Eagles coach Chip Kelly watches play in the fourth quarter vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)

(Tim Hawk)

The hypothetical about how the trajectory of the Eagles' franchise could have changed had Chip Kelly been able to orchestrate a trade with the Tennessee Titans to draft quarterback Marcus Mariota is a fascinating one that has been pondered by fans and media alike ever since that fateful draft.

However, during an appearance on Adam Schefter's Know Them From Adam podcast, Kelly admits that the Eagles and Titans were never close to coming to terms on a deal that would have paved the way for a reunion with Kelly and the quarterback he recruited and coached at Oregon.

"That question didn't come up very often," Kelly said, when asked by Schefter if he could have done anything more to facilitate a trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire the No. 2 overall pick to draft Mariota. "With Tennessee, they weren't moving off the pick. Rightly so. They were looking for the same thing we were, to get themselves a really top-quality quarterback.

"It really wasn't like ... We didn't really get into a conversation of what we can offer or what we can't offer, because they made it known that they really weren't looking to trade the pick.

"That's all speculation that's out there, you hear stories that 'we offered this, we offered that.' We didn't offer anything because they weren't taking any offers for it."

Kelly's revelation Wednesday could offer further insight into what drove the Eagles to instead trade Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford in March of 2015, rather than aggressively pursue a trade with the Titans.

However, reports at the time suggested that the Eagles offered a strong package to Tennessee for the pick.

"Last year, the Eagles offered the Tennessee Titans, and I know this: a 2015 first-round pick, a 2015 second-round pick, a 2016 first-round pick and they said, 'Take any of our quarterbacks,'" Fox Sports' NFL Insider Peter Schrager told Colin Cowherd in a radio interview last March. "That's Sam Bradford, that's Sanchez, that's whoever. And, they said, 'Take anyone on our defense. We want that No. 2 pick. We want Marcus Mariota.'"

The failure to land Mariota contributed to Kelly's disastrous final season with the Eagles, in which he lost support of the locker room and ultimately his job when he was fired midweek ahead of a Week 17 season finale against the Giants.

After being fired by the Eagles, Kelly was fired after a 2-14 season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.

Despite the outcome, Kelly still speaks glowingly about Mariota's potential in the NFL.

"You look at what Marcus has done in his first two years in the league," Kelly said. "He's one of the really, bright young quarterbacks int he NFL. There's a reason the Titans didn't move off that pick, because they had a chance to get themselves a really good quarterback."

Instead of a potential renaissance in the NFL with Mariota in Philadelphia, Kelly is currently a college football analyst and the Eagles, of course, are excited about a future that includes head coach Doug Pederson and second-year quarterback Carson Wentz.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoPHL.