Alonso] is Colombian. We’ve got black guys, white guys, Polynesian guys. Come on, that’s crazy,” Sanchez said.

Malcolm Jenkins, meanwhile, told reporters that Kelly just “likes uniformity, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” That quest for uniformity, he says, has been misinterpreted by some as something different. Here’s more on the Eagles..

Boykin was stunned by the trade, a source close to the player told Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. Boykin loved being with the Eagles, but he also wanted a shot at the outside cornerback spot. The 5’9″ corner felt that Kelly never gave him that opportunity and Kelly never took the time to explain to him why he wouldn’t be getting it.
Jesse Dougherty of the Philadelphia Inquirer looked at the Eagles’ internal options for replacing Boykin, including rookie JaCorey Shepherd.
Eagles coach Chip Kelly says that he’s optimistic that guard John Moffit can turn his life around, on and off the field, as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “We spent a lot of time figuring out what he’s all about. We felt comfortable, and we are hopeful that he has turned the corner and he’s got an opportunity. Really, the ball is in his court,” Kelly said. The 28-year-old abruptly left the Broncos in 2013 after losing interest in the game and had legal and drug problems during his time away from football.

East Notes: Cowboys, Kelly, Mathis

August 2nd, 2015 at 12:37pm CST by Rory Parks

Jeremy Mincey is expected to end his holdout pending a meeting with Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones and head coach Jason Garrett today, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter). Per Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News, Mincey arrived in Oxnard on Saturday night and will discuss a new two-year deal with the club. If the two sides strike a deal, Mincey can join his teammates later today for the fourth day of training camp practices.

Now let’s take a look at some more links from the league’s east divisions:

The Cowboys will be on the lookout for more linebacker depth, as Justin Jackson tore his ACL in a special teams walkthrough (Twitter link to ESPN’s Todd Archer).
Brandon Boykin, who was dealt from the Eagles to the Steelers last night, is the latest to take a racially-related jab at Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. Per Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com, Boykin said Kelly is “uncomfortable around grown men of our culture…He can’t relate and that makes him uncomfortable. Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn’t been important to him, but you guys have heard this before me.” Former Eagles LeSean McCoy and Tra Thomas have made similar comments about Kelly in the past, and although there is plenty of evidence to suggest that sentiments like those expressed by Boykin are a bit misguided, it will be interesting to see what, if any, impact this will have on Kelly’s control of his locker room.
Mychal Kendricks, who was rumored to be on the trading block, will likely remain with the Eagles as an insurance policy for DeMeco Ryans, according to Andy Schwartz of CSNPhilly.com.
Citing GM Jerry Reese, Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News tweets that Giants left tackle Will Beatty will return at some point this season, and the team has not closed the door on free agent tackle Jake Long.
The Jets, who have a hole at right guard, have spoken with free agent Evan Mathis, per Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News. However, Mathis’ asking price appears to be out of New York’s range at the moment.
We learned several days ago that Jets rookie wideout Devin Smith suffered broken ribs in Friday’s practice, and Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Smith also has a partially punctured lung. Smith will be sidelined for four to six weeks.
Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets that Bills head coach Rex Ryan has declared Richie Incognito the team’s starting left guard and Cordy Glenn the team’s starting left tackle.

NFC Links: Eagles, Mincey, Claiborne, 49ers

August 1st, 2015 at 12:38pm CST by Ben Levine

There have been a number of instances where Eagles coach Chip Kelly and agent Drew Rosenhaus haven’t necessarily seen eye to eye. It started when the organization shipped out Rosenhaus-client LeSean McCoy, and the Eagles followed that by releasing Evan Mathis. Later, Frank Gore, another of Rosenhaus’ players, spurned Philly to sign with the Colts.

Still, the agent told Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com that he’s not at odds with Kelly or the Eagles organization.

“I get along fine with Chip,” Rosenhaus said. “We’ve had a real good line of communication. LeSean, I had nothing to do with their decision to trade him. That was their call. That was contract-related. The notion that he traded LeSean because of me is, that’s just ridiculous. There was no friction. LeSean was a football decision that he explained fairly well.”

Kelly echoed that sentiment.

“I don’t really deal with agents. We have a real good relationship with Drew, I can tell you that,” Kelly said. “I think Drew has been very professional, very detailed. I think he gets a bad rap to be honest with you in my dealings with him.

