Philadelphia Eagles owner fires Coach Chip Kelly for 'mediocrity'

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said Wednesday he felt the team was not going in the right direction -- "the end result was mediocrity -- leading to the firing of head coach Chip Kelly with one game remaining in a disappointing season.

"It was a clear and important decision that had to be made," Lurie said at Wednesday's press conference, a day after he released Kelly from his contract. "This was really a three-year evaluation of where we're heading, what is the trajectory, what is the progress or lack thereof and what do I foresee for the future. That's why the decision was made."

Lurie spoke highly of Kelly as a coach after the chairman and CEO's decision was announced Tuesday evening.

The Eagles (6-9) were eliminated from playoff contention for the second season in a row with a 38-24 loss to the Washington Redskins last Saturday night. The Eagles will miss the postseason for the second time in Kelly's three years.

"Nobody worked harder the last three years," Lurie said. "A smart guy, it was a bold decision to hire him, and he had, certainly, some success. I wish him the very best, as I did yesterday. But the end result was mediocrity, and as the owner of the team I've got to look at the progress and the trajectory of where it's headed."

Kelly was 26-21 in three seasons with the Eagles after signing a five-year, $32.5 million contract to leave the University of Oregon in 2013. He turned around a team that went 12-4 in 2012 as Philadelphia went 10-6 in his first season and won the NFC East.

The Eagles were 2-5 over their past seven games, including losses in which they surrendered 45 points twice and 40 points once.

Lurie admitted it was a "bold move" on his part to give Kelly personnel control after back-to-back 10-6 seasons, feeling at the time he had to give the head coach the power to pick his players.

Kelly parted ways last offseason with popular star running back LeSean McCoy in a straight-up trade with Buffalo for oft-injured linebacker Kiko Alonso, who played for Kelly at Oregon. He also traded quarterback Nick Foles and a second-round draft pick to St. Louis for Sam Bradford.

Kelly lured DeMarco Murray away from division-rival Dallas with a five-year, $40 million contract that included $18 million in guaranteed money, but the 2014 NFL rushing leader never got comfortable in Kelly's scheme. Murray is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry and has been relegated to a shared backfield role with Ryan Mathews, who has proven a better fit while averaging 5.2 yards per carry with a team-high six rushing touchdowns.

"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."

Lurie said he did not offer Kelly the option of staying as head coach but giving up personnel control.

"It's never an easy decision to release a head coach or change head coaches. In fact, we've done it so rarely, we've really only had two coaches in the last 18 years," Lurie said.

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will take over as interim head coach for the Eagles' regular-season finale against the New York Giants this Sunday.

Vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz also was released Tuesday, with veteran NFL personnel man Tom Donahoe taking over as senior director of player personnel.

Lurie said he met with the team on Wednesday morning and would have meetings with individual players this week.

Kelly is now a free agent coach able to be hired elsewhere with no compensation due to the Eagles. There has been speculation Kelly could reunite with former Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. Kelly reportedly tried unsuccessfully to trade up to select Mariota in the draft.