March 10, 2015
Eric Risberg/AP
When a guy who played for Jim Harbaugh thinks your coach is 'overbearing,' you have perception issues.
On Sunday, Frank Gore reportedly agreed to become an Eagle. On Monday, he changed his mind, and it appears as though he'll be taking his talents to Indy. A report from Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports surfaced about the reasons Gore got cold feet.
Gore had second thoughts on several fronts, including the financials. The Colts' offer is slightly more lucrative than the deal Philly was ready to give him. But Gore also had significant concerns from a football standpoint, and one of them was whether the Eagles would struggle without Maclin and without a big-time receiving threat.
Eagles coach Chip Kelly, who now has full control over personnel in Philly, clearly put a price on Maclin's services and wouldn't authorize the team to match a contract from Kansas City. Sources have confirmed that the Chiefs will pay Maclin around $11 million per season.
And later in Garafolo's report:
A source said Gore also indicated to a friend he was concerned with what he heard about Kelly's overbearing approach in Philly. Kelly's intense, no-nonsense approach — which has helped make him successful throughout his college and professional coaching career — initially rubbed McCoy the wrong way, though McCoy and Kelly were able to patch up their relationship for a good part of their two seasons together. However, receiver DeSean Jackson and cornerback Cary Williams were among those who didn't mesh well with Kelly's philosophy, and Williams indicated Kelly's lengthy, up-tempo practices were an issue for veterans who wanted to rest their bodies during the week.
In other words, Gore is saying, "it's not me, it's you." Let's do this in bullet point form:
• The Eagles have some damage control to do here. If players around the league perceive that Chip Kelly is difficult to work with, Philadelphia will get the reputation of being an undesirable place to play. In my experience covering the Eagles, players have always been very complimentary of Kelly, both on and off the record.
• Garafolo's piece confirms the thinking that Maclin is going to be paid $11 million per season, which is far more than what he's worth, in my opinion.
• Of course, losing Maclin may have had the chain effect of also losing Gore, as Garafolo's report suggests.
• The Colts seem to be pillaging the Eagles. They've now reportedly agreed to deals with three of them -- Todd Herremans, Frank Gore, and Trent Cole.
• Garafolo's usage of the word "overbearing" is not in quotes, so it's difficult to determine if that was a word that was relayed to him, or if he's using that on his own. I can certainly see where veterans would not care for Kelly's practices, but I've never heard a word like "overbearing" or anything similar be attributed to Kelly by any players.
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