Chip Kelly NFL Rumors: Cleveland Browns Or Philadelphia Eagles?

Let's take a look at the two teams that would be pursuing Oregon Ducks football head coach Chip Kelly. Which team would be most ready to implement the type of offense Kelly wants to run?

And the Browns are expected to be in the Chip Kelly sweepstakes, which kick off in earnest after Thursday's Fiesta Bowl.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 31, 2012

Two sources said Eagles are still seriously chasing Chip Kelly.

— Jason Cole (@JasonColeYahoo) December 30, 2012

The Cleveland Browns do have quarterbacks who have played in spread offenses. Brandon Weeden had incredible success in moving the football around at Oklahoma State, and Colt McCoy did a solid job running and passing at Texas. But both of those offenses really didn't involve the option all that much and focused more on the principle of distributing the football around.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a set of wheels in Michael Vick, but he's also breaking down and very injury-prone and probably wouldn't want to handle the football too much in open field. And Nick Foles is probably the worst possible marriage for Kelly in an NFL offense--he's not close to being mobile enough to create plays with his legs.

Both teams do have excellent runners. The Browns have Trent Richardson as their number one option, although he is definitely better suited for a pro-style offense. LeSean McCoy of the Eagles might be better suited for Kelly having spent plenty of time running out of shotgun. But there's no doubt that if Kelly chooses between either of these teams there will be plenty of adjusting all of them will have to do.

Really, it might just come down to a matter of who has more money. And the Eagles generally compensate incredibly well, so they're in a good spot if they get into a bidding war for the Chipper. Additionally, Philadelphia has a history of winning that might suit Kelly.

But there's a benefit to playing on a team that hasn't performed historically well. He'd have the benefit of low expectations in Cleveland to build his team and tinker for at least two years before the pressure would start coming down on him.

Kelly will then probably end up trading for the quarterback he wants the most to run his scheme. Wouldn't be surprised to see Darron Thomas get a flyer and a few other former spread option quarterbacks out there (Foles's replacement, Matt Scott is one possibility).

There are so many options for Chip, and two teams already seem to be in hot pursuit to get him.

The Eagles and Browns will aggressively pursue Chip Kelly. Which team would you pick if you were Chip? cbsprt.co/ChipNFL

— CBSSports.com (@CBSSports) December 30, 2012