Chip Controls the Final 53

Chip Kelly has final say on the 53-man roster. All coaches should have control of who makes the team and who doesn’t. But that isn’t the case. Good stuff here from Zach Berman.

Kelly is the only new hire this offseason who has final say on the 53-man roster. That includes Andy Reid in Kansas City, where general manager John Dorsey has the final decision on the 53-man roster.

In Cleveland, where Kelly was also a candidate, Joe Banner has final say on the 53-man roster.

When Roseman was asked directly about who has final say on the 53-man roster when camp opened, he evaded the question.

“We don’t get into the decision-making here,” Roseman said. “We do that together. We spend a lot of time together as a staff. We spend a lot of time together, Chip and I, and all those things have really worked out. We’ve had discussions. It’s OK to have debate and discussions. We go forward together as one.”

Though it’s true that Kelly and Roseman work together, it’s relevant to know who has the final say on a decision. There will be players released or kept on Saturday who were Roseman’s draft picks, or players released or kept that played for Kelly at Oregon and Kelly has a prior relationship with.

And if the partnership between the head coach and general manager continues for as long as they believe it will, then there will be decisions that will be looked back on in a few years as either good or bad decisions.

Crazy to think Joe Banner controls the roster in CLE. Very smart man, but not a football guy. Great business mind. Knows more football than he’s given credit for, but I just don’t see him controlling the roster.

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