Eagles' Jeffrey Lurie still believes in Chip Kelly, per report

Once the NFL season begins, Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie typically doesn't address any media requests until Philadelphia's final game is over. It will be especially interesting to hear what he has to say in a few weeks given how poorly this season has gone. It's hard to believe Lurie is feeling awesome about his decision to give Chip Kelly full control over the team's personnel department. Despite the Eagles' struggles, however, Lurie reportedly still believes in Kelly. From Paul Domowitch of the Daily News:

When he made Kelly king last January, he did so with his eyes wide open. He knew the risks. He knew Kelly would make a lot of bold moves in his attempt to take the Eagles from good to great.

He knew that some of those bold moves might not pan out. At least not right away. But he believed in Kelly and believed in his plan. According to people in the league who talk to Lurie, he still does.

Questions have been raised about Kelly's future in Philadelphia as the team has dropped to 4-7 coming off two straight blowout losses. Just last week ESPN Insider Adam Schefter said that "momentum and signs seem to be piling up against a Chip return." PhillyVoice reporter Jimmy Kempski seemed to echo Schefter's sentiment.

There's certainly a case to be made against Kelly. But it does make sense that Lurie would show patience. Just think about it. Lurie gave Andy Reid 14 years. Reid earned those a lot of those years, of course, but it was still a sign of Lurie's commitment. It would be a little hard to see Lurie giving up on Kelly so quickly after just one bad season.

Still, I think it's early to say if Kelly will be back for sure or not at this point. If the Eagles show some fight in their final five games, I think it'll be safe to say Kelly is back. If the team loses out and the Eagles continue to play as poorly as they have lately, however, a return would be much more difficult to justify.

I don't doubt that Lurie still believes in Kelly, but I do doubt Kelly's goodwill can last much longer if he doesn't start to turn things around.