Chip Kelly's pursuit of a private life away from football was a noble one, but a summer of digging has presented the Eagles head coach with a few uncomfortableencounters.
From the revealing of an ex-wife in The Washington Post to an encounter with a magazine reporter at his summer home, we've learned some things that Kelly hoped we never would. But in a wide-ranging interview, with quotes via the Philadelphia Inquirer, he attempted to address some of his most persistent questions.
Here are some of our main takeaways:
1. On why he wanted to keep his private life at home:
"I think most people do, don't they? Unless you're a Kardashian," he said.
When pressed on the subject and how it relates to football, he added this: "I look at it from the Navy SEALs point of view: 'I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor do I seek recognition for my actions.'"
2. Kelly didn't feel like his team was on the cusp of a championship in 2014:
"I didn't feel we were close at the end of the year," he said.
3. Kelly is using simple economics when it comes to his quarterback decision:
"If you're not going to pick 1 or 2, how do you go get a quarterback? Peyton Manning switched teams because of an injury. Drew Brees switched teams because of an injury. So we went down that path."
4. The Eagles are combining probability with science when it comes to loading up on players with serious ACL injuries:
The team did a study that found the rate of reinjury to be anywhere from 10 to 12 percent. "So that's an 88-to-90 percent chance they're going to be successful."
The piece, linked above, is well worth your time if only because Kelly is forced to answer so many of the questions that have been plaguing him throughout the summer. Maybe he can finally regain some element of the privacy he was searching for.
*The latest Around The NFL Podcast features the triumphant return of Dan Hanzus and discusses the biggest mysteries heading into training camp. *