“I think he’s been above board, straight ahead, detail-oriented, very organized and you know exactly where you stand. I think anybody will tell you that when you deal with Drew you know exactly where you stand. Wish more people acted like that to be honest with you.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

As defensive end Jeremy Mincey holds out for a new contract, the Cowboys have continued to fine him, writes David Moore of The Dallas Morning News. “There have been some discussions back and forth,” said coach Jason Garrett. “I don’t want to share much about them…We’re focused on the players that we have here in camp and trying to build our football team.”
Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News believes that Morris Claiborne will make the Cowboys roster, but 2015 will likely be the cornerback’s final season with the organization. George adds that the 25-year-old will have to produce if he has any hope of staying in Dallas.
Vernon Davis told Janie McCauley of the Associated Press that he fired an advisor who urged the tight end to get pushy with the 49ers regarding a new contract.“Last year I had a lot of people in my ear, particularly an adviser who kept telling me, ‘Hey, you should try to get another contract,'” Davis said. “As my fiduciary, he was right about a lot of things, so I listened to him, I took his advice. But during the course of that season, I had a chance to really think about it, like: ‘What am I doing? I don’t play this game for money. That’s not why I play.’ It’s good, it’s good to have that, to get rewarded and things, but what am I doing?”

Sunday Roundup: Kelly, Beachum, Fauria

June 21st, 2015 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Parks

Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer says that coaches like the Eagles‘ Chip Kelly, who exercise control over both the football and business side of a team’s operations, frequently succumb to the pressures and difficulties of absolute power. Bill Belichick has managed to make it work in New England, but he is the exception to the rule.

Philadelphia’s recent saga with Evan Mathis demonstrates just how difficult Kelly’s position can be. As McLane writes, “Kelly received nothing in return for a Pro Bowl guard who had little leverage and claimed that he was prepared to report and perform without being a disruption – as he did last year.” And if the decision to release Mathis turns out to be a poor one, Kelly will have no higher authority to share the blame.

Although players will typically side with their teammates when asked about contract difficulties, the responses to Mathis’ release suggest that Kelly is still commanding respect in the locker room even as he takes full control of the team’s personnel affairs. McLane says that Mathis’ former teammates offered “vociferous support of management” after Mathis was cut, and tight end Zach Ertz had this to say: “I understand where [Mathis is] coming from. In his mind he thinks he’s underpaid, so he’s got to do what he thinks is best. But we want people here that are going to trust the process.”

Of course, there will be many more difficult personnel decisions to be made, decisions that will truly test whether Kelly can first construct a talented roster and then get that roster to win football games. It is a decidedly tall task, and one that most have been unable to meet.

Now let’s take a look at some links from around the league:

One of Kelly’s acquisitions this offseason was Miles Austin, who signed a one-year, $2.3MM deal with the club. Austin might not be getting a lot of attention from those outside the Eagles locker room, but Kelly himself is pleased with what he has seen from the one-time star, writes Connor Orr of NFL.com. “He’s got really, really good range,” Kelly said. “Catches the ball extremely well. Intelligent. Kind of knows the subtleties of the exact route running, kind of exactly where to maybe place his elbow to get separation in terms of pushing off the hip and things like that. And he’s imparted that on the younger guys, which I think has really helped us to have that true veteran route runner in there, and I think he’s been really good at doing that.”
The Colts have four locks to make the team at wide receiver in T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson, Donte Moncrief, and first-round pick Phillip Dorsett, writes Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. After that, they have three players competing for either one or two spots in Vincent Brown, Duron Carter, and Griff Whalen.
David Newton of ESPN.com says Jerricho Cotchery is likely to make the Panthers‘ final roster due to his leadership abilities, but Newton does not see him making a significant on-field contribution considering the talent ahead of him on the depth chart.
In the same piece, Newton says he does not see the Panthers making any significant additions along the offensive line unless there is a major injury in training camp, even if a player like the newly-acquired Michael Oher struggles.
The Steelers have not spoken with tackle Kelvin Beachum, who is entering the final year of his contract, about a new deal, tweets Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com. Beachum though, says he is not sweating his contract situation and is fully focused on the 2015 season.
Tashaun Gipson is the talk of the town in Tony Grossi’s latest mailbag for ESPN.com, and Grossi writes that the recent contract drama surrounding Gipson has created a bad vibe between player and team. He also addresses whether the Browns could keep Johnny Manziel inactive all year during his recovery.
Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com is somewhat surprised by how limited Lions tight end Joseph Fauria was in the spring, and the fact that the team signed David Ausberry and attempted to claim Tim Wright off waivers suggests that Detroit is at least considering contingency plans. That said, Fauria is expected to be ready for training camp, and the Lions continue to be impressed by his upside.

