Kelly Considered Eagles, But Opts To Stay At Oregon

After a three-day flirtation with the NFL, Chip Kelly has decided to stay at Oregon, a source confirms to Tim McManus.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news, saying that Kelly considered the Eagles before making his decision.

On Thursday, Kelly’s squad beat Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. On Friday, Joe Banner and the Browns met with him and were said to be close to a deal, according to an NFL Network report.

The Eagles got their shot at Kelly on Saturday and made the most of it. The Browns were supposed to meet with Kelly over dinner, but his meeting with Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman and Don Smolenski lasted longer than expected, as the Eagles’ brass apparently put the hard sell on. But in the end, Kelly decided to stay at Oregon.

The obvious question is: Where do the Eagles go from here?

They’ve already conducted interviews with Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, Falcons special-teams coach Keith Armstrong and Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. And the Eagles are expected to interview Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.

There were a couple other college candidates who drew their interest, but Bill O’Brien is staying at Penn State, and Syracuse’s Doug Marrone was hired by the Bills.

There are several others who have not yet had interviews scheduled, but could be in the mix, such as: former Bears coach Lovie Smith, Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo.

There are currently five openings around the league. The Eagles are competing with the Browns, Bears, Cardinals and Chargers.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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