Could a Holiday Party Have Contributed to Kelly Firing?

Some of you out there enjoy going to your annual holiday parties.

Others, would rather not spend free time with coworkers if they don't have to.

It seems that former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly agrees with the latter.

According to a report, an Eagles holiday party could have contributed to Jeffrey Lurie's decision to part ways with the misunderstood head coach last week.

For instance, Lurie has always taken considerable pride in the team’s holiday party, going to great expense to throw the large gathering, with it becoming something of a prized tradition with him. According to numerous sources with knowledge of the situation, Kelly basically refused to attend it this year on its normal Monday night, and ultimately Lurie had to move it to a Friday afternoon onsite to facilitate Kelly’s schedule. Kelly argued Monday night would disrupt the coach’s planning for the week — a fair enough claim — but Lurie apologized to the organization for the haphazard way the party was conducted this year and told others it would not happen in that fashion ever again.

Of course it's not the sole reason of the firing, but it contributes to the common sentiment of Kelly's struggle to relate to people and his lack of "emotional intelligence."

Here's more from the report:

In and of itself, it’s not a big deal, but given the timing, with the team falling out of the playoffs around Christmas and with the atmosphere in the organization growing more toxic, it exemplified the growing divide between the way Kelly operated and what Lurie wanted his organization to be. “That’s just part of a long list of reasons why Jeffrey made this move,” said one source close to the situation, “but the whole thing with the Christmas party just epitomizes the split from what Jeffrey wants the Eagles to be, and what he felt like they were becoming.”

Monday has been an off day for the players since Kelly took over the team, but apparently this wasn't sufficient (or efficient) enough for Kelly.

The report also indicates the several employees were threatening to leave the organization altogether if Kelly remained employed beyond this season.

So it seems that Kelly was fired for a multitude of reasons, not just personnel related or a sub .500 record, rather his perception inside the organization and how he was thought of by his peers.

--PG