Would Philadelphia Eagles Fire Chip Kelly After Lone Disastrous Season?

Lest anybody should forget, Chip Kelly guided the Philadelphia Eagles to back-to-back 10-win seasons during his first two years on the sideline. And as terribly as things are going during the ongoing 4-7 campaign, this is still only the head coach's inaugural run with full control of personnel.

Could a single disastrous season really lead to Kelly's dismissal from both positions?

That is the burning question in Philadelphia these days as the Eagles seemingly prepare to play out the string in December and January. Yet, while nobody truly knows the answer, there are enough reasons to believe Kelly's job very well might be at stake over the next five weeks.

COACH	W-L-T	PLAYOFF W-L-T	YRS W/ PHI
R. Rhodes	26-21-1	0-2	4
A. Reid	27-21	3-2	14
C. Kelly	24-19	0-1	?

Under owner Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles have historically shown patience with head coaches. In fact, Kelly was just the third hire since Lurie took over the franchise in 1994. However, the previous two firings share something in common—both came on the heels of lost seasons, not unlike the one the current club appears headed for.

After four seasons on the job, Ray Rhodes was let go following an ugly 3-13 record. Then eventually the Andy Reid era bottomed out with a 4-12 finish in year 14, once again necessitating a change.

Amid a three-game losing streak during which his team has looked lifeless, Kelly appears to be going down a similar path at the moment.

Under ordinary circumstances, a head coach with a 24-19 record and one playoff appearance would likely be considered safe for a fourth season at the charge. That goes double when he assumed the controls of personnel decisions just the previous offseason, and his blueprint hadn't had much chance to pan out...let alone succeed.

The problem is if the Eagles are no longer even capable of playing competitive football—as has been the case the past three weeks—Kelly faces some tough questions.

Do his methods and schemes still work? Do the players inside the locker room still believe in his message?

If the answer to either one is no, there's no coming back from that.

Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

That's why the next five weeks are so imperative. The Eagles lost 20-19 after owning a 13-point first-quarter lead, then 45-17 and 45-14 in subsequent contests. People are beginning to ask Kelly straight up whether his team has quit on him, which of course is always a great sign.

Only time will tell, but there are other factors at work. Ever since Reid, Lurie has also been cognizant of the public-relations divide between his head coach and the fanbase, and right now, Philly is angry.

It's not so simple as Kelly fought for control of the Eagles roster, won, tore down the team and replaced it with a bad product—although there is that. Compounding the issue is the fact that when pressed about his decisions, the third-year head coach is often perceived as arrogant and contentious.

That's not a good combination in Philadelphia—a city where people can't stand losing.

Could Kelly be fired at season's end? If the situation devolves enough, both on and off the field, absolutely that's a possibility.

For that matter, nobody should dismiss the possibility Kelly wants out, either.

This is purely my assessment. I don't believe Kelly wishes to go back to coaching college or that he's the type of person to make a mess and run from the challenge of fixing it. That being said, I do think his distaste for the Philly media may be strong enough to make him wish he was in a market that's less uptight.

That doesn't necessarily mean Kelly would quit. Then again, if Lurie and the organization are growing tired of the coach's antics, as ESPN's Adam Schefter speculates, a mutual parting of ways isn't out of the realm of possibility, either.

Ultimately, again, nobody knows. History suggests Lurie would likely give Kelly another season. Results and attitude, on the other hand, may dictate otherwise.