One coach who knows Chip Kelly well believes the Eagles are still in pursuit of Marcus Mariota.
Nick Aliotti, who worked with Kelly for six years including four as Kelly’s defensive coordinator at Oregon, said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that he believes Kelly will continue to explore trades that put the Eagles in position to draft Mariota on Thursday night.
“If there’s a way that he can get Marcus Mariota without selling the farm, I think he’s still trying to do that,” Aliotti said.
Kelly didn’t tell Aliotti that directly, but Aliotti says that he knows Kelly well enough to know that Kelly has a plan for how he wants his offense to work, and that plan will work a lot better with a quarterback like Mariota.
“I know Chip and I have a lot of respect for Chip. He has a plan,” he said. “I’ve had no conversations with Chip so I’m not putting words in his mouth, but I really think that if he can get Marcus Mariota he’s able to do exactly what he wants to do with his offense there in Philly.”
The Eagles may not have the necessary ammunition to move all the way up to No. 2 overall and get Mariota. But don’t put it past Kelly to keep trying.