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In the end, Chip Kelly chose the NFL, giving the Eagles their guy.
Philadelphia hired Kelly on Wednesday, just 10 days after he decided to stay at Oregon. The 49-year-old Kelly, known as an offensive innovator, becomes the 21st coach in team history and replaces Andy Reid, who was fired on Dec. 31 after a 4-12 season. He'll be introduced at a news conference Thursday.
Kelly, who was 46-7 in four years at Oregon, interviewed with the Eagles, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills in a two-day span after leading the fast-flying Ducks to a victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 3.
The Eagles are known to have interviewed 11 candidates, including two meetings with Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. All along, Kelly was thought to be Philadelphia's first choice in a long, exhaustive process that took many twists.
"Chip Kelly will be an outstanding head coach for the Eagles," owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. "He has a brilliant football mind. He motivates his team with his actions as well as his words. He will be a great leader for us and will bring a fresh energetic approach to our team."
The visor-wearing Kelly built Oregon into a national powerhouse. The Ducks went to four straight BCS bowl games and have won three conference championships.
Bears choose CFL's Trestman as coach
The Chicago Bears hired Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman on Wednesday to replace the fired Lovie Smith and gave him two tasks — fix the offense and lead the team to the playoffs on a consistent basis.
How he meshes with quarterback Jay Cutler could go a long way toward determining his success.
It's the first head coaching job in the NFL for Trestman, a longtime assistant in the league who spent the past five seasons coaching the CFL's Alouettes and led them to two Grey Cup titles. Trestman was an offensive coordinator with Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona and Oakland.
Trestman wasted little time starting to assemble his staff.
A person familiar with the situation said the Bears hired New Orleans Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer as their offensive coordinator. The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, reported on their website that special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was leaving to become Chicago's assistant head coach/special teams coordinator.
Around the league
Giants • Quarterback Eli Manning will replace Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers on the NFC roster for the Pro Bowl. Rodgers dropped out because of knee and ankle issues. This will be Manning's second Pro Bowl; he played in the game in Honolulu following the 2008 season.
Cardinals • Arizona interviewed Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and plans to talk to Indianapolis offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.
Chiefs • Andy Reid is putting the final touches on his first coaching staff in Kansas City, hiring former Jaguars offensive line coach Andy Heck to fulfill the same duty with the Chiefs. Reid also announced that Kevin O'Dea will be an assistant special teams coach. —
Conference championships
Sunday
• San Francisco at Atlanta, 1 p.m., Ch. 13
• Baltimore at New England, 4:30 p.m., Ch. 2