Jimmy Johnson on Chip Kelly

[seanbrock 1,684]

 

 

The MMQB has been running an offseason series of the top 100 most influential people in the NFL. To no surprise, Chip Kelly ranks near the top of the list. The Philadelphia Eagles coach checks in at No. 3 overall.

 

For this column, The MMQB's Emily Kaplan recently interviewed Jimmy Johnson for his thoughts on Kelly. Johnson was once in a similar situation to the one Kelly finds himself in now.

While many are quick to recognize Kelly's greatness as a coach, others are skeptical of his abilities overseeing the Eagles' player personnel department. Johnson shared some of the advice he gave to Kelly when the two talked earlier this offseason.

"Chip and I have talked a couple of times, and he’s a very private guy; so much of what we discuss should not be shared. But I did give him one piece of advice this year. He wanted to know what it’s like to be the decision maker as well as the coach. I told him this: You have an advantage in the draft because you know these players. You’ve been in a lot of their homes, you’ve watched them play closely. So the draft is when guys like you and I have the advantage. The problem I ran into in Miami (I didn’t have it in Dallas because free agency had just begun) was that during the season, I was so busy that I couldn’t stay on top of all of the things I wanted to: picking up players from the street, making some moves, especially on the bottom end of your roster. You’re so busy prepping with your current team for that week’s game that you can’t do it all by yourself. The job is overwhelming to do it 12 months of the year all by yourself. I found that out. My advice would be to have somebody—and not a group of people, just one person that you trust, that you like, that’s loyal, that’s like-minded—do those type of things. That will help because during the season itself, the job can be a little overwhelming. But in the offseason? The draft and free agency? Take advantage of your talents. You’re good at evaluating players because you did it in college just like I did in college, so that’s where you can shine. But during the season is when you’re going to need a little bit of help."

Kelly has been taking advantage of familiarity during the NFL Draft. He's leaned heavily on drafting Pac-12 players, such as USC's Nelson Agholor and Utah's Eric Rowe this year. As for the part about in-season personnel moves, Kelly is yet to be tested in that regard. That might be a time when Kelly has to lean heavily on vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz.

The best Johnson quote from this article comes in the final paragraph.

"Here’s the big question: Do you want to play it safe and be good or do you want to take a chance and be great? If you’re not afraid to fail, you can do some great things in this league. But most people are afraid to fail, so they play it safe. I always liked to take risks because I was always confident in my abilities. I think—no, I know—Chip is confident in his abilities, too."

The Eagles didn't hire Chip Kelly to settle for mediocrity. They wanted to swing for the fences. They took a big risk. It remains to be seen if that risk will pay off. By giving Kelly control over the Eagles' player personnel department, the franchise has ensured the coach will be directly responsible for any his success or his failure.

Kelly has won 20 games in two season, which is encouraging. On the other hand, he's still winless in the playoffs. The drastic moves he made this offseason were done with the intent to take the Eagles from a "good" team to a "great" one. Time will tell if it pays off.

Look, Jimmy Johnson has never really liked the Eagles and I get it. I really do. If I was him I wouldn't like them either to be honest, but he's been Chip Kelly's biggest supporter since he got to the NFL. I think he rightly sees a lot of himself in Chip. Of course I like to be optimistic about my team, but I really have an appreciation for what Johnson has to say because for starters, he's been in Chip's shoes and he was obviously wildly success while he was wearing them. The other reason I have such an appreciation for what he says is the coach we had before Chip, Andy Reid.

 

I've hated on Andy a lot over the years, but the guy is a solid coach and a good guy who had the foresight to give a guy like Michael Vick a second chance. Michael Vick was never a great QB, but I think since he's come back to the NFL he's been a great example and leader for the younger players. He was the one who got the team to accept Riley Cooper after Chesneygate and while I'm far from a Riley Cooper supporter I think that speaks volumes as to how far Vick has come as a human being. I give Andy all the credit in the world for giving him another shot because while he's not a starter, Vick still has a place in this league imo and as much I can't stand him, Reid has been very successful as a HC.

