Kelly wants a team as ‘fearless’ as he is

After the Eagles fired him last month amid widespread speculation he’d lost the locker room and his fast-paced offensive mojo, Chip Kelly retreated to his native New Hampshire and fielded hang-in-there calls from a list of big names.

The group included Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Bill Parcells and a Hall of Fame executive in Bill Polian.

Combined Super Bowl titles: nine.

“It made me feel good that there are people in this game that truly care about where the game is going, and what this league is all about, and what direction it’s heading,” Kelly said.

Some of the best coaches in NFL history appreciate Kelly, whose unconventional work wasn’t as cherished by the Eagles (total Super Bowl titles: 0) or observers who think his methods are best-suited for college.

Given that as a backdrop, perhaps it’s not surprising that Kelly’s tone was more defiant than apologetic Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium.

The big question, of course, was what had Kelly learned during his three-season NFL introduction?

Some of his former players with the Eagles, for example, have said he didn’t relate well to NFL players after his controlling style succeeded at Oregon (record: 45-7).

Kelly was asked about his hurry-up attack that features a scheme the NFL borrowed from college.

Can the “read option” be an integral part of an NFL attack?

The Eagles ranked last in time of possession in each of his three seasons and — perhaps not coincidentally — their defense didn’t rank higher than 28th in yards allowed.

[...] not surprisingly, CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke sounded thrilled to have the same version of Kelly that went 10-6 in his first two seasons with the Eagles.

In his haste, Kelly said he just brought “a pair of sweats and T-shirt.”

[...] he said his lack of wardrobe was why his introductory news conference, oddly, came a week after his hiring: “(Baalke) said ‘Just jump on a plane’ and I did,” Kelly said.