Chip Kelly - Pro Football Rumors

NFC East Notes: Beckham, Eagles, Washington

December 22nd, 2015 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

As anticipated, Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. is appealing his one-game suspension, and that appeal is scheduled for Wednesday, with James Thrash serving as the hearing officer, tweets Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. As Mortensen notes, a decision is expected to come quickly once the hearing completes, so we should know within the next couple days whether or not Beckham will be eligible to play this weekend.

With Washington and Philadelphia set to play on Saturday night, it’s possible the NFC East division crown will already be decided by the time the Giants’ kick off against the Vikings on Sunday, since Washington will clinch with a victory. But if the Eagles prevail on Saturday, Beckham’s suspension could loom large on Sunday, with the Giants’ season on the line.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

After Chip Kelly‘s weak endorsement of Eagles running back DeMarco Murray this weekend, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News is becoming more convinced that Murray’s time in Philadelphia could come to an end after just one season.
Defensive coordinator Bill Davis shouldn’t have to shoulder all the blame for the Eagles‘ struggles on defense this season, but his job is on the line nonetheless, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A Federal Circuit ruling on Tuesday may have an impact on Washington‘s case regarding the Redskins trademark, as Bill Donahue of Law360 details. The Federal Circuit ruled that the government’s ban on “disparaging” trademark registrations is a violation of the First Amendment, striking down the provision that was used to strip Daniel Snyder’s franchise of the Redskins trademark.
Per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), Washington recently tried out a pair of tight ends, Andrew Gleichert and Brian Vogler, along with defensive tackle Kamal Johnson.

NFC Notes: Bradford, Lynch, Panthers, Cooley

December 14th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is a few months from free agency and could be in another uniform next season. If you’re to believe head coach Chip Kelly, he hopes the sixth-year man is under center again for Philadelphia in 2016.

“We’ve always wanted Sam here. We wouldn’t have traded for him if we thought he was (only) going to be here for a year,” Kelly said, per Les Bowen of Philly.com.

Kelly sent former Eagles starting QB Nick Foles and a second-round pick to St. Louis last offseason for Bradford, whose performance in Philly has been a mixed bag. Bradford’s stats aren’t great – 6.71 YPA, 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 82.9 rating in 11 games – but the Eagles have won the last three games the 28-year-old has both started and finished, and Kelly likes the former Heisman winner’s progression.

“I just see improvement from Sam on a weekly basis that gets you excited about him. I thought he threw the ball extremely well (Sunday),” said Kelly, whose Bradford-led Eagles knocked off Buffalo, 23-20, and are atop the NFC East at 6-7.

Extra Points: Nkemdiche, Henry, McCarthy, Kelly

December 13th, 2015 at 9:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Consensus top-10 pick Robert Nkemdiche remains in stable condition after a fall from a hotel room window in Atlanta, David Ching of ESPN.com reports.

Reports varied over the nature of the Ole Miss junior defensive lineman’s fall, with this tweet indicating the Atlanta police said Nkemdiche fell from a fourth-floor window. But according to Ching’s report, police indicated this was a one-story fall of approximately 15 feet.

Per Ching, Nkemdiche appeared to have broken the window, climbed over another wall before falling to the ground. A small amount of “suspected marijuana” was present inside the room.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report projects Nkemdiche to go fourth in the 2016 draft, and Mel Kiper Jr. lists the former No. 1 overall recruit as his No. 5 prospect.

Here are some additional news items on draft prospects and other news from around the league.

