Chip Kelly regrets not bringing a championship to the Philadelphia Eagles

For the first time since being fired by the Eagles on Tuesday evening, former Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly released a public statement regarding his dismissal. Hat tip to @MikeGarafolo:

"I'm grateful to Jeffrey Lurie for allowing me to coach his Philadelphia Eagles for the past three seasons. I deeply regret that we did not bring this great city and its fans the championship they deserve. I was blessed to work with a gifted and hard-working coaching staff every day, and they will succeed wherever they go. Finally, my players mean the world to me. I will miss them very much and I will be rooting for them to achieve their dreams. Life is all about responding to challenges and seizing opportunities."

Kelly's tenure obviously didn't end well, but this is a classy goodbye message on his behalf.

Earlier on Wednesday, Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie publicly thanked Kelly for his contributions to Philadelphia.

I really just want to publically thank Chip. Nobody worked harder the last three years, and [he’s a] smart guy. It was a bold decision to hire him and [we] had certainly some success. I wish him the very best, as I did yesterday.