Jason Kelce Says Chip Kelly Has Rejuvinated Eagles Culture
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Jason Kelce was always a vocal supporter and defender of former Eagles head coach Andy Reid. But change can be a good thing, and Chip Kelly has brought just that ... change.
"Yeah, it is a lot different. The whole building, there is a huge difference in the culture," Kelce told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Wednesday. "There is a huge difference, not just in the weight room, but in the cafeteria. Everything's really had a full makeover. Although we love Andy [Reid] and love what he did with the Eagles for years, it was time. I mean, this change has rejuvenated a sense of youth, I think, in this organization."
The Eagles are currently participating in their first mini-camp (previously OTAs) with Kelly, and one of the biggest changes that Kelce noticed is the new energy.
"I think [Kelly is] a business, down to getting your job done type of guy," he said. "Very similar to Andy [Reid] in that respect, but I think that he is a much more energetic guy. He's a little bit younger so you can feel the energy when he's talking, you can feel the energy when he's out on the field as well. You also can tell, everything he does, he repeats this all the time. We are never going to do anything without having a reasoning behind why we do it. We don't do things for the sake of tradition, we do things for the sake of making us better, and that's his whole philosophy. Every single day we're trying to improve every single player individually, and he does it better than anybody out there now. A lot of the things he does, seem out of the world because in the realm of football, it just hasn't really hit that market yet."
Kelce only played two games in 2012 due to a torn MCL. Watching the team struggle without him wasn't easy.
"Well, you know it was tough. Anytime you are not out there helping your team win, or helping your team correct what's going on, on the field, is really frustrating because you know that it is kind of out of your hands. You can only do so much," he said. "Last year was a nightmare. It felt like everybody was going down. All the important pieces were kind of banged up and the offense and defense really hindered from that. I'm looking forward to this fresh start this year, with the new coaches and everything. I think everybody is at a really high and excited level. It's exciting right now to be with the Philadelphia Eagles. "
The NFL Draft is next Thursday, and it will be big for the Eagles, who have the fourth overall pick. It will be big for Kelce for another reason, as his brother Travis, a tight end who played for the University Of Cincinnati, is likely to be drafted.
So is Jason Kelce dropping hints to the Eagles brass about drafting his brother?
"Of course. I've been doing it for the last three months! It's a fine line," he said. "Even if they want to take him at a certain pick, even if they want to get him, the draft is just such an unpredictable thing, especially with those second, third, fourth round picks, which is where my brother is slated to go. I know that the Eagles like him, but I also know that there's a bunch of other teams that like him too. So at this point, it's really tough to say whether Howie [Roseman] is going to get him for sure or not. I would be very surprised if he is in Eagle green, but I would be also very ecstatic.