Character issues are affecting Nkemdiche’s perception among NFL decision-makers, Miller reports (video link). Miller, however, cautions that demoting character risks can be costly, considering Justin Houston and Tyrann Mathieu‘s rapid rises.
Alabama running back Derrick Henry won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s best player, but that doesn’t automatically mean he will be a high draft pick, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. He spoke with former scout Dan Hatman, who has Henry rated between his 100th and 150th best prospect, citing his reliance on blocking, poor change of direction, and a heavy college workload as reasons to be wary of overrating the top college running back.
Mike McCarthy notified associate head coach Tom Clements on Monday he’d be reassuming control of calling the Packers‘ plays, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. The 10th-year Packers coach was following the advice of others in the organization urging him to do so, but McCarthy demurred initially because of fear it would make Clements and offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett look bad, Demovsky notes. Entering Sunday’s game, the Packers ranked 22nd in offense and 26th in third-down conversions. They rushed for 230 yards against the Cowboys. Clements last called plays for the Drew Bledsoe-era Bills in the mid-2000s. “The personal part of it was brutal,” McCarthy told media regarding Clements’ demotion. “Professionally, I felt like I had to do it. I was worried about making sure I was going to do my job good.”
Chip Kelly denied calling LeSean McCoy this week, an alleged phone call that resulted in the former Eagles running back hanging up on his ex-coach. “When people want to make up false stories about me calling people up during the week and them hanging up on me – people (are) trying to get Twitter hits or things like that and make themselves significant,” Kelly told media. The Philadelphia Inquirer stands by the story, the Inquirer’s Jeff McLane writes. Kelly attempted to call McCoy after news of the trade with the Bills in March, however.
Gus Bradley‘s job should be safe after the Jaguars‘ 51-16 thrashing of the Colts, O’Halloran writes. O’Halloran believes Bradley was on thin ice prior to this performance, but notching his fifth victory and first over the Colts puts the former Seahawks DC on firm ground in O’Halloran’s mind.
A 2011 loss in Jacksonville prompted Jim Irsay to fire Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell, and Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star wonders if the Colts‘ owner’s reached his decision to fire Chuck Pagano after allowing the 5-8 Jaguars to put up 51 points. In his contract’s final year, Pagano seems a pretty safe bet for a Black Monday headline.
Next week’s must-win for the Colts could feature career backup Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, Kevin Bowen of Colts.com writes. With Andrew Luck throwing but not yet practicing and Matt Hasselbeck exiting Sunday’s rout early, next week’s Colts-Texans game could double as Whitehurst’s second-biggest career start, after the infamous Week 17 2010 game that clinched the 7-9 Seahawks’ playoff berth. The 33-year-old Whitehurst has made nine career starts, including five last season with the Titans.

Rob Dire contributed to this report.

Sunday Roundup: Murray, Tomsula, Spiller

December 13th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some links from around the league, starting with more news on the Eagles‘ running back drama:

During DeMarco Murray‘s recent and much-ballyhooed conversation with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the embattled running back told Lurie that head coach Chip Kelly was “unapproachable.” When speaking with the owner, Murray openly questioned the abilities of Kelly and running backs coach Duce Staley.
According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter links), Murray did have a lengthy meeting with Kelly earlier this week, but Kelly made no assurances to Murray regarding his role for the remainder of the season. In fact, Murray is listed as the fourth back on the Eagles‘ depth chart today.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the message that the Eagles have sent to the rest of the league is clear: Murray is available. On a related note, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com explores the Eagles‘ options with regards to Murray’s contract, ultimately concluding that trading Murray in 2016 is the strategy that would work best for Philadelphia.
The 49ers‘ improved play over the last few weeks has lightened the mood in the locker room and has likely bought head coach Jim Tomsula another year with the club, per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. The team has appeared more engaged and has given the front office tangible signs of hope, which means Tomsula will probably be back in 2016.
La Canfora writes that many league owners are concerned about the strength of the Raiders‘ ownership group and would prefer that the Chargers either move to Los Angeles by themselves or partnered with the Rams. Although that seems unlikely at this point, the overall “trepidation” surrounding the Raiders and the prevailing belief that Oakland remains a viable NFL market could mean that the Carson project–which would see the Raiders and Chargers move to LA together–may not get the requisite 24 votes at the league meetings in January to move forward.
Tim Hightower has stepped in for the injured Mark Ingram in the Saints‘ backfield today, which represents yet another blow to free agent addition C.J. Spiller. Per Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune (citing The NFL Network), Spiller is a “long shot” to return to New Orleans next season.
Although the Seahawks of course have been delighted with Thomas Rawls‘ performance thus far, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Marshawn Lynch is progressing and the team is very open to Beastmode’s return.
Mark Potash of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that Bears GM Ryan Pace will have a tough decision to make with Matt Forte this offseason, and Potash examines Pace’s options in that regard.

NFC Notes: Saints, McCoy, Ryan, Shanahan

December 12th, 2015 at 10:06am CST by Rob DiRe

As teams prepare for a December playoff push, a few of the more important NFC teams are dealing with disappointing seasons that have gone off the rails. The Saints and Falcons have both fallen squarely out of the postseason picture, while the Eagles are hanging on due to a terrible NFC East division.

