Philadelphia Eagles fans got a quite a shock Tuesday evening when when it was announced that Chip Kelly had been relieved of his duties one week before the season finale in New York.
The Associated Press noted that team owner Jeffrey Lurie issued an open letter to fans on the decision and told reporters only that he thanks Kelly for his contributions and wishes him success in the future.
Kelly went 10-6 his first two seasons with the Birds and 6-9 in 15 games this season. The team made the playoffs his first year, but failed to the last two.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Lurie talked more about the firing and said that “It was a clear and important decision that had to be made.”
He also said that the timing of the dismissal was to get a “jump start” on looking for a new head coach.
So now that the search is on for the next head coach, who could it be?
One great pick would be John Harbaugh, who is familiar with the organization and fanbase because he coached in Philadelphia before under both Ray Rhodes and Andy Reid. However, he is currently still the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and if Lurie’s hiring history has shown us anything it’s that he likes bringing in someone who has not been a head coach previously. Another name that has been thrown around a lot is Sean McDermott, who is now the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, but also was coordinator of the Eagles for a number of years.
We’ll just have to wait see who ends up getting the job, but one thing for sure is that it will likely be another interesting offseason in Philly.