Its Too Soon To Judge Chip Kelly
PHILADELPHIA — Halfway through Chip Kelly’s first season as Eagles head coach, he’s doing better than the man he replaced at the same juncture, better than the other coach to take the franchise to a Super Bowl, and just as well as the team’s most popular head coach.
Kelly is 3-5, and the fact that it came after a 3-3 start, and that his last two games have been devoid of offense, makes the former Oregon head coach look bad in the eyes of his critics, who are ready to book him on the next flight back to the Northwest.
So perhaps it is time for a little historical perspective.
Andy Reid took over an Eagles team in 1999 that had won just three times the year before and began his rookie season 0-4. He blew a late lead in the season opener to Arizona and scored a total of five points in losses to Tampa Bay and Buffalo.
That binder filled with notes on how to be a head coach didn’t look so appealing when he stumbled into the halfway point of the season at 2-6, after blowing another lead and losing to the Giants in overtime.
Reid’s West Coast offense hadn’t scored more than 24 points in a game, and that 24 came in the blown opener against Arizona. Five times in his first eight games, the offense, under the direction of quarterback Doug Pederson, was held to just one touchdown.
You could have made a lot of money halfway through that ’99 season if you bet Reid would take the Eagles to the playoffs in each of the next five seasons, culminating with a loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl in that fifth season.
Let’s go back a little further.
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The article goes on to compare Kelly's start with those of Buddy and Vermeil.