Here are some notes from the Saints, Falcons, and Eagles:

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is playing for pride down the stretch in 2015, but most of his teammates are playing for something more important–their jobs, writes Larry Holder of NOLA.com. Holder notes that the team will have to make major decisions on some key players this offseason, including Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Zach Strief, Jahri Evans, and even Sean Payton.
During the Falcons hot start, both Matt Ryan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan looked like absolute superstars in Atlanta. Since then, both have really struggled to produce anything significant offensively. Despite those struggles and who is to blame, Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that neither is on the chopping block this season.
Much has been made of the feud between LeSean McCoy and Chip Kelly, especially since part of the reason for trading McCoy to the Bills was because of “fit” and “culture.” DeMarco Murray is averaging 3.5 yards per carry and has a reduced role in the Eagles’ offense, and has become a distraction, while McCoy is thriving in Buffalo, contradicting both reasons for the trade, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s worth the read if only for the small note about McCoy getting a call from an unknown number this past Tuesday, and hanging up once he realized it was Kelly calling.

East Notes: Kelly, Bills, McCoy, Murray

December 9th, 2015 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

We touched on some Eagles and Bills news items this morning, with a focus on the two teams’ highly-paid running backs. Since then though, those clubs – and running backs – have continued to be hot topics, creating a few headlines throughout the day. So let’s round up the latest out of Philadelphia and Buffalo, as the two East clubs prepare for a big Week 14 matchup.

In a conference call today with Buffalo reporters, including Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said it’s a “false assumption” to call him the team’s general manager. “I just have final say over the roster,” Kelly said. While he may not officially hold the GM title, Kelly is clearly the one making personnel decisions in Philadelphia, so his objections seem to be over a matter of semantics.
Kelly also said earlier today that he regretted not getting a chance to talk to LeSean McCoy before word of the trade that sent to the running back to Buffalo broke, adding that he’d like to shake McCoy’s hand. Shady wasn’t having any of that though, telling Bills reporters, including Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, that Kelly “can’t shake s—.” McCoy continued: “We’re not enemies. I won’t say anything wrong to him. But there’s nothing for us to talk about, at all.”
The Bills‘ offseason acquisition of McCoy was a factor in Tyrod Taylor‘s decision to sign with Buffalo, the quarterback said today, noting that he wanted to be around playmakers (Twitter link via Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News). For his part, Bills head coach Rex Ryan said his team “couldn’t be happier” with the McCoy/Kiko Alonso swap, as Dunne details.
While McCoy was making headlines with his comments today, it was Eagles running back DeMarco Murray that was in the news yesterday, following a report that he spoke to team owner Jeffrey Lurie about his unhappiness with his role. According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Kelly said that Murray has expressed those frustrations to him as well. The head coach also suggested that Murray’s conversation with Lurie was happenstance, though he couldn’t explain how it leaked to ESPN (Twitter link via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News).

NFC Notes: Murray, Lacy, Falcons, Bears

December 8th, 2015 at 5:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Eagles running back DeMarco Murray and owner Jeffrey Lurie had a lengthy conversation Sunday about Murray’s role in head coach Chip Kelly‘s offense, ESPN’s Ed Werder reports. Though the Eagles pulled a 35-28 upset in New England, Murray was barely a factor – taking the field for just 14 plays and totaling 24 yards on eight carries – and he voiced his frustrations to Lurie afterward as a result. Their conversation happened on the team’s flight home, according to Werder, who adds that it’s unknown who initiated the talk.

“He’s obviously upset about what happened,” a source close to Murray told Werder.

Murray, who led the NFL in rushing last year with Dallas and then signed a big-money deal with the Eagles in the offseason, has struggled mightily under Kelly. The two-time thousand-yard rusher has just 569 this season on a paltry 3.5 per-carry average, and has been outproduced by teammate Ryan Mathews – who signed a much less valuable contract with Philly in the offseason. Mathews missed the Patriots game because of a concussion, but Murray still had to take a backseat to Darren Sproles, who accrued 90 yards on 19 touches.

“We are not trying to win a rushing championship or a passing championship or a receiving championship or anything from that stretch of the imagination,” Kelly said Monday. “We are just trying to win football games.”

NFC Rumors: Murray, Vikings, Lewis, White

December 7th, 2015 at 9:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Eagles potentially set to be tied for the NFC East lead if the Cowboys win tonight, let’s take a look at some news coming out of Philadelphia, as well as several other NFC cities.

