The Philadelphia Eagles weren't going to release DeMarco Murray following what has been a disastrous first season for the big-money free agent signee. Instead, it seemed readily apparent that former head coach Chip Kelly was prepared to throw Murray behind multiple lesser options on the depth chart at running back. 

Now that Kelly has officially been fired, there's a really good chance that whoever comes in to replace him as head coach will be forced to see what Murray can bring to the table. 

The 27-year-old running back signed a five-year, $40 million contract with $21 million guaranteed this past March. He still has $16 million guaranteed on said contract. 

Despite the huge contract, Murray recently took a back seat to both Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles on the depth chart. He's tallied just seven rushes for 30 yards over the past two games and has put up just 3.5 yards per rush on the year. 

Murray reportedly told Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie that he had no confidence in Kelly immediately prior to the coach being fired. 

While that doesn't tell us whether Murray played a role in Kelly's sudden ousting, it does tell us a story of at least one current Eagles player not necessarily going to bat for his former coach. 

From a fantasy perspective this news is pretty big. 

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will coach the team's final game of the season against the New York Giants on Sunday. It's likely that he will be told to give Murray a ton of touches in order to appease the running back heading into the offseason. 

More than that, Murray's ability to make an impact next season grew signficantly with the firing of a head coach that he had fallen out of favor under. As you well know, whoever is called on to replace Kelly will look to utilize the most talented players on the roster. In this, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year falls under that category.