(Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)
There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and the ego of football coaches.
Anyone watching the NFL as free agency opened on Tuesday was reminded of how true that third thing can be. Philadelphia is desperately trying to comprehend the moves made by coach Chip Kelly over the past week. Gone is LeSean McCoy, traded is Nick Foles, and acquired is Sam Bradford.
Kelly’s moves are puzzling. Some might categorize them differently. However, I defy you to prove that Kelly is making decisions based on anything other than a desire to make his football team better.
Therein lies the problem.
There is no counterbalance to Kelly in Philadelphia. The second Kelly won the power to make personnel decisions over general manager Howie Roseman, the Eagles’ front office lost equilibrium and the head coach lost his safety net. We are witnessing a tightrope act in which Kelly is attempting to be the walker, the wire, and points A and B. If he will fall isn’t a valid question.
He’s going to fall.
Scot McLoughan, left, and ex-49ers coach Mike Nolan in 2008 (USA TODAY Sports)
The role of general manager in the NFL is perhaps the most vital position of every team. The GM is mostly forgotten on Sundays in favor of the personnel on the field. Our focus falls on players and coaches, but those players and coaches live and die by their GMs. A bad GM will destroy any team. A good GM can bring you a Super Bowl.
From 2008-10, Scot McCloughan put aside his search for a second “t” in his name and assembled a roster in San Francisco that would put the 49ers’ into the NFC Championship in 2011 and the Super Bowl in 2012. He did the same for the Seattle Seahawks from 2010-14. The Seahawks did one better than the 49ers, and won the Super Bowl in 2013.
The 49ers replaced McCloughan with Baalke, who helped create an untenable situation in San Francisco for coach Jim Harbaugh, and is currently watching some of the team’s most beloved players choose to leave or retire in favor of coming back as a result. The 49ers were in a Super Bowl two seasons ago and are now staring a 4-12 season in the face. The Seahawks replaced McCloughan with John Scheinder, who is another good GM, and on Tuesday Seattle made themselves the best team in the NFL (again) by trading for Jimmy Graham.
(Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
There isn’t a good GM or a bad GM in Philadelphia. There’s only Kelly. Of the 32 NFL teams, only one has been able to succeed with a head coach acting as general manager. That honor belongs to Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. There hasn’t been another coach capable of striking the balance between the two jobs. It’s simply too difficult to be fully present on the field and in the front office.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it would appear Chip Kelly will have to learn the hard way.
