Colts’ Hasselbeck: Chip Kelly ‘a good coach and fun guy’

Kelly was sacked by the Eagles on Tuesday night with one game left in his third season, completing a dramatic drop for a coach who was heavily recruited and lauded as an offensive genius only a couple years ago.

Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie says Chip Kelly didn’t push to keep his coaching job in their final meeting where Kelly was sacked.

Neither guy is expressing interest in such at this moment, but suffice to say, if either Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly or Ohio State’s Urban Meyer ever end up coaching in the National Football League, they made clear the requirements on Wednesday.

“One, I wanted to get a jump start on our head coaching search”, the Eagles’ owner said. He did remarkable things as the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire shattering all kinds of records, and we all know what his spread offense did for OR in his brief stint there as Head Coach, but with the talent in the state of Texas he could own the college football world.

“This was a three-year evaluation of where we are heading, what is the trajectory, what is the progress or lack thereof and what did I anticipate for the foreseeable future”, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie told reporters on Wednesday. The qualities Lurie said he’s seeking in a new head coach include several social skills Kelly seemed to loathe.

“I’m not curious anymore about how I would do in the NFL”, Brian Kelly said. I wish him a lot of luck moving forward.

Lurie said having that time to talk with players and hear their concerns was a primary factor in firing Kelly before Week 17. Roseman, Donahoe and the new head coach will manage the roster with a “collaborative” effort, he said.

The decision to dismiss Kelly now rather than wait until Black Monday, the traditional firing day, was done for a variety of reasons, according to Lurie. “I think Chip had good intentions”.

NFL.com reported that Murray spoke with Lurie on the team plane after a Week 13 loss to the Patriots, voicing the fact that he had “no confidence” in Kelly. “We play the Giants on Sunday and I think that’s all I’m focused on”.

And then there was this tweet from Eagles’ linebacker Emmanuel Acho, who said of Kelly simply “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, ” although he walked back that statement later.

“We’re looking for someone who interacts very well and communicates clearly with everybody he works with and comes in touch with”, Lurie said. Kelly was released Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 just before the end of a disappointing season that began with Super Bowl expectations. Kelly balked at that suggestion and Lurie fired him. He traded away LeSean McCoy, claiming it was because of money, and added DeMarco Murray-a back who didn’t fit the system and cost just as much.

Philadelphia missed the postseason in 2014 following a 9-3 start and were 7-12 in Kelly’s last 19 games.