Eagles already feel pace quickening under Chip Kelly

Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

PHILADELPHIA — Howie Roseman had just come back into the building after the workout of local draft hopefuls the other day when the Philadelphia Eagles' general manager heard the thumping bass of hip-hop music coming from down the hall.

Roseman walked into the auditorium, where he found special teams coordinator Dave Fipp.

"Welcome to my meeting room," Fipp yelled over the music to Roseman. "I'm playing music because I want to get their neurological pathways open in the morning to get them going."

There's a feeling-out period occurring in Philly this week, with the start of offseason workouts bringing together new coach Chip Kelly and his staff with a roster of returning players and veteran additions who aren't exactly used to the techniques and philosophies they've already begun to encounter.

By NFL standards, Kelly is a mad scientist whose up-tempo, read-option schemes could revolutionize a league that's already been influenced by the offense he ran at Oregon on his way to a 45-7 record over four seasons.

Kelly is also a program-builder and motivator whose forward-thinking ways are evident everywhere, from his fast-paced practices to his hiring of a "sports science coordinator" to work along with the team's strength coach.

Already, even without any on-field work, the Eagles' players can sense the pace this coaching staff will set.

"I mean, the workout today was up-tempo, a lot of drills and different stuff we don't normally do. I'm sure it's going to be real up-tempo," left tackle Jason Peters said. "They just got after us. Everything is just quick, a lot of reps, quick pace ... 40 (yard dash), hurdles, ladders, stuff like that. Working the quick feet, the quick movements, the up-tempo pace, that's the stuff we worked on today."

Same goes for the mental part of learning a non-traditional offense. So they'd better have those neurological pathways open.

"First day, the team meeting, you could sense the urgency," wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. "'This is what it's going to be and it's on you guys to really get the information, dissect it and make the change.'"

Part of the reasoning is getting the players in shape to run the offense at Kelly's preferred pace. But there might also be another agenda at play in the next few weeks. Like any new coach, Kelly might be looking to see which players are going to wilt or look at the coaches' techniques with a skeptical eye and which ones are going to buy in completely.

"That's really a good question," Jackson said. "He's going to do what he needs to do to figure out who's going to be his guy, who's going to be the person he can trust and count on. He probably is doing certain things to test guys and see how they react or what they'll do.

"But me, I'm that type of guy, I just like to go on the run. Whatever's thrown at me I'm going to adjust."

None of this is to say the approach Kelly and his staff will take is any better than former coach Andy Reid's. In his 14 years in Philly, Reid had only three losing seasons.

And it's not to say Kelly's staff is better than the rest of the NFL. Kelly is still five months away from coaching his first NFL game.

It's just to illustrate Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie wanted a coach who's ahead of the curve. With every thump of the bass from the music that rattles the walls of the Eagles' auditorium — and, by the way, Roseman's office on the second floor — the two will know they've found one.

"From my perspective, it's certainly exciting," Roseman said. "But you're trying to win games and anything you think can help you win games, that's the priority.

"To be able to find that kind of energy is hard, and we're excited about it."