In system vs. stars battle, Chip Kelly's dealing of LeSean McCoy makes him man to watch in upcoming NFL draft

Chip Kelly is the newest Broad Street Bully, and he just became the star of this year's NFL draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles' head coach stunned the football world Tuesday evening when Philadelphia reportedly shipped hugely popular running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso.

The Shady dealing proved again what Kelly made clear last offseason when he got rid of DeSean Jackson, another spotlight player: The true offensive weapon in Philly is Kelly himself, and his ego is large enough that two of the most exciting players in football are now elsewhere in the belief that the coach doesn't need marquee names in a star-driven league.

That became brutally clear to veteran linebacker Trent Cole, who had his place in the Kelly firmament blotted out by the acquisition of Alonso. Presumably upon learning of McCoy's release after 10 seasons with Philadelphia, Cole tweeted:

No need to caption that because Kelly is the man in all the photos now. And next month's draft sets up to be another all-eyes-on-me moment for the former Oregon head coach. Kelly has reportedly made it clear that he covets his former quarterback, Marcus Mariota, and that has triggered speculation that the Eagles will make another move between now and the end of April. The Eagles have the 20th overall pick, but they need a quarterback and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need depth. A blockbuster deal for the top pick could make Mariota the 10th former Duck to join Kelly in Philly.

For now it's all social media fodder, but Kelly's fearlessness has made anything possible. It is unclear who will take the snaps from center when the Eagles start the season – even though Nick Foles was better than adequate before he got hurt last season – and now it's unclear who will be in the backfield. Nothing is clear, other than the offensive product will be wide open and eminently watchable.

Tuesday's trade made a good amount of sense for the Eagles, in that Alonso had a terrific rookie season in 2013 (before losing last season to a knee injury) and the former Duck will be comfortable with Kelly. The Eagles need more impact players on defense, as they fizzled late in both of Kelly's first two seasons. Home losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys last year showed Philadelphia lacks some heft behind its defensive line, and no amount of offensive wizardry can overcome that. Alonso certainly helps, and perhaps for several years to come.

The more pressing question is whether Kelly's magic can work in the NFL. There have been fireworks in Philadelphia since the moment Kelly arrived, and a playoff appearance in Year 1 was a minor earthquake for a team that had faded under Andy Reid, but the Eagles don't seem built for a deep playoff run yet. The Cowboys and New York Giants both have more offensive firepower than the Eagles now, and those teams also have veteran quarterbacks. Kelly's system has enjoyed quite the honeymoon over his first two seasons, but missing the playoffs two straight years would not play well in Philly – especially when fans have now had to shelve the jerseys of two of their favorite players. At some point the questions may morph from, "What will he think of next?" to "What is he thinking?"

That makes the Eagles' offseason choices all the more compelling. If Kelly brings in a good running back like C.J. Spiller (dumped by Buffalo on Tuesday) or drafts a top-flight prospect like Todd Gurley, he looks even smarter by trading for a talented defender in Alonso without losing that much on offense. If he moves up for Mariota, the offense gets another jolt of excitement and perhaps another season of leeway from fans.

But no matter what Kelly does in free agency or in Chicago at the draft, this team is now a litmus test for system-over-stars, and this season in particular will show if the system can create the stars the way it did at Oregon.

If it can, Kelly may turn out to be the revolutionary he is billed to be. If it can't, the revolution may quickly devolve into a coup.