Chip Kelly

Now that the Philadelphia Eagles have hired head coach Chip Kelly away from Oregon, one of the next questions to be answered is who will the team's quarterback be in 2013?

Michael Vick seems best-suited to operate Kelly's uptempo attack, which features spread formations and read-option elements. Word is, Vick is intrigued by Kelly, who could be the man to fully harness No. 7's rare athleticism given his ability, Kelly's creativity and the talent on Philadelphia's depth chart.

But ...

Vick is also due $15.5 million in 2013 with another $15.5 million coming in 2014, and his play has been on a steady decline since his return to prominence in 2010 when he wrested the starting job from Kevin Kolb. Aside from the money and his proclivity to get bitten by the injury bug, Vick also blasted teammates for failing to play hard down the stretch while ultimately deposed coach Andy Reid twisted in the wind.

Soon enough we'll know if Vick gets a clean slate in the locker room and/or a restructured offer from the front office ... or none of the above. But former Ducks are already quacking at what he might be able to do in Kelly's scheme.

"A lot of people say (Kelly's) system wouldn't translate (to the NFL), but you see the success that (49ers quarterback Colin) Kaepernick's having and (Seattle Seahawks quarterback) Russell Wilson and RGIII (Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins)," said Baltimore Ravens tight end Ed Dickson, who played for Kelly at Oregon. "You get a great quarterback like that, and you can make that system run. All it is is playing in space. It's creating one-on-one matchups. Eliminating guys that can't move laterally by making them play out in space. I think it will take a year or two, but he can make it work, depending on if he gets the right players.

"Vick could be the right guy. That's one of the guys. Another guy is on our team right now: No. 10 (Ravens practice squad quarterback Dennis Dixon, another former Duck). I'd be going after those guys."

And maybe that's what the Eagles will do. Dixon, who last played an NFL game for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, could be an option. The Eagles also own the fourth pick of the 2013 draft, though no one of RGIII's or Wilson's caliber seems readily available. Geno Smith's name may be bandied about, but his playbook at West Virginia does not mimic Kelly's.

The Eagles also have journeyman Trent Edwards and Nick Foles under contract, though they seem less-than-ideal fits for what Kelly likes to do. Kelly should already have a good read on Foles, another Pac-12 veteran, who had an up-and-down rookie year for Reid but is clearly a pocket passer.

Which brings the conversation back to Vick.

"Someone like a Michael Vick fits, as far as the zone read," said Dixon, who operated under Kelly when he was Oregon's offensive coordinator in 2007. "At the same time, you've got to be able to throw the ball, which Michael Vick does too.

"I think an NFL team will one day operate as fast as Oregon teams, and the first person to do it will be Chip Kelly. I promise you that."