Rob DiRe contributed to this post.

NFC East Notes: Kelly, Hardy, Barkley

May 28th, 2015 at 7:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this offseason, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy accused Chip Kelly of racial bias, stating that he got rid of “the good black players.” Safety Malcolm Jenkins, still with the team, doesn’t see it that way, as John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com writes.

“Chip has been very, very transparent on what he’s evaluating us on,” Jenkins said. “That’s not only what we do on the field, but what we do in our assessments and how disciplined we are with our nutrition and all the sports science stuff. I haven’t seen him make a move outside of those parameters. I don’t think anybody in the locker room now thinks we have an issue with race. I don’t see that being a problem in the future. I don’t think there’s any need for Chip to address it.”

Here’s more from the NFC East..

Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has not signed his franchise-tag tender but he did take part in a portion of Thursday’s OTAs, Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. Unless Bryant signs the tender, he is not obligated to show up for the minicamp, but it sounds like he wanted to get on the same page with his teammates. When and if Bryant signs his tender, he’ll be guaranteed a $12.823MM salary. The deadline to hammer out a long-term pact is July 15th.
Greg Hardy‘s arbitration appeal of his 10-game suspension before arbitrator Harold Henderson has wrapped, according to Andrew Brandt (via Twitter). No date has been given for a decision on the Cowboys defensive end just yet.
Matt Barkley‘s name was thrown about in trade rumors a bit this offseason, but if you ask the quarterback, there was nothing to them, as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “I had intel on what was going on, and there was nothing going to happen,” said Barkley, who shares an agent with coach Chip Kelly.
Kelly told reporters that Walter Thurmond was the first Eagles cornerback to get a crack at the safety position since he has experience as a nickel back and always seems to be around the ball, according to the Eagles’ Twitter account.
The Eagles have moved quarterback G.J. Kinne over to wide receiver, according to the team’s official Twitter page.

Sunday Roundup: Ray, Eagles, Chargers

May 17th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look a a few notes from around the league:

Shane Ray‘s draft stock took a hit because of a citation for marijuana possession and a toe injury, but the Missouri product was still selected in the first round, as the Broncos traded up to nab the high-ceiling pass rusher. As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk writes, Denver hopes that Ray, who missed rookie minicamp as a result of the toe injury, will be able to participate in some capacity when the team resumes work tomorrow. As Alper points out, though, Ray’s work is likely to be limited, especially since the Broncos just lost third-round tight end Jeff Heuerman to a torn ACL at minicamp.
Of all the eyebrow-raising moves that Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has made during his brief tenure with the club, his decisions relating to Philadelphia’s wide receiving corps may be the most curious. But as David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News writes, with the addition of Nelson Agholor–a physical clone of Jeremy Maclin–the expected improvement from Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews, and the team’s ability to shift Darren Sproles to more of a pass-catching role now that DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews are in the fold, the Eagles may actually have a more dynamic set of receivers than they had in 2014.
Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano says rookie Denzel Perryman will compete for time at inside linebacker with projected starters Manti Te’o and Donald Butler, but that ultimately everybody will see time on the field, ESPN’s Eric D. Williams writes. Pagano complimented his talent not only at the linebacker position, but also on special teams.
The Chargers don’t have a true fullback on their roster, but San Diego State product Chad Young hopes to change that, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego writes. Young has experience on his side, having been in training camp last year with the Jets. But like other fullbacks, he has seen his position fade across the NFL over the past several years.
Former Maryland standout Andre Monroe tried out for the Chargers during the team’s rookie minicamp, writes Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. Monroe set Maryland’s school record with 25 career sacks, 20 of which came in his last 26 games. But at 5’10” and 294 pounds, Monroe is a bit undersized for an NFL defensive lineman, and he was not immediately offered a contract by San Diego.
Longtime Ravens scout Joe Douglas has accepted a job with the Bears, according to a press release from the Ravens. Douglas will be Chicago’s new director of college scouting.
The Steelers have hired veteran NFL personnel man Rick Reiprish to join their player personnel department, writes Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Reiprish, who has over 30 years of experience in player personnel, was the Saints’ director of college scouting for 11 years until he was released in a front-office shakeup earlier this year.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

East Notes: McCoy, C. Johnson, Cowboys

May 6th, 2015 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

Bills running back LeSean McCoy has poured some fuel on what appeared to be a dormant controversy, not-to-subtly suggesting to Mike Rodak of ESPN that Chip Kelly‘s roster decisions for the Eagles have some racial motivation to them.

