While at University of Oregon, Chip Kelly was loved by the Ducks fans for a number of reasons. Perhaps most notably was his aggressive style, such as going for it on 4th down, which earned him a funny nickname. Through the preseason, we've already seen Chip bring parts of his college offense to the NFL. It's clear he's bringing another element from college with him as well: his fearless attitude.
Take a look at these quotes from Chip's former New Hampshire WR Dave Ball, courtesy of Sam Farmer (LA Times)
"Whenever [our opponents] would chirp, the only thing I would say back to them was, 'I don't even know who you are. You're not even on my scouting report. We don't even have a scouting report. We worry about us, and we beat you. That's how it works.'
We didn't even notice [defensive players] until we were in the end zone — to us, they were simply something in our way,"
We didn't know their names, we didn't know their number. The only thing we cared about was what the play was, what our signal was, and executing it. . . . They were just a facade, bags to run away from. That speaks to [Kelly's] core philosophy that we're going to worry about us and perfect us. Because I believe in us. We're not going to tailor us every week to somebody new because we're fearing what they do. We are going to make people fear what we do."
These are just the words of one former player, but clearly they represent the confidence that Chip Kelly has.
The Eagles players seem to share Chip's energy. Michael Vick said after the Carolina game that Chip has helped him fall in love with football again after losing confidence in himself last year. The whole organization generally seems energetic despite coming off a discouraging 2012. It's almost like the 4-12 season never even happened.
Chip's no fear attitude is exactly what made him an attractive hire for the Eagles. He's not afraid to fail. And if he manages to find success, he is going to make other teams fear him, just as he sets out to do. It may already even be working.