As the Eagles gave DeMarco Murray only eight carries against the Patriots, Chip Kelly denied a demotion took place, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The eight carries matched a season low for the defending rushing champion, who is averaging 3.5 yards per carry after gaining 4.7 per tote last season. Kelly attributed Murray’s reduced usage (14 snaps) to the game’s strange flow that featured three Eagles non-offensive touchdowns. The obvious counter to that was Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner both out-touching Murray and each averaging north of four yards per rush. Berman writes Ryan Mathews‘ return could further siphon Murray’s workloads, which have been much smaller than 2014. Murray has just 163 carries.
None of the four safeties on the Vikings‘ active roster practiced Monday, and Antone Exum could miss multiple games with a fractured rib and a sprained AC joint, Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Exum’s started the past two games in Andrew Sendejo‘s stead.
After Adrian Peterson characterized the Vikings as being “outplayed and outcoached” in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Seahawks, Mike Zimmer took a hard-headed stance when addressing media. “I don’t really worry about other people’s opinions. I only worry about what I think,” the Vikings’ second-year coach told media (including Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Zimmer did say Peterson should have received more than eight carries, however.
John Fox said rookie wideout Kevin White‘s shin has sufficiently healed, and the team will now look to get him in football shape, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (on Twitter). The Bears‘ first-rounder has yet to be cleared to play, however.
Shelved on the PUP list due to a torn ACL he sustained last November while at Georgia Tech, 49ers rookie wide receiver DeAndre Smelter will not play this season, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports. Smelter reverts to the non-football injury/reserve list. The fourth-round pick will not practice with the team during the season’s remainder.
On injured reserve after an injury-restricted campaign, Keenan Lewis underwent hip surgery today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Saints‘ top corner is under contract through the 2017 season.

Extra Points: Eagles, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

December 6th, 2015 at 9:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the league as we wrap up the weekend…

While Chip Kelly may not be considered the Eagles bona fide general manager, there’s no denying that he was controlling personnel decisions this offseason. Based on the team’s underwhelming performance in 2015, NFL Media’s Michael Robinson believes the organization needs a more traditional GM. “He needs a guy that’s going to come in and help him evaluate talent,” he said (via Conor Orr of NFL.com).
The Bengals have denied both USC and Miami’s request to interview offensive coordinator Hue Jackson for their previous head coaching vacancies, reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. If Jackson doesn’t receive an NFL offer, Florio believes he could eventually replace Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati.
Firing Mike Pettine with four games to go makes little sense for the Browns, writes Marla Ridenour of Cleveland.com. The writer believes the move would “do more harm than good,” as owner Jimmy Haslam‘s “quick trigger” may make it hard to find a competent replacement.
Steelers return man Jacoby Jones botched a pair of kicks in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Colts. The veteran has been benched for the second half, and Florio wonders if his tenure with Pittsburgh may be over.

East Notes: Kelly, McDaniels, Coughlin

December 6th, 2015 at 11:02am CST by Rory Parks

Just a week after Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was said to be “despondent” and “mulling all options” on the heels of back-t0-back blowout losses, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the head coach is likely to return to the Philadelphia sidelines in 2016. Owner Jeffrey Lurie remains a staunch Kelly supporter, even though he is aware of some dissension in the locker room, and per La Canfora, Lurie “did not hand Kelly total control to the roster a few months ago to consider launching a new search for a coach and GM now.” Although it is not inconceivable that Kelly could return to the college ranks in 2016, those vacancies are filling up quickly and team officials would be shocked if Kelly left the Eagles before completing his fourth season with the club.

Although Kelly surely appreciates Lurie’s loyalty, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Kelly himself is too loyal to under-performing players. During Kelly’s tenure with the Eagles, he has never released or benched a player for poor performance, and McLane thinks certain members of the club may have become complacent.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is once again a hot head coaching candidate, and La Canfora writes that he is open to speaking with teams this offseason. Of course, given McDaniels’ disastrous stint in Denver, he would only go to a team that has a strong organizational structure from ownership down, since another failed tenure would likely spell the end of his head coaching opportunities. Many clubs are enamored with McDaniels’ offensive mind and ability to extract a great deal of production from an offense that has to continually reinvent itself, and McDaniels is viewed as the closest thing to a Belichick clone to emerge from the Belichick coaching tree.
If McDaniels is to leave the Patriots, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe sees the Lions as the most likely landing spot, given that the team has a good young quarterback in place and ownership that has shown patience in the past. The Titans have been viewed as a fit, and they may be, but their ownership situation is unstable, and Volin does not believe McDaniels would disrespect New England by going to a team like the Dolphins or Colts that has a history of bad blood with the Patriots.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin may be on the hot seat, but as Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News writes, Coughlin typically thrives with his back to the wall. Of course, the team had a chance to take a commanding lead in the NFC East last week and failed to do so, which means that the Giants’ string of four straight seasons without a playoff berth is in danger of continuing. If that happens, Coughlin’s two Super Bowl rings and respect from team ownership may not be enough to save him.