When Chip Kelly was hired away from Oregon by the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2013, every team in the NFC East reached out to the one man who saw his schemes on a daily basis from the other side of the ball; Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti.
Aliotti, who is now enjoying retirement after coaching the 2013 season under Mark Helfrich in Eugene, told the Oregonian that he was the coaching equivalent of a blue-chip recruit when Kelly took the Eagles job.
"I have been asked by everybody in the NFC East..." he explained to the Oregonian.
"The Giants asked me to come back when Chip got the first job. I didn't feel right doing that. Some teams have called when they're getting ready to play the Eagles and they call and have certain questions on the thing."
Even after fielding interest from a number of teams, Aliotti explains that his loyalty, and insight into Kelly's approach and offensive philosophy was never really up for grabs for just anyone.
"Unless I know the guy and he's a good friend, I don't get involved with that."
Aliotti could have easily parlayed his knowledge into an NFL coaching or consulting gig, but that's just not the type of person he is. But if you're an NFL team in that situation, you've got to at least ask I suppose.