Brian Mitchell Puts Pressure On Chip Kelly: 'It Better Work'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Only three NFL head coaches also have personnel power: Pete Carroll of the Seahawks, Bill Belichick of the Patriots, and Chip Kelly of the Eagles. The difference between Kelly and the other two, is Carroll and Belichick have won. Kelly is just getting started.
Therefore, when the third-year NFL coach completely overhauled the Eagles' roster in his first offseason as general manager, Kelly naturally obtained plenty of doubters.
Brian Mitchell, a former Eagles, Redskins, and Giants running back, played 14 years in the NFL. Mitchell, one of the all-time great return specialists, put the pressure on Kelly.
"Actually, it looks like what the Redskins normally do in the offseason," Mitchell told Comcast SportsNet's Breakfast on Broad on Tuesday. "I hope the results aren't the same.
"All I'll say is, it better work," said Mitchell, now an analyst for CSNWashington. "It's not like [it is] in D.C. where people let things go and go and go. Philly will hold you accountable if it doesn't work."
The most contentious move Kelly made this spring was trading quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for the injury-prone quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford. Bradford, who will costs the Eagles about $11 million more than Foles, has played just seven games in the last two years.
"You look at this guy, and he came in with a lot of luster, made a lot of money, and he hasn't done much," Mitchell said of Bradford. "I like to see guys that are durable. Guys that are going to be out there on the football field game in and game out. The Brett Favre type. The guy who gets a little banged up but he still can go out and play.
"When you have a serious, serious injury, there's nothing you can do. But the serious, serious injuries are the ones that begin to make guys be less of the player that they were coming out. No one really knows what Sam Bradford is at this point."