Dec 30, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; A reflection of Qualcomm Stadium in a puddle on the field during the first quarter of a game between the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL has been called a quarterbacks league, a copycat league, the No Fun League, and “Not For Long” if you don’t play well enough. Increasingly, it has also become the Perception league.

Think about how our perceptions have changed, and shaped the way we think about… Joe Flacco… Ray Lewis… Randy Moss… Colin Kaepernick went from project to protege overnight. If Tom Brady yells at his teammates during a game, he’s a competitor. But when Jay Cutler does it people say he’s just a dick. Perception.

When Brady recently signed a restructured contract extension, the perception was that he “took less money” because he’s such a Great Guy who just wants to win. Of course, it was quickly pointed out that the extension is fully guaranteed, regardless of injury, so he’ll be making $9 million per year at ages 38-40. In fact, Brady has renegotiated his contract 7 times and gotten a raise each time. But the media narrative is that he’s willing to play for “less” (but still more) so the Patriots can afford to build a winner around him (just as he and his even-richer supermodel wife have built a moat around their mansion).

The perception is that the NFL has a salary cap, but the reality is there are many ways around it. Obviously Brady is only the most famous example; players all over the league are lining up to re-do their deals. (I’m still not sure what the difference is between these book-cooking “restructured” contracts and whatever it is the Cowboys and Redskins were penalized for doing during the un-capped season.)

From New England, we travel to Kansas City (like Matt Cassel, Scott Pioli, and Romeo Crennel before us). Cassel is out, now that the Chiefs have agreed to trade for former 49ers starting QB Alex Smith. The perception is that Smith is/was the top QB available this off season, a solid veteran for new coach Andy Reid to build around. But not long ago Alex Smith was the poster boy for mediocrity, declared a bust perhaps mostly due to being drafted first overall but also in part because it looked like he just wasn’t that great of a football player.

But now that he’s spent a couple years playing well under Jim Harbaugh and playing an instrumental role in the Niners rise to contention, we perceive bringing in Alex Smith to be your starting QB as a slam-dunk of a no-brainer move. I’m not saying he’s terrible or anything, but he’s 2-25 as a starter when the opponent scores 24 or more points and he’s never thrown for 20 TD’s in a season. Let’s just say he may have benefited from the dominant defense and strong running game in San Francisco.

From San Francisco, he travels to Kansas City (like Joe Montana and Elvis Grbac before him). Now he’ll be playing for Andy Reid, another test case in NFL Perception. Most view him as a “great coach,” and he was hailed as the most sought-after skipper about 12 seconds after he was officially let go from Philly. Certainly his record with the Eagles was impressive, but I still see him as a bit overrated. His play calling and clock management (or lack thereof) definitely cost them some games over the years.

It’s interesting that the Chiefs, holding the first overall pick in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft, saw no franchise QB’s worthy of the number one pick, so they traded for a guy who was once a first overall pick because a QB-desperate team was picking first in a draft that was perceived to not have any franchise QB’s (although some guy named Aaron Rodgers did slip all the way to the 24^th pick).

Anyway, I assume the fans in and around Kansas City are thrilled about the new direction of the Chiefs…. But it wasn’t that long ago that most people would have pointed and laughed at the thought that a surefire way to turn your team around would be to bring in Alex Smith and Andy Reid!

Replacing Reid in Philadelphia is former University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly. Once again the perception when the NFL coaching carousel started spinning was that (other than The Legendary Andy Reid) Chip Kelly was THE hottest name in coaching. Vince Lombardi reincarnated. Well, in the words of that true legend, “What the hell’s going on out here?” Again, not saying Chip Kelly stinks at coaching football. But he’s never coached at any level in the NFL, and had never been a head coach at any level of college until taking the helm at Oregon in 2009. Just 10 years ago, he was the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins.

College coaches have had their ups and downs when making the leap up to the NFL (and often quickly back down to the college ranks). For a while, the perception was that the big-name college coaches just couldn’t cut it (thanks to the failings of Lou Holtz, Butch Davis, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Petrino, Nick Saban, and others). Of course, now that perception has changed (thanks to Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll suddenly threatening to put a stranglehold on NFC domination).

