Evan Mathis' Release Pushes Chip Kelly Ever Closer to Epic Boom-or-Bust in 2015

Well, I'll say this for Philadelphia Eagles grand poobah Chip Kelly: The man isn't one for sitting on his hands.

A new quarterback. A new running back. A revamped wide receiver corps and defense. In the span of just a few months, Kelly has remade the Eagles in his image.

Those renovations continued Thursday with the release of veteran guard Evan Mathis, who had yet to attend the team's offseason activities while seeking a new contract.

And while Kelly now has the squad he wants, he'd be well-served to be careful what he wishes for.

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Because if the Eagles falter in 2015, the blame for that backslide is going to land squarely on him.

The 33-year-old Mathis, who ranked second in the National Football League among guards last season at Pro Football Focus despite playing in only nine games, was engaged in a contentious holdout. In fact, as Geoff Mosher of CSN Philadelphia reported, one of Kelly's first acts when he gained personnel control back in January was to pull an offer for a restructured deal for Mathis.

On Wednesday, former Eagles team president Joe Banner tweeted that he believed Mathis was making a huge mistake:

And sure enough, one day later the ax fell, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter:

Mathis, for his part, was left little to do other than to thank the fans and clean out his locker:

Not that Mathis will be hurting for work for long. In fact, about eight minutes after the Eagles released him, Mathis' phone was likely ringing off the hook. In just the past few weeks, the New York Giants (Will Beatty), Denver Broncos (Ryan Clady) and San Francisco 49ers (Anthony Davis) all lost starters from the offensive line.

Every one of those teams would benefit from having a capable veteran like Mathis on the payroll.

That's why it's a bit surprising to see a team with as little line depth as the Eagles cut bait on a two-time Pro Bowler, but it shouldn't be.

After all, it's been Kelly's M.O. since the day he arrived in Philly—his way or the highway.

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Wide receiver DeSean Jackson clashed with Kelly. He's in Washington now. Same with tailback LeSean McCoy, who will be toting the rock for the Buffalo Bills in 2015.

The changing climate in Philly didn't escape tight end Zach Ertz, according to Mosher: "If you go against Chip, I’ve think we seen…if you don’t buy in, we’ve seen what happens. Not to say that as a threat in any way, but we want guys that love the process each and every day, whether its June 1 or January 1 or February 6, whatever day the Super Bowl is."

Better watch yourself, Zach. You'll wind up catching passes in Cleveland.

It's understandable that the Eagles didn't want to tear up Mathis' deal, which ran through the 2016 season. He's on the wrong side of 30 and missed almost half of last year.

But what was the point of cutting bait in the second week of June other than for Kelly to throw his weight around?

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And it's just the latest ingredient in what's shaping up to be a recipe for disaster for the Eagles this year.

Kelly wanted a stronger arm to run his offense, so he dealt Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford, with picks going both ways.

That's the same Sam Bradford who hasn't played since midway through the 2013 season. The same Sam Bradford whose twice-torn ACL is nowhere near 100 percent.

With McCoy gone, Kelly doubled up at running back, inking both Ryan Mathews and DeMarco Murray, who led the NFL in rushing last year with 1,845 yards. Both backs have injury histories of their own, and Murray's 390-plus-carry workload with the Dallas Cowboys last season is a huge red flag in 2015. 

Jackson and Jeremy Maclin? Gone and gone. The Eagles released Jackson in March 2014, and Maclin reunited with former coach Andy Reid in Kansas City this offseason via free agency. In their place are a pair of youngsters in second-year pro Jordan Matthews, who will be 23 in July, and rookie Nelson Agholor, 22. Are they talented? Sure.

Are they proven? Hardly.

Now you can add a hole at left guard to the mix. A hole Allen Barbre, a converted tackle with eight career starts in seven NFL seasons, will likely fill.

Listen, getting players who are "on board" with a coach's philosophy is important. Many successful coaches, including last year's Super Bowl winner, aren't shy about getting rid of players who don't buy in.

But Bill Belichick never got rid of most of his offense in one offseason.

Continuity is important too. And good luck establishing any of that when you're constantly turning over players. Kelly's right back where he was when he took over two years ago.

Maybe it will work out. Maybe all these new pieces will mesh perfectly. They'll all guzzle Kelly's Kool-Aid by the gallon and answer "how high?" when Kelly says "jump!"

Or maybe we're about to see the 2011 "Dream Team" fiasco play out all over again. Maybe we're about to watch a playoff contender implode because Kelly gutted it and put it back together willy-nilly. Maybe we're about to see the Eagles undone by one man's hubris.

If it goes to plan, Kelly will be hailed as a genius. If it doesn't, he's apt to be looking for work in two years.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.