Report: Eagles ‘Going All In’ On Brian Kelly

The Eagles are “going all in” on Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, according to a report.

Pro Football Talk, citing a source, says that the Eagles want Kelly to be their next head coach.

And if the Eagles don’t get Kelly, there’s a sense that they won’t quite know where to turn next.

One logical choice seems to be Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who is interviewing with the Eagles Saturday.

But Jeffrey Lurie has made it pretty clear through his actions that he sees value on the collegiate level. The team brass has shown interest in Oregon’s Chip Kelly, Penn State’s Bill O’Brien and Syracuse’s Doug Marrone, now in Buffalo.

“I think the NFL right now tends to borrow more from college than the other way around,” said Lurie following his press conference last  week. “But I think it’s more about leadership. Some of these coaches in college are outstanding leaders. And they just go from a younger roster to a slightly older roster — still the average age is, what 26, 27, 25 in the NFL? They are dealing with 19, 20 year-olds. It’s not that big of a difference.

“There’s  no question, and I’m not the only on who thinks that college coaches are well-trained and have experienced tremendous pressure, and can handle it. And they’re smart.”

Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune reports that Kelly was not out of the country, as has been reported, but rather went from Miami to Nashville for a vacation, and is now in Connecticut to attend the Walter Camp dinner. Over the last several days, Kelly has been talking with “NFL people” to get a sense of the differences between college and the pros.

The conversations with NFL folks have been set up via Kelly’s camp and began before his interview with the Eagles last week, but a league source told the Tribune they continued into the weekend. It doesn’t preclude Kelly’s return to Notre Dame at all, but it suggests more than a passing fancy with the idea of coaching at the next level.

The Eagles, according to a report, are expected to meet with Kelly for a second time. Assuming he gets an offer, the Fighting Irish coach is expected to make a decision fairly quickly.

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