“He wants the full control,” McCoy said of Kelly’s managerial style. “You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players. He got rid of them the fastest. That’s the truth. There’s a reason. … It’s hard to explain with him. But there’s a reason he got rid of all the black players — the good ones — like that.”

While McCoy raises a few eyebrows, let’s check in on a few other items from out of the NFL’s two East divisions…

Approached by TMZ and asked about the possibility of signing with the Cowboys, free agent running back Chris Johnson admitted that “that’s what we’re trying to do,” adding that he’d be a good fit in Dallas (link via the Dallas Morning News). The Cowboys haven’t been too aggressive in trying to replace DeMarco Murray this offseason, unexpectedly passing on running backs in last week’s draft. However, executive VP of football operations Stephen Jones did tell DMN’s Jon Machota that the team is open to adding another veteran, so perhaps Johnson will receive consideration at some point.
While La’el Collins would be a great addition to the Dolphins‘ roster on the field, the team should exercise caution and slow its pursuit of the former LSU offensive lineman until he’s completely cleared by police, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus reviews the draft and the undrafted free agent class for the Patriots and for the Jets.

NFC East Notes: McFadden, Gregory, Eagles

May 3rd, 2015 at 7:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

To the surprise of many, the Cowboys did not address their DeMarco Murray-less running back corps this weekend, but they may be in the market for veteran help.

“Just because this is our current group of running backs doesn’t mean it will stay that way,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “We are always looking to improve our football team.”

But going into the season with Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle doesn’t quite resemble an understaffed corps, considering the Dallas offensive front that lifted Murray to what could amount to an outlier campaign last year remains elite. Although Jerry Jones did note the team wanted to draft a tailback, indicating the corps could well see a notable addition before the season.

“We would have liked to have drafted a running back,” the Cowboys owner and general manager told Machota. “But at the same token, we didn’t think at any given time that we should pass at the player that was there, even with the running backs [available].”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. noted to Machota the spot for the Cowboys to add to their backfield came in the third round in ex-Michigan State runner Jeremy Langford, when the team instead selected former Florida tackle Chaz Green, who the ESPN prospects guru viewed as a reach.

Here are some additional news items from the NFC East.

The Cowboys landing Randy Gregory at No. 60 is “worth the risk,” according to ESPN’s Todd McShay, via Machota. With Greg Hardy out for 10 games, Dallas had a need for a pass-rusher despite its depleted backfield.
With Dwayne Harris gone, the Cowboys have a need at returner. Jason Garrett mentioned to Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News that McFadden could be an unlikely candidate to do so. The former No. 4 overall pick has three career kick returns.
For the first time in the draft’s 80-year history, the Eagles went two years without selecting an offensive lineman. After letting veteran Todd Herremans go and openly putting All-Pro Evan Mathis on the trade market, the Eagles face questions on their front, reports CSNPhilly.com’s Reuben Frank. “We hadn’t drafted DBs in recent years, so it’s just kind of you can’t take them all,” Chip Kelly told Frank. “You only have a certain amount of picks.” The Eagles invested significantly at cornerback this offseason, signing Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond and now drafting Eric Rowe in Round 2, and they have a solid line that saw four players — Mathis, Jason Peters, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson — receive top-13 grades at their positions last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Philadelphia did add four undrafted offensive linemen, and Kelly’s blueprint for adding to an aging offensive front isn’t that different from how the league’s four championship-qualifying teams have done so, reports Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Enquirer. The Eagles now house 16 offensive fronters, with 50% of them undrafted. That similar to the Patriots, Colts, Seahawks and Packers, whose rosters collectively have 49% of their blockers coming into the league undrafted, according to Sielski.

NFC Quotes: Payton, Thompson, Kelly, Jones

May 2nd, 2015 at 9:42am CST by Ben Levine

It’s been a busy past few days in NFL front offices, and some of the draft selections by the league’s front offices have left pundits befuddled. The league’s reporters made sure to follow through with those curious selections, and we have some of the more notable responses below…

Saints coach Sean Payton, who opined yesterday that La’el Collins would be drafted in the second or third round, on why his team passed on the embattled lineman (via ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett):

“I don’t know that we would consider that right now until we had more clarity. And it seems like there’s a rush for everyone. And one of the things I said this morning was, ‘Man, we’re right down the road. Are we able to get some information the other teams don’t have yet?’ And so I haven’t had that or gotten that information yet to answer that as a yes.”

