A day after he was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles, Chip Kelly made his first public comments about his time with the Eagles.
In a statement released Wednesday night, the former coach said he regretted that he didn't accomplish more in his nearly three seasons with the Eagles.
I'm grateful to (Eagles owner) Jeffrey Lurie for allowing me to coach his Philadelphia Eagles for the past three seasons. I deeply regret that we did not bring this great city and its fans the championship they deserve. I was blessed to work with a gifted and hard-working coaching staff every day, and they will succeed wherever they go. Finally, my players mean the world to me. I will miss them very much and I will be rooting for them to achieve their dreams. Life is all about responding to challenges and seizing opportunities.
Earlier Wednesday, Lurie told reporters the Kelly experiment in Philadelphia was a failure after the coach failed to improve on last year's 10-win campaign.
"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 said.
Kelly, who helped transform Oregon into a college football powerhouse, posted a 26-21 record with the Eagles. It remains to be seen if he'll find a new home in the NFL this offseason.
