The words "Chip Kelly" leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Eagles fans, in a similar yet different manner as the names of "Joe Carter" and "Kawhi Leonard." While the latter two names were not a member of a Philly team like the first name was, all three of these figures represent the same general concept: they were all obstacles that got in the way at a time when the city of Philadelphia was close to finding success, and it's thus understandable as to why they're all so hated.
Joe Carter's walk-off home run ended the 1993 World Series, and the Phillies were leading the Blue Jays in Game 6 up to that point. Kawhi Leonard's impossible shot from the corner ended the 76ers' dreams of reaching the Western Conference Finals, ended Jimmy Butler's stay in town, and ultimately led to the end of the franchise's patience with Brett Brown. In both of these cases, the team was so, so close to reaching that ultimate goal.
It may not have seemed that way for Kelly. It's not that the Eagles were bad under him — they went 10-6 in each of his first two seasons in town — but quickly fell apart as a direct result of his decision-making. They didn't make a legitimately playoff run. But while they never came as close as the 1993 Phillies or the 2019 76ers to reaching the final stage, a former Eagle who spent time under Kelly thought that they were in a really good position to do so.
Former quarterback Mark Sanchez joined Colin Cowherd's podcast and said that Chip Kelly was his smartest coach and the best play-caller he had worked under that he wishes he had been with since day one, even going so far as to say Philadelphia was "right there" with Kelly at the helm.
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"I know there's Philadelphia fans that would kill me for saying that, because they hated him by the end, they wanted to run him out of town," Sanchez said. "I think... him and Howie Roseman weren't like perfectly on the same page, which tends to happen, but I think because the system was so easy to pick up that it was like, boom. As soon as I got in... it was so good, we were rolling.
"But when we got rid of all those playmakers — the DeSean Jacksons, LeSean McCoys — and try and bring in a back that's more of an I formation, under center, stretch zone back in DeMarco Murray, and try and run (shotgun) runs with him, it's just not the same. And then we had turnover with Nick Foles and Sam Bradford, so then I play, then don't play, then play, then don't play. That was one of the toughest things — I know the system, I feel good, I can run this tempo stuff better than anybody, in my opinion, and when we're rolling, we're rolling.
"We just need(ed) a little thicker playbook and we wanted to keep all those players. In my opinion... we were right there."
In both seasons, offense wasn't exactly difficult to come by... at least not on paper. Nick Foles famously threw for 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in Kelly's offense. The Eagles ranked fourth and third in points for in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Sanchez started in eight games in the second of those two campaigns, leading the team to a 4-4 record and would have been on pace for well over 4,000 yards and around 30 touchdowns over a 16-game schedule.
The simplicity of the playbook helped once he got used to it — for instance, a play typically labeled as "double right 62 Sam zebra shallow cross" would have just been known as "near Lincoln," according to Sanchez — but there were times when the pace also backfired.
""...I think we were a little heavy with it because at a certain point, you get to those critical third downs and you can't run the same play every third down, defensive coordinators are just too good," Sanchez said. "So once you stall and go three-and-out and only burn 30 seconds on the clock because you just threw it three times, there's literally like fights that almost break out on the sidelines. Because the defense gives you the ball back and then you just make them go right back on the field, they're exhausted and they're just like, dude, what's the deal. Just run the ball once and give us a little break because we're gassed."
Sanchez also thinks that Kelly was far ahead of his time, saying that the RPO-heavy approach that has become so popular is thanks to Kelly's innovations. However, both Sanchez and Cowherd equate Kelly's approach to MySpace and an RPO scheme to Facebook. Just because it's the predecessor doesn't always mean it's the most successful idea.
Sanchez was out after the 2015 season, getting traded to the Broncos for a conditional 2017 pick that never conveyed, but he still outlasted Kelly. The polarizing head coach was fired five days before the Birds' Week 17 game after just three years in town, and a whole lot of roster upheaval.
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