Chip Kelly Out! Jeffrey Lurie says Eagles were Sinking toward ‘mediocrity’

Philadelphia Eagles owner, Jeffrey Lurie, has commented about the firing of coach Chip Kelly, which was announced on Tuesday night.

"With a coach, with almost any key executive, it's important to really carefully evaluate and analyze, not to be impatient, not to react to a series of games, so every season I have to carefully look over everything," Lurie said Wednesday reported by NFL.com. "And this was really a three-year evaluation - a three-year evaluation of where we're heading, what is the trajectory, what is the progress or lack thereof and what did I anticipate for the foreseeable future and that's why the decision was made."

Lurie also admitted that his decision to give Kelly total control over personnel was an extremely "bold move." He defended that decision, however, stating that he had a lot of belief in what Kelly could do after he led the Eagles to two 10-6 seasons.

"You were either all-in or you should find a new coach in terms of the trust. So the choice was, let's see if that's going to work," Lurie said. "In terms of the results? That's why we're here today."

With Kelly as head coach, there have been some questionable moves. Kelly traded away LeSean McCoy and failed to re-sign Jeremy Maclin. They also released Evan Mathis. The moves that Kelly did make, such as signing DeMarco Murray, did not work out.

Lurie revealed that they did not offer Kelly a chance to return with no personnel control. Kelly's record with the Eagles across three seasons was 26-21.

He will be talking with the players about leadership in a players-only meeting on Wednesday. Lurie also has plans to talk with the players on Monday, following the final game of the regular season.

"I want to engage them and have them understand and what they felt was lacking, I need to understand," Lurie explained. "Have them understand and take accountability but also at the same time be a sponge for what is leadership like in today's football world."

He added, "You're dealing with 22 to 35 or more aged people and people who are elite athletes, trying to perform at the very peak of their profession and there's a lot of issues. And what is leadership like in today's world? It's very, very different than it was 10, 15 years ago. I would like to think that we're always gonna try and be on the progressive end of how to lead and that's top-down."

In regards to the Eagles next coach, Lurie stated that communication skills will be vital. He will be looking at NFL coaches, coordinators and college coaches as potential candidates.

The Eagles are 6-9 heading into the final game of the season against the New York Giants. They will be coached by offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.