NFL roundup: Eagles hire Kelly; Bears name Trestman
Two more head coaching vacancies were filled on Wednesday, and one was a surprise, as Chip Kelly, who had announced earlier that he was staying at Oregon, was named the Philadelphia Eagles head coach.
The Chicago Bears named Marc Trestman as their new head coach, leaving two teams without a head coach - the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Eagles ended their search for Andy Reid's replacement by naming Kelly. Kelly, 49, met with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, team president Don Smolenski and general manager Howie Roseman for nine hours in Arizona after the Fiesta Bowl earlier this month. Soon thereafter Kelly said he was staying at Oregon. But while the Eagles continued to speak with candidates, they maintained their interest in Kelly. Then he suddenly changed his mind and decided to jump into his first head coaching job in the NFL.
Kelly is known for his innovative offense in college, but some have questioned whether it will work in the NFL. Last season, Oregon averaged 49.7 points per game en route to a 12-1 record.
The Bears also turned to a coach with a history of being an offensive innovator after firing Lovie Smith. Trestman, an offensive coordinator for several NFL teams, spent the past five seasons as the head coach of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, leading the team to two Grey Cup championships.
Trestman, 57, hired New Orleans Saints interim head coach Aaron Kromer as the Bears' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, according to ESPN.
---Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was to interview for the head-coaching job in Jacksonville on Wednesday, according to reports.
Others in the running with Bradley for the Jaguars' head-coaching job are Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and Jaguars defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.
---The Kansas City Chiefs hired former Jacksonville assistant Andy Heck as their offensive line coach.
Heck coached the offensive line for nine years with the Jaguars and has 22 years of coaching experience in the NFL.
---Former NFL running back Thomas Jones plans to donate his brain after his death to be studied on the impact of concussions on football players.
Thomas is concerned about how chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) might affect him in the future, ESPN.com reported. Jones wasn't sure how many concussions he had suffered during his career.
Jones is working on a documentary series "The NFL: The Gift or the Curse?" that focuses on concussions and suicide, domestic violence and financial pressures.
--Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith provided announced that he expects his team's best pass-rusher, John Abraham, to be in the starting lineup for Sunday's NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.
However, Abraham did not practice on Wednesday, and the Falcons are making contingency plans in case Abraham cannot play.
