Five Big-Picture Takeaways From Eagles Week 12 Loss Vs Lions

5.) As An Owner, Jeffrey Lurie Should Step Forward and Provide Clarity on The Team’s Future

Jeffrey Lurie is, for the most part, what a fan should want in an owner. He allows the people he hires to make decisions without pressure from the top and doesn’t say stupid things on a regular basis. He has spared little expense in running the Eagles organization and, for the most part, the team has enjoyed success since he bought the team. All things considering, it’s tough to get too upset with how Lurie has conducted business as the owner of the Eagles.

Lurie went out of his comfort zone when he gave Chip Kelly the amount of power that he did. He essentially sacrificed his normal approach to ownership to appease the coach that he coveted. While he has managed to remain out-of-the-way during the 2015 season, he has also seen his leap-of-faith go up in flames right in front of him. No one is saying that Lurie needs to go scorched-earth on the 2015 Eagles, but the types of performances that have taken place in the last three weeks warrant some type of response.

Chip Kelly has already stated that Billy Davis will remain his defensive coordinator. Billy Davis scoffed at the notion that Chip Kelly would not return in 2015. That’s all well-and-good as far as sticking up for one’s colleague, but Lurie failing to address anything as far as personnel goes would essentially be rewarding embarrassing failure. He could be dealing with a full-fledged revolt if the same coaching staff returned in 2016. Three seasons under Kelly have seen steady decline in performance on the field. Without a young foundation to build on, one would have a hard time envisioning that trend reversing course.

I am of the school of thought that Lurie handled the situation this past offseason correctly. Kelly was unhappy with how the front office was structured and Lurie did what he had to do to keep things on the straightened arrow. While it hasn’t necessarily worked out, it’d be difficult to come up with a legitimate case against Lurie as one of the primary reasons for it. If Lurie decides to keep everything structured the way it is going into next season, the blame has to shift towards the owner for rewarding a sub-standard performance. Do multiple heads have to roll for Lurie to  prove a point? No. Is it Lurie’s responsibility as an owner to send a message that this type of humiliation will not be tolerated? Absolutely. The next 10 days should be interesting.