May 02, 2016
Earl Gardner/Philly Soccer Page
Jurgen Klinsmann and the USMNT stumbled to a fourth-place Gold Cup finish at PPL Park last summer.
Two days after Chip Kelly picked his second Pac-12 player in the NFL draft, United States Soccer released a similarly predictable 40-man preliminary roster for the Copa America Centenario.
Sure, there were some surprises, like the inclusion of Eric Lichaj and the mostly correct cataloging of players at their natural positions. Kellyn Acosta certainly isn't a full back, but DeAndre Yedlin is thankfully listed as a defender, at least on paper.
Outside of the obvious selections, there are the typical head scratchers, like the inclusion of Mix Diskerud, Michael Orozco, and Ventura Alvarado. Missing, of course, are Benny Feilhaber, Sacha Kljestan, and Jorge Villafana.
It's not a surprise to see Klinsmann include three out-of-form favorites while leaving better players at home.
That's the problem with Jurgen; even when he does a lot of the right things, there's always the supplementary decision that nobody understands.
It's the same with Chip Kelly, who will now attempt to shove the square peg into the round hole for the San Francisco 49ers.
Eagles fans knew that DeMarco Murray couldn't run the ball sideways out of the shotgun, but Chip was hellbent on taking 2014’s leading rusher and turning him into Trent Richardson. It was only fitting when Murray scored in the meaningless season finale, as he was allowed to run downhill, between the tackles, with Sam Bradford taking a snap from under center.
The 54-yard touchdown by #Eagles RB DeMarco Murray - pic.twitter.com/QEBxkFEsnt
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 3, 2016
Of course, Chip was already gone by that time, and Pat Shurmur simply did what the entire universe had been asking for since game one against the Falcons.
Similarly, U.S. fans know that Yedlin isn't a right-sided midfielder, but Klinsmann claimed that he didn't play anybody"out of position" when the U.S. lost to Guatemala five weeks ago. Yet, four days later, Yedlin was in at right back, Geoff Cameron moved to center half, and the Americans comfortably hammered los Chapines 4-0 in the return match.
DeAndre Yedlin is not a right winger. Geoff Cameron is not a right back. Gyasi Zardes isn't a winger, etc. I just don't understand. #USMNT
— Andrew King (@AndrewKingMLS) March 26, 2016
Culture may beat scheme, but only if the correct players are on the field, and that's never been the case for either coach.
Maybe Riley Cooper will listen to your instructions, but he wasn't half as good as DeSean Jackson. Maybe Mix Diskerud has a better attitude, but he's not as talented as Feilhaber. LeSean McCoy may have "character issues", but this is a league that still employs Pacman Jones and Richie Incognito, so does it really matter in the end?
Even when the personnel decisions did make sense, there were glaring holes in positions of need.
Klinsmann successfully brought two poachers to the World Cup, one of whom was injured, and didn't really have a backup plan when Jozy Altidore went down hurt. Landon Donovan was left at home while Brad Davis and Julian Green were brought along to Brazil. Chip added Lane Johnson to bolster the tackle position but treated the guard spot like the left back position.
Anyone can play there!
Chip Kelly battled guard issues for years in Philly. First big move in SF? Trade for a guard. Seems he's learned.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2016
There's rarely accountability from either coach, with Chip constantly deflecting criticism and Jurgen telling reporters to "ask the players" why they weren't prepared for a game.
They both brought "sports science" with them, whether it was Klinsmann and his hamstring-killing over-training, or Chip with his smoothies and sleep monitors. Truthfully, the Eagles were probably in the same physical condition when Andy Reid was rolling out "Taco Tuesday" for however-many years.
Perhaps the most ironic thing is that both coaches were hired to bring their teams to the next level. The Eagles were waning under Reid after many great years. The USA had seemingly plateaued under Bob Bradley. Both Chip and Jurgen were given additional, far-reaching powers, whether it was final say on the 53-man roster or total control of the USMNT setup. They hired coaches that didn't cut it, like Billy Davis and Andi Herzog. They wasted time doing yoga, practicing without pads, and micromanaging their players.
At the end of the day, Chip didn't advance any further than Andy Reid, and Jurgen hasn't eclipsed what Bradley achieved, depending on how you feel about exhibition game performances. Chip was especially good at beating teams with losing records.
Even worse was the level at which both coaches were desired. The Eagles needed a second effort to bring Chip to town and almost settled for Gus Bradley instead. Sunil Gulati flirted with the Klinsmann idea twice before his 2011 hire.
Chip's time in Philadelphia has come and gone, but Klinsmann's legacy remains incomplete. The U.S. could very well impress this summer, but I can only think about the horrendous loss to Jamaica in the 2015 Gold Cup semifinal.
Maybe Andy Reid and Bob Bradley weren't the guys to bring their respective teams to new heights, but did anything really change when Jurgen and Chip took over?
