There is no head coach in the NFL that has more to lose by losing in 2015 than Chip Kelly. After he gained control of Philadelphia's scouting and personnel, after he dismissed some of the organization's best players, he was setting himself up to be savior or scapegoat with little middle ground.
And after two straight losses to start the season, especially a hapless performance against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon, he is rightfully upset.
"I was embarrassed ... that's not the way we're supposed to play football and that's not what we're all about, but we didn't play well yesterday," he told reporters. "I was embarrassed on how we played yesterday."
For Kelly, this is a kind of new territory. His teams have played poorly in spurts before, but these past two losses have challenged some of his core philosophies. DeMarco Murray carried the ball 13 times and gained a total of two yards. Sam Bradford, especially in the red zone, is making some curious decisions with the football.
Though his breakneck offense was always going to be challenging for his defense in terms of minutes played, it almost caused them to bottom out altogether against Dallas, especially when Brandon Weeden entered the game and went 7-of-7 passing.
So embarrassment might be a natural -- and new -- feeling for a head coach whose meteoric rise has rarely been questioned as much as it is now.
