Until Chip Kelly's system bottoms out and he finishes dead last in the NFC East, he won't have to explain this offseason to anyone, as confounding as it might be.
He's been everything he promised to be in the NFL thus far with a combined two-year record of 20-12 with a playoff appearance and a second-place finish in the NFC East a year ago that, with Nick Foles under center, may have ended up a first-place finish.
But there might be one thing in particular he needs to answer for.
Of his many Chip-isms, Kelly preaches durability among his most sacred qualities for a pro football player. And in his first season, he was looked at as a revolutionary for the way he approached practices, nutrition and its overall effect on his bottom injury line.
He said this, back in 2013:
"They have to understand the best ability is durability. They have to go out and play the next snap."
Then, Kelly went ahead and signed and traded for four players over the past few days who have played a combined eight games last season.
Sam Bradford has twice torn his left ACL. Walter Thurmond missed a majority of last season with a torn pectoral muscle and has never played a full 16-game season (two of his five seasons lasted only two games, while one lasted six). Kiko Alonso missed last season with a torn ACL and, and after landing Ryan Mathews, Kelly gets a running back with one full 16-game season on his docket.
Mathews missed a portion of last season with a sprained MCL and ankle sprain.
The prevailing theory, of course, is that Kelly is confident in his track record with injuries and thinks that he is simply doing something differently than everyone else. Perhaps his cocktail of diet and exercise can help some of these players stay healthy.
If he's right, imagine an offseason during which a head coach acquired the No. 1 and 12 picks in a recent NFL draft in Bradford and Mathews. Imagine if Bradford really was progressing like a No. 1 pick should.
Kelly will not have to explain anything to any of us again.
But imagine if, like every other NFL head coach, he has a laundry list of injured reserve dwellers to deal with a few weeks into the season.
Then what?
The latest Around The NFL Podcast analyzes early free agency news, including Ndamukong Suh to Miami, Devin McCourty's new deal and much more. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
