Chip Kelly stands by Sam Bradford trade, suggests ownership was behind transfer of personnel power

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly met with the media today, and had a whole bunch to discuss. I did not get a chance to watch it, but after following it on Twitter, it sounded pretty epic. Kelly was asked about the team's recent moves, as well as his recent gain in power, and he mixed pure BS with "I don't give a [site decorum]" nonchalance. It was quite epic.

The highlight of the press conference might have been when Kelly said another team had already offered him a first round pick for Sam Bradford. If you don't believe me, listen for yourself!

He also offered this gem:

Chip Kelly on fire in his press conference. "We didn't bring Sam (Bradford) in here to be a (trade) chip. I'm the only Chip here."

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2015

I don't even know what to think. Sure, that is possible, but I have learned over the years to rarely believe anything a coach, GM or owner says. And that's not just because of the past few months of being a 49ers fan!

Kelly also spoke about Marcus Mariota, a quarterback many believe the Eagles will move up for come late April:

Chip Kelly says he thinks Marcus Mariota is the best QB on draft, but wants to "dispel" rumors. Says he won't mortgage the future.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 11, 2015

One thing he discussed that I found interesting was related to the power struggle that now has him in charge of personnel. The team fired Tom Gamble, who had been close to Kelly. It was viewed by many as GM Howie Roseman winning a power struggle. However, shortly after that, Kelly seemingly won the power struggle, getting control over personnel power.

In discussing it today, Kelly said it was management who decided to give him the power, and not at his request. Needless to say, I am skeptical about that. When the Gamble stuff was going down, rumors quickly developed that Kelly might leave. Those were stamped out pretty quickly with Kelly getting the boosted power. I think it is safe to say Kelly had some say in that happening.

Kelly has not been shy about his personnel powers in recent days. We have seen him trade and cut some pretty significant players. Eagles fans are a little confused by the situation, but Kelly seems confident in what he is doing. It is hard to compare the scales of craziness in recent days, but the Eagles have certainly given the 49ers a run for their money.