With the Eagles coming off the worst losses of the Chip Kelly era, the talent on the roster has been under even more fire than usual. Being blown out by Tampa Bay and their rookie quarterback was more surprising than the Broncos dropping a 50-burger on the team in Kelly’s first season as an NFL coach.
The team was just learning the nuances of a 3-4 defense after being a “Wide-9” 4-3 team under Andy Reid so everyone expected THAT team to experience defensive growing pains and that is exactly what happened. Being blown out by the Lions was even more surprising, especially considering the Lions were 3-7 heading into the Turkey Day matchup.
So keeping all the context of the current season in mind, including the inconsistency on offense and the seeming lack of talent throughout the roster, the question that pops into everyone’s mind is actually quite clear.
Kelly has been outspoken since his arrival on the NFL scene about the kind of locker room he wants to cultivate. He made very clear, through his roster moves, that he wanted the ‘Jordan Matthews’ and ‘Riley Coopers’ of the world but what do they bring that other players don’t?
He then topped those roster moves by shipping outspoken talents such as Desean Jackson, Lesean McCoy, and Evan Mathis out the front door. What didn’t they bring to the table that he wanted? The ultimate question is simple.
When given a team that does not necessarily fit the locker room culture you desire, do you build a culture that fits your current locker room and recruit talent that fits this culture or do you create a new culture you are comfortable with and change the roster to fit that culture?
Okay, maybe it isn’t really as simple as it seems but it’s a funny question isn’t it? Fans never consider this kind of question because it is only the results on the field that they are interested in. Any other stuff that happens behind the scenes is forgotten, or most times, becomes irrelevant (although, in today’s sports media, fans have a closer look at these things). Football is all by itself when it comes to this debate because other national sports leagues like the NBA have made their decisions very clear.
76ers legend Allen Iverson was always very highly respected among league players for his talent as a basketball player and authenticity as a human being. Iverson was known in NBA circles for three distinct reasons though: his lightning speed, his disdain for practice, and his life off the court as a party animal (regardless of the validity of either one of those reasons).
His value to general managers and other basketball officials was positive for the most part, while his skills on the court outweighed his potential impact on the locker room. However, as soon as his skill level began to fade, and his baggage as a player began to outweigh his impact on the court, it seemed like the NBA as a group simultaneously waved goodbye. Iverson’s personality was just as large as his soul was deep and the same case can be made for NFL legend Terrell Owens.
Case and point?
Great sports talents are almost always attached to very unique personalities. Iverson and all-time great receiver Terrell Owens only have one personality trait in common: the ultra-strong desire to be successful in whatever they set their mind to. However, the personalities that were attached to each of these players were astronomically different and each personality would grow to leave a different impression on everyone they played with.
One thing that was always questioned about these players was whether or not they negatively affected their locker rooms, but could you imagine the sheer outrage that would ensue if Deion Sanders was released from the Cowboys during his prime because he was a “locker room diva?” Could you imagine the rioting that would take place if Russell Westbrook was jettisoned because he did not fit the culture of the locker room that Billy Donovan wished to cultivate?
It was always the unspoken truth that talent was more important than baggage or locker room impact as long as the talent outweighed the potential negative impact the player would create. Now, enter the villain, Kelly… The dictator!
But wait a minute…
Before you can accuse Kelly of getting rid of players that don’t fit his “culture,” you have to know for a fact that those players were indeed pushed out because of non-football related reasons. Jackson was apparently released for football-related reasons, according to the Eagles in a statement made with Kelly. His contract was set to grow significantly in the following years, and his abilities on the field were limited to his physical size and strength, although he had an extremely productive year in Kelly’s fast paced offense.
After being unable to trade Jackson, Kelly decided that releasing him would be a good decision since Jeremy Maclin would be returning and Cooper was emerging as a breakout talent. Rumors of Jackson being in a gang were then spread after he was released, and was soon believed to be the reason for his departure from Philadelphia but the rumors were eventually dispelled as false. Even after extensive combing from the media, no real connection was made between Jackson and any gangs.
People seem to forget that Maclin left willingly for more money in Kansas City, something football fans should be used to seeing in the NFL. McCoy was traded for, what was believed to be, football reasons after concerns about his contract and scheme fit began to swirl after a year he posted very productive numbers.
In fact, Mathis was the only player who was released from the team for a non-football related reason. He was released because he apparently asked for more money one too many times. A case could be made that Mathis would still be an Eagle if his own actions were different.
I do not believe that the same case could be made for Jackson, Maclin, or McCoy because money could also be legitimate reasons for their departure. So, in my opinion, Chip should only be accused of getting rid of Mathis for a non-football related reason.
Now back to the all-important question at hand.
The answer of whether or not you want to build a culture around your players or find players that fit your culture is really difficult to address. Typically, you want a bunch of talented guys on your roster that work hard and behave accordingly but finding a player that provides greatness, on and off the field, is tough to find as it is. Add the humble personality that Kelly seems to desire so strongly and you could be looking for a player that does not come often enough to use as the foundation of the team culture concept.
Imagine only wanting players like Jordan Matthews on your roster. You would not find very many players that can live up to that level of skill OR that personality type. These players are drafted and found through excellent scouting and sheer luck of the draw, by taking a chance on the young player’s talent.
The best way to build a team in a “win now” league is to create a culture in the locker room that fits the key talent that is already on your roster and allowing that culture to grow along with the inclusion of any added talent you find appealing. The NFL is not a league where you can start a fantasy draft and pick all your guys in a lottery. It isn’t like recruiting from top schools and hoping players choose to play for you. The players who come to the team are employees to the coach just as much as they are co-workers to the coach. No matter who Chip chose to kick off of the Oregon football team, he would have retained his job as the head coach of the team. That is simply not the case in the NFL because game-changing talent is too hard to come by and too difficult to retain.
All of this is simply to say that I believe Chip Kelly could have taken the wrong approach to building an NFL team. Rumors of Chip losing the locker room is just the beginning now that his abilities as a coach, decision maker, and talent-evaluator are all being questioned. The bottom line is that the talent on the team has taken a significant hit since Kelly took over the team, which is one heck of an indictment since the team was 4-12 before him.
I guess it’s times like these that you wish that “culture” you worked so hard to create would kick in since the talent you previously had did not fit your locker room, right Chip?
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