The first day of the 2015 NFL Draft lacked any real drama, but that was due to the fact that Chip Kelly isn't as crazy as some think he is.
Sports Illustrated's Peter King did a phone interview on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday and was asked whether any real possibility of a trade at the top of the draft existed.
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King basically told Eisen that neither the Tampa Bay Bucs, owners of the top pick, nor the Tennessee Titans, who had the No. 2, were entertaining offers from anyone other than - you guessed it - the Philadelphia Eagles' maverick coach.
The rationale, King explained, was simple. Both teams wanted to see how far Kelly would go to try to acquire Oregon quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. Kelly recruited Mariota to Oregon when he was the Ducks coach.
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"I wrote this on Thursday, the morning of the draft, that the Titans were leaving a light on for Chip Kelly," King told Eisen. " ... The Tennessee Titans don't know Chip Kelly very much. But all they heard from everybody around the league is that Chip Kelly was going absolutely psycho to try to get Marcus Mariota.
"So the last thing that the Titans want to do is say absolutely not, we're not trading this pick. They want to hear what the offers are. So why wouldn't you wait to see if Chip Kelly's going to offer you Sam Bradford and four (No. 1 picks)? And if Chip Kelly's going to do something insane, then let's hear it; let's wait for it."
Alas, Kelly was not insane. As King pointed out, Kelly said in March that the Eagles were not going to mortgage their franchise for any one single player - that player being Mariota.
"There was a lot of hue and a lot of cry saying, 'Oh yes, he will.' Oh no, he didn't," King said.
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