One of the first impressions from Chip Kelly's finalized coaching staff last year was that it was very... large. In fact, it was the largest in the entire NFL. Only the Seattle Seahawks had as many coaches as the Eagles did with a total of 24. This doesn't come as a surprise because both Kelly and Pete Carroll (Seahawks head coach) come from college backgrounds and are used to having big staffs.

Kelly's 2013 Eagles went 10-6, won the NFC East, and set a number of offensive records. Carroll's Seahawks won the NFC West and obviously went on to win the grand prize of Super Bowl 48. Considering the success of these two teams, I thought it would be interesting to see a look at how teams performed in 2013 with respect to their coaching staff size. I also took a look at the number of personnel on every team's coaching staff for the 2014 season. Full results below. (Data via every NFL team's official coaching staff listing.)

The Eagles are at the top yet again, tied with the Seahawks and Ravens.

Team 2013 Record Team 2014 Change Eagles 24 10-6* Eagles 25 +1 Seahawks 24 13-3* Seahawks 25 +1 Buccaneers 23 4-12 Ravens 25 +4 Cardinals 22 10-6 Cardinals 24 +2 Chiefs 22 11-5* Jaguars 24 +2 Jaguars 22 4-12 Rams 23 +1 Rams 22 7-9 Bills 23 +3 Vikings 22 5-10-1 Chiefs 22 Broncos 21 13-3* Broncos 22 +1 Cowboys 21 8-8 Packers 22 +1 Dolphins 21 8-8 49ers 22 +1 Packers 21 8-7-1* Browns 22 +2 Raiders 21 4-12 Lions 22 +3 Ravens 21 8-8 Colts 21 +1 Saints 21 11-5* Chargers 21 +1 49ers 20 12-4* Raiders 21 Bears 20 8-8 Dolphins 21 Bills 20 6-10 Saints 20 -1 Browns 20 4-12 Buccaneers 20 -3 Chargers 20 9-7* Vikings 20 -2 Colts 20 11-5* Cowboys 20 -1 Giants 20 7-9 Bears 20 Jets 20 8-8 Giants 20 Texans 20 2-14 Jets 20 Lions 19 7-9 Redskins 20 +2 Bengals 18 11-5* Panthers 19 +2 Redskins 18 3-13 Texans 19 -1 Patriots 18 12-4* Falcons 18 +1 Falcons 17 4-12 Bengals 18 Panthers 17 12-4* Patriots 17 -1 Steelers 15 8-8 Steelers 16 +1 TOTAL: 630 TOTAL: 652

As you can see, there doesn't seem to be a strong correlation. There are some playoff teams at the top, middle, and very bottom. Still, I think it's interesting that some teams opt for less coaches when there's no limit as to how many can be hired (that is, except for the owner's willingness to pay). Perhaps those teams feel it's "too many chefs in the kitchen." Or perhaps they're more sensitive about their coaching staff being poached. While those seem like valid reasons, the benefits of having a large staff include increasing the changes of finding coaching gems. Not to mention the extra assistance during drills and such.

While the quantity of coaches might not ultimately mean much, it goes without saying that it's coaching quality what matters most. With Chip Kelly at the helm of the Eagles, Philadelphia seems to be in good hands so far.