When the dust settled Tuesday night, after the emails had been shipped out and the news broken and the gasps finally exhaled, a premier NFL job was open to all comers.
On paper, the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the league's best franchises, with a free-spending and progressive owner, first-rate facilities and one of the nation's most passionate fan bases. Yet as details emerge of Chip Kelly's ouster, it's fair to wonder just how attractive the Eagles' coaching job will be. At the moment, at least, I would think that any experienced and previously successful head coach would be wary of the Machiavellian activity in the team's front office.
Let's review what we know. The Eagles hired Kelly in 2013 to work in tandem with general manager Howie Roseman. After two seasons of that arrangement, Kelly convinced owner Jeffrey Lurie to push Roseman aside and give him full power of personnel. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reported Tuesday that Lurie planned to strip Kelly of that authority, a decision that precipitated Kelly's departure.
According to the Eagles, Roseman will be part of a three-man search committee for a new coach. So it's fair to assume that Roseman will be resuming a primary advisory role to Lurie in football operations. (Note to self: Never cross Howie Roseman.)
That structure would probably suffice for a young(ish) coaching candidate with no previous experience, a man such as Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. If you're, say, Sean Payton and you're considering options beyond the New Orleans Saints, how comfortable would you be with that arrangement? Not only would you have nothing more than a shared responsibility for determining the players on your roster, but you would also know that the last occupant of your job lost a power play to an executive who remains in high standing with the owner.
You would also have to acknowledge that there is no franchise quarterback in place and that, even without one, the owner took action after two 10-win seasons were followed by one that is 6-9.
To be fair, Lurie recognized quickly that things had gone irreparably sour in the third year of Kelly's regime. There were too many public stories of player dissatisfaction to ignore. Kelly clearly misassembled the roster in his first season as pseudo-general manager, once again demonstrating how difficult it is to master a set of skills distinct from coaching, and the team slumped. This wasn't an unjustified firing or even a quick trigger, given the intensity of Kelly's failure this season.
What remains should be a concern to the franchise and its fans. This is a job that every coaching candidate across the country should drool over. Being the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles is one of the best jobs in all of football, professional or college.
Not all of the problems that occurred were Chip Kelly's fault. The circumstances he leaves behind are unique. As a result, I'm going to guess there will be something less than a stampede for this job, and that's too bad.
The Eagles have some repairs to do, both internally and in terms of public perception, and failing to mend them will be a detriment to their search. So it goes.