Chip Kelly did more than change his offensive line Thursday with the release of Evan Mathis.
He also killed the “Dream Team,” and continued to erase the influence of former Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman.
According to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, getting rid of the veteran guard all but pulls the curtain on one of the most aggressive offseasons in recent NFL memory. Of the 23 players acquired in free agency and the draft under Roseman in 2011, 22 of those players have either been cut or traded.
The only one left is center Jason Kelce, a sixth-round pick in 2011, and it’s hard to lump him in with decisions such franchising Michael Vick or signing guys such Nnamdi Asomugha or Jason Babin or Cullen Jenkins (or even Vince Young) or draft picks such as first-round disaster Danny Watkins.
Kelly has been fairly blatant in marginalizing Roseman, getting him moved out of the building the rest of the football operation is housed in. But other moves he’s made in crafting his own front office, while more subtle on the surface than getting rid of one of Roseman’s big contracts, have a similar impact on the culture he’s trying to create.