 

However, like I said, it's Andy's unwillingness to take risks (apart from Vick) and make adjustments on game day that really gives me an appreciation for Chip Kelly. The Eagles were usually always good, but never great under Andy. If Andy was still calling the shots in Philly after a 10-6 where we JUST missed the playoffs, he'd have largely stayed pat, made slight adjustments and just might have gotten us back to the playoffs, but would we be any closer to contending for the ultimate prize? Not in my estimation. Could all these moves Chip made in the off season blow up in his face? Certainly, but the goal isn't to raise division champs banners, it's to raise a Super Bowl champs banner for the first time in team history. I think in this article, Jimmy Johnson outlines the biggest reason why the Eagles and their fans are still willing to support Chip. I mean, it's easy to see the guys approach to the game and his knowledge of the x's and o's will almost always see him put a good team on the field and that's a big reason too, but with Chip, we know what he wants above all else and it's the same thing us fans want, the Lombardi trophy parading down Broad Street.

[BwareDWare94 723]

The only thing I dislike about Chip Kelly so far is the addition by subtraction he's been practicing with the receiving corps. I honestly can't fathom how Philadelphia can be a better team with next to nothing at the receiver position. I expect Zach Ertz to have a breakout season at TE so that might minimize the lack of a Maclin and a Jackson, and I really do like Jordan Matthews, but I simply do not understand what letting Maclin walk is going to do for this franchise, especially considering that both of the RBs they signed have injury histories as well as fumbling issues histories.

 

Jimmy Johnson ran a juggernaut in the early 90s. Chip Kelly has a good but also injury prone QB, an offensive line that is great when healthy but when was the last time that happened, and an unproven defense. If Chip Kelly wants to reach the ultimate level of success in the NFL, he better hope that the Eagles are patient with him, because it's going to take some time. The only way they have a great season this year is if DeMarco Murray stays healthy. It's possible, but he's coming off a high usage year and there can only be so many Marshawn Lynches in this league. Let's see what Murray can do.

Edited July 15, 2015 by BwareDWare94

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

I've been a Chip fan because of his risk taking. We need someone like that in the league it's important. Can't wait to see if his odd QB swap and bringing in guys he think fit better than their other stars works out or not

 

Also, lmao @ Chesneygate. Never heard it called that til now.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Chip will crash and burn faster than you can say Tim Tebow for T...PICK SIX

 

Edited July 15, 2015 by DarthRaider

[seanbrock 1,684]

The only thing I dislike about Chip Kelly so far is the addition by subtraction he's been practicing with the receiving corps. I honestly can't fathom how Philadelphia can be a better team with next to nothing at the receiver position. I expect Zach Ertz to have a breakout season at TE so that might minimize the lack of a Maclin and a Jackson, and I really do like Jordan Matthews, but I simply do not understand what letting Maclin walk is going to do for this franchise, especially considering that both of the RBs they signed have injury histories as well as fumbling issues histories.

 

Jimmy Johnson ran a juggernaut in the early 90s. Chip Kelly has a good but also injury prone QB, an offensive line that is great when healthy but when was the last time that happened, and an unproven defense. If Chip Kelly wants to reach the ultimate level of success in the NFL, he better hope that the Eagles are patient with him, because it's going to take some time. The only way they have a great season this year is if DeMarco Murray stays healthy. It's possible, but he's coming off a high usage year and there can only be so many Marshawn Lynches in this league. Let's see what Murray can do.

I think it would have been a mistake to give Maclin #1 WR money in the long run. I've always been a fan, but he's just not elite. The Eagles didn't let him walk, they just didn't want to get into a bidding war with the Chiefs, which I think is smart. WR is the easiest position to fill in the league, especially in an offense like this and it's not like the Eagles have neglected to address the WR position in the draft. They've use a 1st on Agholor and a 2nd on Matthews, both of whom are inexpensive and excellent fits for the Eagles offense. They used a 3rd on Josh Huff and have brought in a ton of UDFA WR's and Miles Austin. Plus they already have Ertz, Sproles and Celek. They should be fine.

 

As for DeMarco Murray, you're right to be concerned about his health after he just had a season in which he had a ton of carries, but the Eagles will give plenty of reps to Ryan Matthews (provided he stays healthy) and Darren Sproles, so I think Kelly is aware of that issue and even if he has guys sidelined the load will be split and the Eagles will keep their RB rotation fresh. The real concern remains the QB position, but we already knew what we had in Nick Foles. might as well roll the dice on a guy like Bradford and see if we can put a strong team on the field. If not maybe we could find another way to get a talented young QB.

[BenGone 35]

I normally only care about 2 Philly games each season. This year though, I'm interested to see what happens each week. I'm ready for football to get here.