Chip Kelly Will Succeed Because of Jim Harbaugh

Two years ago, If Chip Kelly had gone to the NFL, he would not have been able to succeed. He runs a highly complex, intensely disciplined attack with a laser focus, exactly the kind of discipline that professional athletes have a reputation for rebelling against. That tenor is changing.

To understand why the disciplined approach will be successful, even on a disfunctional team like the Eagles, you have to go back in time a bit, to Mike Singletary. Singletary became the head coach of the 49ers after a successful interim term. He was a disciplinarian, harsh on his players, pulling them from games and publicly berating them (see this). So why didn't it work? He didn't have an overall plan. When you are a disciplinarian and you win, it creates buy-in. If you lose, you're just a jerk. Singletary lost games, and subsequently lost his players, then lost his job.

Enter Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh is a vociferous, grimacing, toe-the-line-and-do-your-job coach. He, too, will grab someone on the sidelines and get in his face. The difference? It all has the same end in mind. Harbaugh has a way he does things: all you have to do is watch him on the field during warmups. He is just as intense about how his team warms up as he is during the game. He obviously considers the focus pre-game to matter, as opposed to many coaches who you see standing aside, talking, trusting. When you watch clips from any Harbaugh-coached team, you see a team that executes. All the time. If they fail, it is not because of preparation. And they win.

So players around the NFL see this. They watch that train-wreck at Candlestick become not just better, but fearsome. They hear the unified front presented by the entire team. They watch Vernon Davis, of all people, become a down-field blocker with a killer instinct. Was that Randy Moss taking a shot in the jaw to score a touchdown? It was. And Harbaugh inspired it in him.

So now you have the Eagles. If it weren't for the Jets, we would be laughing at them on a weekly basis. But the Eagle players know: their team is a joke. The blocking schemes, the QB play, the receivers (wasn't this the year that Maclin and Jackson were going to make the leap to elite?), all fell apart in various ways. Chip Kelly will change that.

Kelly has a simple philosophy on coaching, and an understanding of players' motivations. In any profession, employees like to know the "Why." Kelly believes in giving it, and that matters. He also believes in discipline. When you watch a Kelly coached team, the pace is so fast that it can only work if everyone understands his role, and executes it to perfection. And he has little tolerance for people that step out of line. Remember when Oregon was going to suffer because Jeremiah Masoli left the team after being disciplined and suspended? Yeah, me neither. I believe they put up something like 45 points with their back-up. The system is stronger than it's parts.

And the players will listen. This "Dream Team" didn't all go to Philly to hang out at Geno's and eat whiz wits. They went there to win. And so when a guy like Kelly walks in, they will listen, or they will leave. They will practice hard, play hard, and "finish" (one of Kelly's favorite words). No more second half meltdowns, and no more half effort. And they will do this because they have seen how it worked in San Francisco: Clear vision plus effort equals success. And the scary thing is? The Eagles have more talent than the Niners. Kelly's offense requires a mobile QB, a strong running back, and fast receivers. Check, check, and check (sorry Foles).

For more on Chip Kelly's coaching philosophy, go here. Pay especial attention to his views on practice and preparation, and you can see why he was, and will be, successful.