Falcons to block most of staff from Shanahan; Chip Kelly a legit option

As for Shanahan's replacement, there was a report by Fox Sports last week that the Falcons would consider former Philadelphia, San Francisco and Oregon head coach Chip Kelly. Many quickly dismissed that possibility (including yours truly). But I've since learned that Kelly has evolved into a legitimate candidate, for two reasons:

• Being fired from two NFL jobs has humbled Kelly to a degree. He now acknowledges on some level that he will have to tweak his philosophy about a sped-up offense if he intends to remain an NFL coach. The Falcons value Kelly's offensive mind but they obviously have no intention of subjecting Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and their primary weapons to a system where the offense is constantly running a form of a two-minute offense. The ripple effect to the defense also would be damaging, and it's worth noting here that Quinn, above all else, is a defensive coach.

• The Falcons' offensive coordinator's job is an attractive one. But there aren't many prime candidates available on the market. Two of the more attractive options were former San Diego coach Mike McCoy, who became the offensive coordinator in Denver two weeks ago, and former San Francisco and Buffalo OC Greg Roman, who just took a job in Baltimore. So Kelly becomes a more viable option.

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