Chip Kelly hails from the Pac-10 conference where Harbaugh and Carroll once operated, as does USC QB prospect Matt Barkley. He was once perceived to be a near-certain franchise QB and possible first-overall pick had he left school early for the 2012 draft. Now he’s just somewhere near the top of the pack of middling QB hopefuls in what is universally deemed to be a pretty weak draft class for franchise QBs.

The top-rated QB in the upcoming draft, one originally rumored as a possible first-overall pick by the Chiefs before they traded for Alex Smith, is West Virginia’s Geno Smith (no relation). Geno has undergone his own perception evolution. Not really on many people’s radar before the 2012 season, Geno put up some ballistic statistics early in the season in Dana Holgorsen’s high-powered Mountaineer offense. On his way to a senior season of 4205 yards with 42 TD’s and only 6 interceptions on 72% passing, he dropped 656 yards in a game against Baylor when he threw more TDs (8) than incompletions (6).

But WVU cooled off (thanks to attempting to play out the season without a defense) and Geno wasn’t even among the finalists for the Heisman. Now, he could be the key to how the first round of the draft unfolds. The perception is that he’s probably the safest bet from this QB class to be a longtime starter and possible Pro Bowler. But some say he’s not worth a top-5 or top-10 pick. Others think that quarterback-needy teams at the top of the draft (Oakland, Philadelphia, Arizona, Buffalo, the NY Jets, and possibly Cleveland) might regret passing on a poised, talented, and experienced passer like Geno Smith.

Speaking of perception, Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o went from Heisman finalist and likely top-5 pick to now being in danger of slipping out of the first round simply because of the infamous fake dead girlfriend hoax and his slow 40-yard-dash time at the NFL Combine.

Of course our perception of all these players and where they end up getting picked will change by the Monday morning after the draft, and then again when they take the field in the fall and then again many times over the next several seasons.

Which brings us back to future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady, who was a compensatory 6^th-round draft pick, the 199^th player selected that year.

October 27, 2012; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive end Dion Jordan (96) pre game warm up against the Colorado Buffaloes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Dion Jordan played under Chip Kelly at the University of Oregon and could get the chance to do the same at the next level on Sunday. As head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles one of the few perks is a Top 5 draft pick.

Dion Jordan was already high on people’s draft boards but had an especially sensational NFL Scouting Combine showing that has him climbing even higher. He measured 6-6 and 248 pounds, a solid size for a defensive end or outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

He ran a 4.6 second 40 yard dash and had a broad jump of 122 inches.

“Dion’s just a special guy in my heart,” Kelly said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had an opportunity to be with him for five years. He came into Oregon as a receiver, moved to tight end, we switched him over to defense the beginning of his sophomore year. He just had a huge impact, not only on the field but off the field.”

NFL draft analyst Mike Maycock has compared him to San Francisco 49ers’ Aldon Smith but still thinks Jordan needs to add 20 lbs to really be successful. It’s worth noting that Dion Jordan needs surgery on his injured shoulder though many think that won’t affect his performance at the next level.

Dec 13, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) on the sidelines during game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field. The Bengals defeated the Eagles 34-13. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

There has been all sorts of speculation this offseason regarding the future of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick with the vast majority of opinions insisting that Vick would not remain with the Eagles and may indeed fail to find a landing spot anywhere much like predecessor Donovan McNabb. One opinion out there has disputed the possibility of Vick leaving Philly – ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. Speaking on ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike In The Morning on Thursday, SalPal gave a very succinct view on the situation with the main thrust being that Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is personally trying to convince Vick to stay.

“Vick has had several one-on-one meetings with Chip Kelly.”"Kelly is the master recruiter out of college. He is trying to recruit the good graces of Michael Vick right now, convince him ‘Hang around with us, I’m your best option’. For Vick and agent Joe Seagal, they’ve got to say ‘Alright, if the Eagles are the best option, what do they possibly do money-wise?”"It’s a very complicated situation but it goes back to this – if you’re the Eagles, why do you invest any time or any money in a quarterback who is not your future?”

