PHILADELPHIA -- Chip Kelly was too busy during this Philadelphia Eagles' offseason to get much reading done. When he does, the coach said, it's usually in the evenings while he's alone in his office at the Eagles' NovaCare Complex.

"It gets quiet here in the offseason," Kelly said.

Asked his favorite book, Kelly did not hesitate.

"The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," Kelly said. "It's just a very interesting read and he's just a very interesting person."

Kelly may see some parallels between Franklin's life and his own. Franklin was born in Boston while Kelly grew up in nearby New Hampshire. Franklin ran away to Philadelphia at age 17. It took Kelly a lot longer to get to the City of Brotherly Love. But when he was hired by the Eagles in 2013, Kelly arrived in a city with a Ben Franklin Bridge, a Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Franklin's preserved house and the Franklin Institute science museum. An abstract sculpture of Franklin peers down on the Vine Street Expressway that cuts through the heart of Center City.

A recent Washington Post article about Kelly revealed he hates green vegetables and likes drinking beer. Franklin is often quoted as saying, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." It is not clear how Franklin felt about broccoli (indeed, the beer quote may not be accurate at all, but it looks good on a T-shirt).

Kelly said he read Franklin's autobiography "a couple years ago," which is around the time he was hired by the Eagles. It's possible the curious-minded Kelly was doing some research on his potential new home.

Or maybe he just found the most loquacious of Founding Fathers fascinating.

"I'm just amazed at what he accomplished in his life," Kelly said. "You kind of feel like you don't do anything when you figure out what he did."