Chip Kelly Bails On Oregon, Heads East To The Eagles

TheChampionsTour12 years ago

Former Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly is headed to the NFL as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, as multiple news outlets reported earlier today.

Kelly leaves behind the Oregon program under a massive NCAA probe (heh) that may lay the sanction-hammer down in Eugene, handicapping what has become one of the premier college football programs in the country.

Kelly’s high-paced, read-option style of offense might just fly in the NFL like it did at Oregon, as the pass-heavy nature of college football has seemingly transitioned into the pro game. I can just imagine the look on Jim Harbaugh’s face when ol’ Chip opens up his NFL Blitz-style playbook and goes for two after the first touchdown of the game.

Chip is an interesting character, for sure. He’s been to BCS bowls three of the last four years, including one trip to the BCS National Championship in 2011, transforming the Ducks into the most dominant Pac-12 team of the decade. But the real story here is what Kelly might be leaving behind in the Great Northwest. Bowl bans, scholarship limitations, and God knows what else could be on the horizon for the green, gold, metallic green, neon yellow, pewter, piss yellow and radioactive green. Perhaps Kelly is bolting for the NFL ala Pete Carroll before the NCAA brought down the ban-hammer on the USC Trojans.

Kelly is a great coach, that’s for sure. But why leave Oregon when you have Nike CEO “Uncle” Phil Steele filling your pockets with all that Jordan money, and head to freaking Philly where coaching careers go to die? It’s anyone’s guess.

Sure, it’s the NFL and it’s the top one percent of football coaches everywhere, but Kelly is leaving behind an absolutely sweet gig in Oregon. Now, we sit and watch as the NCAA puts the launch codes into the computer and prepares to nuke the Ducks into oblivion.

[via CBS Sports]

Image via wgrz