Fittingly, Chip Kelly ran a misdirection play.
After giving every indication he planned to stay at Oregon, the Ducks coach has decided to bolt to the NFL to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly and the Eagles reached an agreement Wednesday, ending an exhaustive search for Andy Reid’s replacement.
[Updated at 9:57 a.m.: The Eagles have released a statement announcing Kelly as the 21st head coach in franchise history. “Chip Kelly will be an outstanding head coach for the Eagles,” team owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “He has a brilliant football mind. He motivates his team with his actions as well as his words. He will be a great leader for us and will bring a fresh energetic approach to our team.”]
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was the first to break the news Wednesday morning.
In four years at Oregon, the innovative Kelly was 46-7. He was the Pac-10 coach of the year in 2009 and 2010, and the Associated Press coach of the year in 2010. He coached the Ducks to four BCS games, most recently a win in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl.
It appeared the Eagles had zeroed in on Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, having apparently been rejected by Kelly and Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly.
The Eagles also interviewed Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and special-teams coach Keith Armstrong, Penn State Coach Bill O’Brien, Denver offensive coordinator (and now Chargers head coach) Mike McCoy, former Ravens coach Brian Billick, former Bears coach Lovie Smith, former Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, and Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. They had planned to speak with Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.
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