Chip Kelly Speaks at Annual Meetings

The NFL’s Annual Meetings are currently taking place in Phoenix and Eagles coach Chip Kelly spoke to the collective media Wednesday morning. A day after his owner, Jeffrey Lurie, spoke on a multitude of issues; Kelly took the floor to shed light on what he could. Kelly spoke for a little over an hour, so trying to transcribe his answers would require a day’s worth of work and far too much caffeine than whatever the least safe amount is. I was in control of the Section215 Twitter account as the discussion came in live. Here are the highlights that jumped out at me (and some that I may have missed):

On the NFL’s interest level in Sam Bradford:

No more calls on Sam Bradford, per Chip #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

On confidence that Alonso / Bradford can recover from injuries:

'I think sometime during OTAs, we'll be able to see Kiko moving around a bit' #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

'I would say it's a lot easier with a quarterback with an ACL than a receiver...look at year Maclin had coming off ACL. #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

Various Marcus Mariota-themed answers:

'No.'-Chip on Whether he sees a scenario to trade up for Mariota #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

'Took two first round picks to get from 6 to 2 a few years ago.'-Chip on hypothetical trade #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

'How come no one asked Jim Harbaugh about him trading up for Andrew Luck?'-Chip on Mariota rumors #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

'More players are better than one player...philosophically. What set the Cowboys going forward? One player for multiple players.' #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

On Why Connor Barwin’s Contract was restructured:

'What Connor did for us has exceeded what his contract was.'-Chip on Barwin restructure #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

Some further details of the Foles to Rams Trade:

'It was a mutual thing. Went on for a couple of weeks. We were trying to keep Nick. Last second they wanted players.'-Chip on Foles trade
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

On Plans for Rest of offseason (free agency):

'Conversations are going on but I couldn't say one way or the other.'-Chip on whether team will stay active in free agency #Eagles
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

On Striking Balance Between Talent and Culture:

'Both go hand in hand. Can't sacrifice one for another. Can have all intangibles in world but if he can't play...'-Chip on Talent/Culture
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

Some Marcus Smith Discussion:

'Bottom line is you have to earn your position. Don't have time when competing for a division title to see how a guy is doing.' RE: M. Smith
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

Kelly also was asked toward the end of his sit-down about the remarks made by former coaching intern Tra Thomas regarding rumors of racism being an issue within the Eagles locker room. Various reporters on site provided better analysis than I did.

Chip Kelly said he was disappointed by statements Tra Thomas made about the number of African American assistants on his coaching staff.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 25, 2015

Chip: "I don't look at the color of any player."
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) March 25, 2015

Finally, the highlight of the interview came roughly two-thirds of the way through. Fox29’s own Howard Eskin made his presence felt in Arizona in a big way.

Howard Eskin very nearly barreled into CK trying to set up his mic. #Culture
— Section 215 (@Sec215) March 25, 2015

Media courtesy of WIP’s Marc Farzetta.

Barring anything earth-shattering, we probably won’t hear from Chip again until the team’s OTAs start. Given how much he’s managed to cover over the last month and a few media appearances, I think we could all use some time to catch our breath over what has transpired during the offseason.

Next: Chip Kelly 'Hopes' Evan Mathis Will Return in 2015

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