Dictator-esque rumors dogged Chip Kelly during his tenure in Philadelphia, and according to NFL Insider Jason Cole, it may still be hurting him. Cole said on Bleacher Report (as transcribed by Brandon Lee Gowton):

“In talking to two NFL owners over the weekend, the impression that they gave is they were simply not that impressed with former Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly and the work that he did. It was not so much the X’s and O’s part, those owners talked about, it is the executive function Kelly seemed to lack.

And one of the things that they came away with was that the statement from Kelly last week, where he talked about how much he loved his players, was a clear indication of how he didn’t understand it. It came off as basically Kelly having to beg for a job to tell owners ‘Oh, I really do know how to handle this.’

In other words, what they see is a coach who does not know how to relate to players at the professional level, does not understand how to motivate players at the professional level, and ultimately might be a better fit back at the college ranks.

So right now Chip Kelly is in some dire straits if he really does intend to stay at the NFL.”

Okay, a few caveats here: We don’t know who these owners are, if they’re looking for a head coach, or if they’ve had any personal interaction with Kelly. But it’s not surprising. Whether it was accurate or not (if you’re looking for your next long-term head coach), there’s something worrisome about a guy who constantly has stories leak about how he doesn’t relate to players, know how to talk to or handle them. True or not, that’s gonna scare some owners. Then again, owners looking for a new coach – who likely just turned in a sub 5-win season – might not be all that concerned. We will hear this over and over again until Chip gets (or doesn’t get) a job, because it’s likely a real issue among owners. How much it matters to them remains to be seen.