Chip, Chip, Chip. For a coach who went 10-6 in his first two NFL seasons, Chip Kelly has become a punching bag for teammates and media after his widespread roster overhaul resulted in a 6-9 season before he was fired. But Chip has found a new head coaching gig in San Francisco so all’s well that ends well.
But that won’t stop former players from shredding him in the media.
The latest: Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis, who was let go by Chip Kelly in Philadelphia after management allegedly refused to make good on an offer from 2014 to inflate the back end of his contract. Mathis just won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, so again, all’s well that ends well, but his opinions about his former coach make for entertaining theater.
In an email to 9 News’ Mike Klis, the 11-year veteran did not mince words when speaking about Kelly’s leadership qualities.
“There were many things that Chip had done that showed me he wasn’t building a championship team. Two of the main issues that concerned me were: 1. A never-evolving, vanilla offense that forced our own defense to play higher than normal play counts. 2. His impatience with certain personality types even when they were blue-chip talents. The Broncos team I was on would have eaten Chip alive. I don’t think he could have handled the plethora of large personalities.”
I don’t know if I’d label Kelly’s spread offense as “vanilla” but his impatience with certain personality types was evident in some high-profile players publicly eviscerating Chip–namely DeSean Jackson stating that ‘bad karma comes back on you‘ after news broke that Chip was fired, and the franchise’s all-time leading rusher LeSean McCoy’s beef with shaking Chip’s hand before their first reunion matchup game.
Poor Chip. What a poor, poor millionaire.
[h/t Deadspin]