Former Eagles Coach Had Big Impact On Incoming QB

PHILADELPHIA - Chip Kelly isn’t fondly remembered by many fans in Philadelphia, but the former Eagles coach introduced several valuable modern concepts to the NFL, especially when it comes to tempo on the offensive side of the football and sports science off of the field.

In his two-plus seasons as the Eagles’ head coach, Kelly finished with his head well-above water (26-21) with two 10-win seasons and a playoff berth.

Valid criticism can be leveled at Kelly for what Jeffery Lurie eventually coined as “emotional intelligence” with personal relationships, and a failure to adjust to those adjusting to his style of offense.

The two parties went their separate ways before the final regular season game in the 2015 season. Kelly received one more chance as a head coach in the NFL, a disastrous 2-14 stint with San Francisco in 2016 before returning to college where he originally made his bones at Oregon.

Kelly is now back in the NFL as the offensive coordinator with the Las Vegas Raiders after winning a national championship as Ryan Day’s OC at Ohio State (Day was Kelly’s quarterbacks coach with the Eagles in 2015). He was the head coach at UCLA from 2018 to 2023 where he made a big impression on Eagles recent trade acquisition Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Thompson-Robinson, 25, who went to high school in Vegas was Kelly’s starting quarterback for parts of five of the six seasons Kelly coached in Westwood.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson talked to reporters during a video conference shortly after the Eagles traded for him when free agency began. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

“Amazing,” DTR responded when asked about playing for Kelly. “Chip is one of my all-time favorite coaches, someone that was really the first guy to take a chance on me and help me build throughout my college career to be able to get to this point in the pros.

“So I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Kelly.”

A fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft, Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick were acquired by the Eagles from Cleveland for 2024-25 backup QB Kenny Pickett on March 12.

The Eagles had a keen interest in DTR coming out of his stint with Kelly during the 2023 draft process and had the QB in for a top-30 visit.

“I took a top 30 visit here and loved it,” Thompson-Robinson said. “... [The Eagles were] one of my favorite teams coming out in the draft process. I loved everything about my visit here, just the way it was ran.

They put me through a [mock] press conference type situation when I was on the visit. They got me prepared for whatever team I was on, so I appreciated that.”

Ultimately, the Browns selected Thompson-Robinson at No. 140 overall and the Eagles were able to snare a developmental QB in the sixth round at 188 with Tanner McKee.

Fast forward two years after two years of development, the Eagles feel McKee is ready for the QB2 role and dealt Pickett to clear that path while also securing DTR, who started five games for Cleveland over his first two seasons, as an insurance policy.

At the time of the 2023 draft, Thompson-Robinson was ahead of McKee on the Eagles’ draft board.

“Me and Tanner were in the same quarterback class in high school, so I’ve known Tanner for a while now and I’ve really admired his game,” Thompson-Robinson said. “I played him on the PAC-12 when he was at Stanford.”

Kelly helped DTR kick off this entire journey and the coach will always have a fan in his former quarterback.

“It’s not his first go-round at it,” DTR said of Kelly’s return to the NFL. “So I’m sure it’ll be a lot better than when he first got into the league and being able to get his feet on the ground as the OC on the Raiders in my hometown.

“I’m definitely rooting for him for sure.”

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