Chip Kelly says Eagles were never close to trading for Mariota in 2015
A Chip Kelly-Marcus Mariota partnership in the NFL was nothing more than a pipe dream.
For as much talk as there was about the Philadelphia Eagles trading up with the Tennessee Titans to land the highly touted quarterback in 2015 - both leading up to that draft and for months thereafter - Kelly says it was all just outside speculation.
The now-former Eagles head coach explained on the "Know Them From Adam" podcast Wednesday that discussions between the Eagles and Titans never reached the point of discussing potential compensation for the No. 2 overall selection.
"We really didn't get into a conversation about what we can offer or can't offer, because they made it known that they really weren't looking to trade the pick," Kelly said. "I think that's all speculation that's out there, and you hear stories about (how) we offered this, we offered that. We didn't offer anything because they weren't taking any offers for it. And rightly so.
"You look at what Marcus has done in his two years in the league - one of the really bright, young quarterbacks in the NFL - and there's a reason they didn't move off that pick. They had a chance to get themselves a really good quarterback."
One report detailing a massive trade offer made by the Eagles came from FOX Sports' Peter Schrager in March 2016, nearly a year after the Mariota draft. In an appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Schrager said the Eagles offered up their first- and second-round picks in that draft, a first-round pick the following year, any one of their quarterbacks (Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez), and any player on defense (a group headlined by Fletcher Cox and Malcolm Jenkins).
Even if talks got further along than Kelly lets on, the Titans were wise to turn down any and all trade offers for the opportunity to draft the star signal-caller out of Oregon. It's become clear after just two seasons that Tennessee finally found a franchise-caliber talent at the most important position on the field.
Mariota took a significant step forward as a sophomore in 2016, completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns, and nine interceptions across 15 starts.