Lane Johnson: 'I Don't Know If [Chip] Had The Best Way To Go About Things'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The football world is still feeling the ripple effects of Chip Kelly's firing. The players are also coming to terms with the decision.
Kelly was fired on Tuesday after the players left the team's practice facility. Many did not even know about the firing until hearing about it through teammates or the media. Jordan Matthews learned about Kelly's departure when one of his teammates called him after the news became official.
"I actually got a call from Trey Burton," said Matthews. "He just called me and was like 'do you know what just happened?'. It kind of blew me away. I had no idea it was coming. It was kind of a surprise."
Kelly's firing caused players to take a hard look at both themselves and the season. It was a season of change for the Eagles, as a host of moves by Kelly in the off-season backfired in a second straight year without the playoffs. Guard Lane Johnson admitted the changes were part of Kelly's downfall.
"We made a lot of changes this off-season," Johnson said. "I don't know if everybody's the best fit for what it was. You can see just how we regressed from our first two years to where we are now. It was just all a combination of things."
Johnson added the tension from the powers above made things more difficult for the players.
"That's what I think the biggest thing was," said Johnson. "The power struggle just with the front office. I don't think they were happy. Chip and Howie (Roseman) weren't happy together. It was just a lot of tension up there, which didn't need to happen. When you feel it up there, it does trickle down to the team."
While some players refused to talk about Kelly's firing, many other Eagles were accepting the blame for their coach's downfall. Tight End Zach Ertz was quick to remind everyone the players didn't perform well enough to win this season.
"We as players didn't do a good enough job," Ertz said. "Not everything falls on Chip but at the same time, he was the one calling the shots so, unfortunately, he's the one that's got to take the brunt of it."
Owner Jeffrey Lurie emphasized the need for someone who communicates well with his players when he selects Kelly's replacement. There has been speculation of a true disconnect between Kelly and the members of his former team. Johnson believes Kelly's heart was in the right place, but his actions were not.
"I think Chip had good intentions," Johnson said. "I just think he didn't have a good way to go about it. Sometimes he came off a little bit standoffish toward y'all. That was just his way. I know he cared about the players. I don't know if he had the best way to go about things."