It’s no secret that any team that takes on Vick in 2013 will have issues signing him given the high salary he commanded recently with Philly. Arizona head coach Bruce Arians has already made it clear he will not take on Vick and Sal Pal indicated Merrone in Buffalo wouldn’t take him either. A reunion with Andy Reid in Kansas City is unlikely according to various reports. Given their recent bad experience with former OC Tony Sparano and quarterback Tim Tebow it is also unlikely the Jets would take on Vick. Finally, I would also rule out Oakland given that they are looking to cut costs and may be jettisoning Carson Palmer in the coming months. Let’s take stock – Michael Vick is aging, his skills are in decline, he has shown himself to be injury prone in recent years and is owed a whopping $15.5 million. All that tells us one thing – either Vick accepts a deal where he takes a big paycut or he likely walks away from the game in much the same way as the aforementioned McNabb. In terms of motivation for Vick, Paolantonio raised several salient points.

“Michael Vick just bought a house here in South Jersey, he just got married to a woman who has a nice little business in Philadelphia, he’s got some children here and has put down roots.”

When it comes down to how Vick and other players in similar situations make these kind of decisions, often it is personal circumstances that can have the biggest impact on staying with their current team. This is especially true of veteran players. Vick’s options are extremely limited and the fact that so many people close to him would be affected by a change of teams now is a powerful motivator. Vick has a chance to turn his career around and maybe get a few more years either in Philadelphia or elsewhere. Right now it is evident that Nick Foles isn’t ready for the big time. There is talk that Dennis Dixon, who formerly played under Kelly at Oregon and is now the Ravens third string quarterback, would also be brought in as a possible future starter for the team but once again he would likely require at least a month or two to get up to speed. Vick would likely get the opportunity to be the regular season starter for Philly for the first 4-6 weeks. In this time, he has the chance to prove his detractors wrong by performing well and staying healthy. If it doesn’t work out, he can walk away. If it does, he gets maybe three years as a backup or even a solid job offer as a starter. In the end, it is still most likely that Michael Vick’s career in Philadelphia and possibly the NFL is over. Still, with Chip Kelly doing so much to attempt to keep Vick on we cannot rule out the possibility he will indeed stay with Philly. One positive thing in his favor – the fact that the team just let the deadline pass for him to be paid $3 million guaranteed this coming season. Will Michael Vick remain in Philly? Give us your thoughts below.

Jan. 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA: Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly against the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2013 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles have pulled of a shocking hire. Many had believed Chip Kelly decided to stay with the University of Oregon. He cited “unfinished business” as a factor in his decision to stay at Oregon. Kelly did say he’d listen to any NFL offers he garnished.

“I’ll listen and we’ll see,” Kelly said.

Kelly has been a hot commodity in the coaching conversations this year for his work at Oregon.

He has led the Ducks to several appearances atop the poll with the #1 ranking and to a BCS National Championship game. He has also led the Ducks to 3 straight BCS Bowl appearances, most recently a victory over Big 12 Champion Kansas State Wildcats in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Well according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN the Philadelphia Eagles and Jeffrey Lurie have made Chip Kelly the franchise’s 21st head coach. The Cleveland Browns were also said to be interested in Kelly but moved on after he seemed indecisive about his future.

Chip Kelly is the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, according to league sources. No announcement yet.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 16, 2013

And at first the seemed like breaking news, with the built in escape hatch should it not materialize but Mortensen shortly followed up with this tweet.

Eagles make it official by announcing Chip Kelly as their head coach. Owner Jeffrey Lurie gets the man he wanted all along.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 16, 2013

Interestingly enough, divisional rivals Dallas Cowboys had hired Monte Kiffin to be their defensive coordinator. Kiffin has been USC’s defensive coordinator since 2010, having played Chip Kelly and his offensive juggernaut at Oregon twice. Landry Locker of ESPN Radio in Dallas pointed out that in those 3 games, Chip Kelly had a 2-1 record against Kiffin while averaging over 600 yards a game and 50 points.

