Coming into the 2016 National Football League season the bar of expectations wasn’t that high for the San Francisco 49ers who were coming off of a 5-11 season. Chip Kelly is in his first season as the head coach of the 49ers, and he joined them fresh off of posting a 26-21 record during his stint as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles which lasted nearly three years. After Kelly won the NFC East in his first year with the Eagles, he would have a mutiny on his hands as he lost the locker room there. Kelly might still have the locker room in San Francisco, but the season is slipping away from him as after the 49ers won their first game of the year, they’ve lost their last four as the campaign that most people expected them to have is in full throttle.
Prior to becoming the head coach of the Eagles, Kelly had a successful past life in college as he the head football coach of the Oregon Ducks. Kelly served as Oregon’s offensive coordinator for two years before he became the school’s head football coach in 2009 as he replaced the retiring Mike Bellotti. In four years as Oregon’s head football coach, Kelly posted a record of 46-7 which was a highlighted by a berth in the national championship game at the end of the 2010 college football season. But the allure of the National Football League was too much for Kelly to turn down which led him to joining the Eagles in 2013.
However during Kelly’s time in the National Football League, he has never been able to differentiate from the college game to the professional game in regards to how he treats his players. It is easy to control a college kid as a coach possesses his scholarship in his hands while the coach is the big man of campus. However in the NFL, the players are compensated much more than their coaches and they are the guys that are theoretically running the show. And as Kelly has never been able to adjust, the chances of him finding success in the NFL are remote at best. But there could be an escape route for him.
Last year when Steve Sarkisian was fired as the head football coach of the USC Trojans, rumors began to swirl that linked Kelly to the job. Kelly quickly squelched those rumors as he was steadfast about remaining in the National Football League which led to him joining the 49ers. But this time around Kelly could be a very wanted man as there could be a litany of big openings on college campuses that might be too much for him to pass up.
The LSU Tigers have already fired Les Miles as their head football coach, while Charlie Strong is on the hot seat with the Texas Longhorns. USC and Oregon each currently have losing records, while the Baylor Bears will be looking to make a splash with their next hire in the wake of sexual assault scandal that ultimately cost Art Briles his job there as the school’s head football coach. And you can expect all of these schools to at least put out a feeler and gauge the interest of Kelly. But would Kelly allow his ego to get in the way once again?
I’ve said it before, and I will continue to stand by it that Kelly’s style of coaching is not equipped for the National Football League, but more for the college game. Some portions of Kelly’s spread offense have had success in the NFL, but he has never warmed up to having a franchise quarterback, while he has never grasped the notion that you need stars to win in the pro game. Kelly’s undersized defenses have struggled in the NFL as they typically lose the time of possession battle due the offense scoring so quickly. Kelly can get away with this in college where there are nearly 100 players on scholarship, but it is more difficult in the NFL where there are just 53 players on the active roster which hurts his chances of winning.
When it comes to money and resources, LSU, Texas, and USC are at the top of the food chain collegiately. At USC, Kelly would have Hollywood at his back drop and he would be the star of stars as he could get the program back to what it was under current Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. Mark Helfrich replaced Kelly at Oregon, but after immediate success in Eugene, the Ducks are once again becoming a mediocre program as Kelly could be welcomed back there with open arms. LSU would welcome Kelly with open arms as the power brokers in Baton Rogue want a head coach that will put points on the board as they grew tired of the stagnant offense that was run under Miles. And If things don’t work out for Strong at Texas which could make Kelly a wanted man in Austin, he will have a very hard time saying no because the powers that be there will park a Brinks truck loaded with cash on his front porch if need be. Baylor would still be in the mix for Kelly due to their propensity of operating the spread offense. During Kelly’s time at Oregon, he was known to recruit the State of Texas heavily which is something that could definitely be on the minds of the power brokers at both Baylor and Texas.
I’m not sure which team that Kelly will be coaching in 2017, but I doubt that it will be in the National Football League as the 49ers are currently a train wreck of a franchise. Kelly wouldn’t be the first head coach to walk away from an NFL gig in order to return to college as Nick Saban left the Miami Dolphins in 2006 to become the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the rest is history as he has gone on to win four national championships in Tuscaloosa. Bobby Petrino infamously resigned as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons with three games remaining in the 2007 NFL season to become the head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks where he went 34-17 before resigning in 2012.
It’s time for Kelly for put his ego aside and return to college where he will have a ton of success, and nobody will think any less of him for his failed run in the National Football League.
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