Kelly saddened by Eagles exit

Johnson complimented Kelly, but he also acknowledged underlying problems and the internal turmoil that ensued.

“I don’t know what his relationship was with other people, but I had a great relationship with Chip”, Bradford said. “It’s tough, making the transition from college to the NFL”. Kelly joined an Eagles’ team coming off a 4-12 season and who recently parted ways with long-tenured head coach Andy Reid. After dramatic offseason changes, it was clear the roster had problems.

According to Philly.com, Johnson also said Kelly didn’t listen to complaints or criticism from players. I think we saw in ’02, more of probably overall where the ’01 team was, just the ’01 team played great when they had to in critical situations, in big games, and that’s why they won. Look, Chip’s a great coach. Were there players who were less than enthusiastic about Kelly? I just know those guys are good coaches. “Ultimately, it doesn’t work that way because those guys are employed by him and [Jeffrey] Lurie”. People didn’t feel comfortable doing that. “I was blessed to work with a gifted and hard-working coaching staff every day, and they will succeed wherever they go”.

“You’ve got to open your heart to players and everybody you want to achieve peak performance”, Lurie said on Wednesday.

The unusual thing is that after Kelly was sacked, he talked about how his players meant the world to him.

“Maybe the ego got in the way”, he said. “I think you could say that”.

January 16: The Eagles hire Kelly to be their new head coach, replacing Andy Reid.

Lurie said he fired Kelly based on an assessment of the last three years, not a string of recent losses.

“Players don’t like him!” said Hall of Fame wide receiver and former Eagle Cris Carter during his interview on Mike and Mike. “Obviously, you want a great leader”. The future is uncertain right now.

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His answer might come as a surprise.

At the quarterback position, Foles had two successful, but injury-plagued seasons under Kelly from 2013-2014. He has complete control in New England like Kelly had in Philadelphia before getting fired. As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change.

It was hard to find a player who expected the move.

Connor Barwin was at dinner when his smartphone buzzed, an alert from his favorite pro football team. That’s how he found out Kelly was out. Lurie said he met with players as a group Wednesday and had smaller meetings planned with them later in the day. Interim head coach Pat Shurmur oversaw practice. They don’t like playing in his system.

Kelly proved unable to collaborate with, trust or as far as we know so much as respect the front office that was in place when he joined the Eagles.