In three year’s Chip Kelly’s offense averaged 601 yards and 50 points per-game against Monte Kiffin’s Tampa 2 defense. (2-1 record)

— Landry Locker (@LanLocker) January 16, 2013

That unlikely played a part in his hiring seeing as he was a target before Kiffin’s hiring by the Cowboys. But it certainly shouldn’t make Eagles fans less excited about the hiring.

“This is going to be a very large contract — likely five years for more than $6 million per year — and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was even bigger than that given the way this went down,” Dan Graziano said, an NFC East blogger for ESPN.

Nov 12, 2011; Stanford CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly watches his team warm up before the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Oregon defeated Stanford 53-30. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports

It has previously been reported that Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly is a hot commodity among NFL teams who are looking to fill their head coaching vacancies. Among those interested in Kelly’s bright offensive mind are the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, both teams have expressed that Kelly is their top target.

While both teams are interested in Kelly’s services, one of them has been able to lock up the Ducks coach for an interview following Oregon’s Fiesta Bowl match up against Kansas State.

Per multiple reports, Kelly will be interviewed by Browns CEO Joe Banner in Phoenix following the Fiesta Bowl. The interview is expected to take place on Friday or over the weekend.

With the Browns, Kelly would be close to achieving his goal of having “near total control” of a NFL franchise.

Will the Browns land Kelly? We will find out in the coming weeks, but it appears increasingly likely that Thursday night will be his final game on the Oregon sideline as a head coach.

November 10, 2012; Berkeley, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly along the sideline against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Chip Kelly is a very popular man.

As the NFL rumor mill continues to churn, there are multiple teams who are reportedly making the Oregon Ducks head coach their top choice to fill head coaching vacancies. We all knew about the Philadelphia Eagles preparing to make a push for Kelly, but now there is another team who is ready to give the Eagles a run for their money — The Cleveland Browns.

Per the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Oregon coach Chip Kelly is the clear No. 1 choice for the Browns as their next head coach, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM radio, who talked to two high-ranking NFL personnel executives. Kelly, who is 45-7 in his four year at Oregon, will be pursued by other teams, including the Eagles, the former team of Browns CEO Joe Banner.

Caplan, a Philadelphia-based reporter, pointed out that Banner has a strong relationship with Kelly’s agent,David Dunn, of Athlete’s First.

Banner said in his news conference today that he thinks the Browns can convince the best candidate to come to Cleveland and “we think we can make a very good case why this is the best opportunity in the league right now.”

They’ll also interview other top candidates, including Penn State’s Bill O’Brien.

There is no doubt that Kelly will be a hot commodity, but will he accept an offer from one of the team’s in pursuit of his services? It was just a season ago that Kelly was close to accepting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching job, so anything is possible this offseason.

July 23, 2012; Bethlehem, PA. USA; Philadelphia Eagles grounds crew intern Eddie Harbaugh prepares the team logo prior to training camp at Lehigh University. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to begin their search for a new head coach, it is being reported that team owner Jeffery Lurie immediately has a short list of coaching candidates that includes five names.

We all have heard the rumors of Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly being the top target of Lurie and the Eagles, but who could be the other five candidates?

Per Howard Eskin of FOX 29 and WIP radio, the remaining names on the Eagles short list are Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Bill O’Brien and three offensive coordinators — Dirk Koetter (Atlanta Falcons), Bruce Arians (Indianapolis Colts) and Greg Roman (San Francisco 49ers).

As we expected the Eagles next head coach to be, all five of the candidates are offensive minds.

An interesting name to keep an eye on is the 49ers Greg Roman. If Roman leaves San Francisco for a head coaching job, the 49ers could replace his void at offensive coordinator with former Nevada Wolf Pack head coach Chris Ault. Ault is the creator of the Pistol Offense and is the man responsible for helping Colin Kaepernick blossom into a star.

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

He wrote, “People around the NFL who know are convinced Jon Gruden is coming back to coaching this year, provided the right situation presents itself. I’ve been told Gruden feels he needs to come back now if he’s ever going to do it. He already has been away from the game for four years, and it becomes increasingly difficult for a coach to return the longer he is away. The right situation for Gruden very well could be in Philadelphia. People close to him think he has a good chance of landing there.”