Packers general manager Ted Thompson on his team not selecting an inside linebacker (via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com):

“It’s a simple plan, but we wanted to make sure we got football players. And we think we got a couple more tonight…We’re going to address [inside linebacker] just like we address all other positions and try to make it as strong as we can.”

Eagles coach Chip Kelly on the team’s decision to select linebacker Jordan Hicks despite having greater needs (via Les Bowen of Philly.com):

“He was our highest-rated guy by far. We had him rated in the second round. We had great exposure to Jordan; he was the individual we saw the most this offseason.”

Kelly on how the Hicks selection could impact Mychal Kendricks‘ role on the Eagles (via Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com):

“We’re excited to get him back here. I know he spent the draft with his brother, which we understand. He said he should be back here next week, but I think you’re always gonna draft players, and when you bring ‘em in here, the one thing you want is you want competition at positions. We knew going in at the end of last year that with just Mychal and DeMeco that we really had to shore up the inside linebacker spot. “

Jerry Jones on the Cowboys selecting Randy Gregory with the No. 60 pick (via NFL.com’s Marc Sessler):

“I think it gives us enough confidence that we can work through some of the issues that have basically caused him to drop and maybe improve on that. That’s certainly the plan and have us a heck of a contribution to winning.”

NFC Notes: Eagles, Bennett, Collins, Boone

May 1st, 2015 at 11:23pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest from the NFC as Friday comes to a close:

Eagles coach and football czar Chip Kelly said he hasn’t received any calls regarding linebacker Mychal Kendricks, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The Eagles have been shopping the three-year veteran, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported earlier this week.
In other Eagles linebacker news, one scout called their selection of Texas’ Jordan Hicks in the third round (84th overall) a “stupid pick,” per Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. However, the Bengals would’ve taken him with the next pick, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Further, Kelly says the Eagles had a second-round grade on Hicks and saw him more than any other prospect prior to the draft, reports the Inquirer’s Zach Berman (via Twitter).
Despite all the recent rumors surrounding his team, Kelly claims he hasn’t talked to anyone during the draft about trading players, according to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter). What’s more, Kelly had to call multiple players recently to tell them that they weren’t trade bait, per USA Today’s Lindsay Jones (Twitter link). Mosher reports (Twitter link) that Kendricks and cornerback Brandon Boykin did not receive calls, while defensive end Vinny Curry did.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace says tight end Martellus Bennett has not requested a trade, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). However, Biggs notes that Bennett might want more money. Bennett, who amassed 90 catches and six touchdowns in 2014, has two years left on his contract, but no guaranteed money left. He was said earlier this week to be on the trade block.
Saints head coach Sean Payton says the team hasn’t taken LSU offensive tackle La’el Collins off its board, per Sean Fazende of Fox 8 (Twitter link). On the possibility of using a seventh-round pick on Collins, Payton went on to state, “I don’t know that we would consider that right now until we get more clarity.” Collins, whom Baton Rouge police wish to question regarding the murder of his ex-girlfriend, has seen his draft stock drop precipitously in recent days, and may not sign with a team that drafts him tomorrow.
General manager Trent Baalke says the 49ers haven’t spoken with guard Alex Boone or his agent, tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Boone, who is entering the final year of his contract, will skip all voluntary offseason activities. Baalke referred to that as a “non-issue.”
Before the Rams swung a deal Friday to swap second-round picks with the Panthers (going from 41st to 57th) and acquire a pair of other selections, St. Louis had discussions with five other teams, per Howard Balzer (Twitter link), who says the team was willing to move down so far in the second round in order to pick up a third-round pick. Coach Jeff Fisher said the Rams were comfortable moving down because they felt they’d still be able to get one of the offensive linemen they liked, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner (Twitter link). That proved true, as they ultimately took Wisconsin offensive tackle Rob Havenstein.
Trading up could be a possibility Saturday for the Cardinals. Their general manager, Steve Keim, mentioned the possibility twice Friday, reports Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
The Cowboys would be comfortable taking a running back in the fourth round, tweets Rapoport.

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