Chip Kelly
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly walks off the field after NFL football minicamp, Wednesday, June 17, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
(Matt Rourke)
Head football coaches probably get less sleep than anyone outside of brand-new parents.
There's always that play they called that didn't work to keep them tossing and turning, or a play they could have called that would have worked that has their eyes wide open.
Eagles' head coach Chip Kelly isn't any different when it comes to that, and may be even more of an insomniac than others.
What might keep Kelly up at night? What are his worst nightmares? Here are five that would really scare him.
1. Sam Bradford goes down with another ACL injury: That's all Kelly needs is Bradford to tear his ACL for the third time. The outrage of trading for a guy, paying him $12.9 million and him being back on the sidelines for the third straight year would be worth more than a couple of night's sleep.
2. Nick Foles takes the Rams to the playoffs: Couple a Bradford injury with Foles having big-time success in St. Louis and there wouldn't be enough sleeping pills in the world to get Kelly a good night's sleep. The Rams haven't gotten to the postseason since 2004. If Foles, the guy Kelly gave up on, is the guy who takes them back, uh oh.
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3. The Eagles' defense isn't any better: A lot of what Kelly did this year was focused on making the defense, especially the secondary, better. Linebacker Kiko Alonso came in a trade, defensive backs Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond were signed to free agent deals and five of the team's six draft picks were spent on defense. What if none of it works? What if Cary Williams, in Seattle, and Bradley Fletcher, in New England, have better years than Maxwell and Thurmond? That would not make the coach rest real easily.
4. LeSean McCoy leads the NFL in rushing: With the amount of carries he's likely to get in Buffalo this has a decent chance of happening. And Kelly might not be too upset as long as he's getting what he expects from DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, McCoy's replacements. But what if he isn't? What if in the coach's nightmare Murray really was a product of Dallas' offensive line, and Mathews is just a guy? Kelly may have visions of McCoy dancing through the snow as he tries to sleep.
5. Jeffrey Lurie sells the team to Howie Roseman: Forget the first four, this happens and Kelly wakes up screaming and may never get back to sleep.
Mark Eckel may be reached at mjeck04@verizon.net. Follow him on Twitter @MarkEckel08. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.