The Philadelphia Eagles finally got their chance to talk with Chip Kelly on Jan. 5. But although Kelly likely remains the Eagles top choice, the organization still has to talk with other candidates. As such, Philadelphia will bring in a few more contenders on Jan. 6 while Kelly mulls things over.
According to Comcast SportsNet’s Geoff Mosher on Jan. 6, the Eagles were set to talk to Syracuse Orange coach Doug Marrone and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy later today. But all the buzz remains on Kelly, and Mosher made it sound like he and the Eagles are on their way towards a potential deal.
In any case, Marrone is now allegedly out of the running anyway, as new rumors have spread that he has agreed to coach the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Bills were supposedly one of the contenders for Kelly, so if Buffalo has moved on, then the sweepstakes are indeed down to Philadelphia and the Cleveland Browns.
Before the Oregon coach talked to Philadelphia on Jan. 5, there was a lot of buzz around his meeting with Cleveland the previous day. It looked as if the Browns had stolen the front-runner status for Kelly’s services away from the Eagles, yet Philadelphia appeared to make a pretty solid pitch itself.
According to Mosher, the team and the coach talked for nine hours straight. Coincidentally, this is the exact same amount of time that ex-Eagles coach Andy Reid talked to the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 2 before he eventually signed with them. Before that, it looked certain that Reid would join the Arizona Cardinals, yet extended talks with the Chiefs changed his mind.
Have the Eagles pulled off the same coup with Kelly? Although Mosher writes that he and Philadelphia now have a “more serious and mutual” interest in each other, the process isn’t over yet. However, with the Bills supposedly out of contention for him and with the Eagles having stolen the Browns’ thunder, Philadelphia seems to have taken a step forward in getting its top choice.
Still, even though Marrone may no longer be a second option, McCoy is still someone the Eagles have to talk to -- especially since they can’t speak to him after today until the Broncos are eliminated from the playoffs. However, if all keeps going well, the Eagles will lock up Kelly long before then.
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