I remember being very impressed with Andy Reid when he mentioned building a program back in 1999. The Eagles had just come off the Ray Rhodes era where long term vision meant knowing the plan for next month. Reid was the first NFL coach I ever heard mention the word program. That’s a word we normally associate with college football. In college, you have to build a program. Kids can only stay for 4 years and the great ones are often gone in 3. You can only sustain success if you build depth and think long term. Rhodes focused on stars and thought very short term. Reid’s ideas worked well and he did build one heck of a program.

Now Chip Kelly is taking that one step further. Beyond just building a program, Kelly wants the right culture.

Dynasties get built around great players. Tom Brady in New England. The Triplets in Dallas. Joe Montana and then Steve Young in SF. But what if you don’t get the elite QB or Hall of Fame talent? Can you still have something special?

It feels like Kelly is trying to build a program that can thrive with or without great talent. One of the keys is finding selfless players that will do whatever it takes to win. I’m sure James Casey is frustrated with his lack of touches on offense. He didn’t come here to be Antonio Gates, but probably expected to be more than just a role player. Casey still blocks his butt off when he gets on the field. He plays hard on STs. Casey does what is asked of him and he does it well.

Casey is a perfect fit for Kelly’s culture. DeSean Jackson wasn’t.

You got a big glimpse into Jackson’s personality and mindset back in 2011. He wasn’t getting paid like he wanted and that affected his play and behavior in the locker room. Jackson was better under Kelly, but obviously showed enough of himself that Kelly didn’t want to keep him around. Some people saw the move as insanity. You can’t get rid of your best WR. Kelly likely saw just the opposite. You can’t keep that guy around. You’d be sending a terrible message to the other players. If you’re talented enough, you can do what you want.

Jimmy Johnson built the Cowboys into a dynasty by letting his star players do what they wanted. That team won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. As amazing as that feat is, it is almost as amazing how quickly that dynasty fell apart. Injuries forced TE Jay Novacek to retire after the 1995 season, the final SB win. Without him, the team won just one playoff game. That dynasty was so fragile that taking out one key player (and not even one of the Triplets) ripped it apart.

Kelly is fascinated by the military and how they operate. There is a culture of sacrifice. You do what is best for the group. You think about others. If you can get a talented football team to buy into that mindset, you could have something special. Soldiers are individually tough and skilled, but when they work together, they can do amazing things. This isn’t a case where being part of a group takes away the individual desire for excellence. There is a pressure to keep up with the rest of the group so that you don’t let them down. Being a good part of the group makes you better as an individual.

You can bet that Matt Tobin feels pressure playing next to Jason Peters. Tobin knows the guy to his left is an elite player that will get the job done. That makes Tobin want to play well so that the coaches can count on the left side of the line. If Tobin was playing beside Demetress Bell, Tobin would probably have a different mindset. “Don’t suck as much as that guy.”

Think about what Kelly wants on defense. He asks his defensive linemen to 2-gap. That has them reading plays and eating up blocks. You know Fletcher Cox would rather be firing off the ball and blowing up plays in the backfield. That’s so much more fun. But Kelly wants his DL to sacrifice themselves by 2-gapping. That sets up the LBs to make plays. It also puts pressure on the offense. They would rather have players going to designated gaps. It makes blocking easier. When one defender can cover 2 gaps, it is trickier to get him blocked. The DL do get a reward. If they force the offense into 3rd/long, the DL can pin their ears back and go get after the QB. It isn’t all 2-gap.

Kelly isn’t some Utopian nut-job. He understands football players aren’t perfect. He also understands that some talented players are going to be difficult to deal with at times. You can tell that Kelly and LeSean McCoy don’t always see eye to eye, but McCoy must do enough of what Kelly wants that they make it work. Cary Williams is a handful to deal with. He and Kelly are able to make it work. Vinny Curry and Brandon Graham had a real hard time adjusting to the 3-4 and new roles last year. Kelly knew they were talented so he kept them around and gave them a chance to adjust to the situation. Curry became a key role player last year and Graham has become one this year. I don’t know if those players will choose to stay here in the future, but they have each found a way to be effective in the base defense and very good in roles as designated pass rushers.

Bill Belichick established a culture in New England. It was funny last year to hear WesWelker admit that he still sometimes found himself not doing or saying certain things for fear of having to answer to Bill despite the fact he was no longer in New England. Once a Patriot, always a Patriot I guess. Kelly is obviously a different kind of coach than Belichick, but I do think Kelly admires the way things are done in NE. That organization is lucky enough to have a great QB, but they haven’t always surrounded him with great talent. The team continually wins. I think one big difference in Kelly and Belichick is that Bill covets raw talent more than Kelly does. He has drafted some players with questionable backgrounds. Call that the LT effect. Belichick had a love-hate relationship with Lawrence Taylor, but in the end he saw the impact that an elite talent could have.

Chip also has much better press conferences.

Kelly is trying to build something in Philadelphia. Time will tell just how successful he is. He’s off to a good start, having gone 15-7 so far. The big questions remain. Can these ideas win a Super Bowl? Can these ideas sustain success?

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