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Chip Kelly threw Philadelphia Eagles scouts’ reports in the garbage?

By John Buhler

Dec 26, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly runs off the field at halftime against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Redskins won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly runs off the field at halftime against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Redskins won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chip Kelly reportedly wanted nothing to do with his Philadelphia Eagles scouts’ opinions in the draft process, routinely tossing scouts’ notes in the trash.

While former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has since found a new organization in the San Francisco 49ers after being fired in 2015 by the Eagles, needless to say there is still a great deal of animosity between the new 49ers head coach and Philadelphia football club.

According to Matt Lombardo of NJ.com, one former Eagles executive claims that Kelly would hear nothing of the organizations’ scouts if he didn’t want him on the team’s draft board. So essence, Kelly saw no purpose for many of his Eagles scouts while with Philadelphia.

The anonymous former executive stated, “Right before the [2014 NFL Draft], the scouts set the board. Then Chip got a hold of it and totally turned it around. Scouts had no say at all in the draft. Anybody that Chip didn’t want, that player’s card got removed from the board and thrown in the trash. Those guys were never even in the discussion.”

The same scout would later add, “…You had a lot scouts looking around and wondering, ‘Why am I even working? Why are we…even here?’ We put all of this work in…and Chip changed everything and took whoever he wanted to take.”

Understandably, Kelly would prefer players that ideally fit his offensive system, but to negate all work put forth by an entire NFL scouting department is absurd. Philadelphia may have its shortcomings as an organization, but the Eagles have had one of the most stable front offices in the NFC for the last 15 years.

While Kelly has hinted that he won’t undercut his new general manager in Trent Baalke and owner Jed York with the 49ers in 2016, it was allegedly only two years when Kelly completely discounted any opinion that was not his own in the Eagles draft room.

With the 2016 49ers having arguably the weakest roster in the NFC, 49ers fans might be concerned about how the Kelly era will begin in the 2016 NFL Draft. San Francisco went 5-11 in 2015 and have the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

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