This is extremely interesting, and Gruden would be a better fit for the Eagles than Kelly would. Even though the Oregon Ducks coach would bring a high-tempo offense to the team and help the receiving and rushing games, the problem for this team is finding some consistency on defense. I don’t know that Kelly can do that, and it’s because most of Oregon’s defensive scheming is done by top defensive coordinator Nick Ailotti. It’s not like Kelly is an incompetent defensive mind or anything, but there’s a big difference between coaching defense in college and in the NFL (obviously). One of the biggest differences? You have to be more hands-on.

Gruden could also be a better help to future second-year quarterback Nick Foles, if the Eagles (and the new regime) believe that Foles can be the man to lead the franchise. Quarterback development doesn’t seem like a strength for either one of them, but Gruden never had much to deal with in Tampa but managed to milk out solid seasons from subpar talents. Meanwhile, Kelly has done a good job recruiting quarterbacks in college, but none of them have had extended success in the NFL. However, it’s a small sample size, none of those QBs screamed “future high pick”, and Kelly did a solid job with them in college.

The biggest take from this is that Gruden does indeed want to get back into coaching (if those close to him can be trusted), and that he thinks the Philadelphia Eagles are a good fit for him. Are the Eagles a fit for him? I would say so, especially since there aren’t that many head coaching candidates to go for. There is no “perfect” fit for a team these days, and there isn’t a “great” fit either. Both Gruden and Kelly, the two main candidates (or so it seems like that), are both risky but in different ways.

Kelly wants to have almost complete control over personnel decisions, which is an outlandish demand for somebody with no head coaching experience in the NFL. The Eagles and Jeff Lurie are too prudent to do anything like that, and that’s the main reason why I can’t see Kelly going to Philly. He wants too much power, and he has no experience. Gruden will also want plenty of power over personnel decisions, but it doesn’t sound like he wants almost total control. On top of that, he actually has made the playoffs as an NFL head coach in the past and has plenty of experience.

In the end, Gruden looks like the most appealing candidate out of a tough sea of potential coaches. If he’s interested, I think the Eagles should take a very long look at him- an even longer look than they should at Chip Kelly.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

September 8, 2012; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly leads the team to the field before the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE

Thanks to the Alabama Crimson Tide losing to Texas A&M on Saturday, the Oregon Ducks have a better chance than ever to make their way into the BCS National Championship game. If the Ducks make the championship and find a way to capture the title, it could be the final game that head coach Chip Kelly leads the Ducks onto the field.

“It’s just inevitable that he will eventually be in the NFL,” Bellotti told Dennis Dodd of CBS.

“Chip is one of the ultimate competitors and he sees that. It actually surprised me he changed his mind [with the Bucs] last year. Whether they get to the national championship and whether they win the national championship, I don’t know. To think he’ll stay there when ultimately his idea of top jobs is to get to the Super Bowl, it won’t happen, unfortunately, at the college level.”

Another source told CBS Sports, “There are nine chances in 10 if he wins out [this season] he’s gone.”

Last season, Kelly considered entering the NFL ranks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but ultimately returned to Oregon to finish what he started. Once he secures a national title, Kelly would have accomplished everything he set out to do at the college level so the jump to the NFL would make sense.

Kelly is currently 48-years-old and remains one of the hottest NFL head coach options out there. Regardless of whether Oregon wins the national title this season or not, Kelly will be fielding a lot of calls from NFL squads this offseason.

“I don’t know what to say… he changed his mind,” a source told CBS Sports via text message.

The university is under NCAA investigation, due to some recruiting violations, so perhaps that initially enticed Kelly to make the jump to the pros. He is reportedly in the middle of the investigations for paying a scout that is also in question.

Kelly now returns to Oregon, where he is fresh off the heels of the team’s first Rose Bowl victory in 95 years. Can he keep up the momentum? Kelly becomes just the latest head coaching candidate to say no to the Buccaneers, now who do they have left to pursue?

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