Taking A Close Look At Chip Kelly As A Potential Offensive Coordinator For Georgia Tech

Chip Kelly is firmly on the Georgia Tech coaching radar and has already interviewed for the job with the Yellow Jackets this past week and caught practice. Georgia Tech is looking to nail its next hire and get someone who can elevate the offense and take it to new heights in 2026. Let’s take a look at Kelly as an offensive coordinator and what he brings to the table.

Background/Resume

His career began as a player when he played for New Hampshire as a quarterback and a safety from 1981 to 1984. After his playing career was over, he would become an assistant at Columbia University, where he coached for two seasons.

In 1992, he returned to his alma mater, New Hampshire and became the running backs coach for a season. After departing from New Hampshire, he would get a big break and be named the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins University.

Kelly served in a variety of roles that spanned 14 seasons at his alma mater, New Hampshire, where he would return from 1994 to 2006. He was the offensive line coach from 1997-1998, and was named the offensive coordinator during the 1999 season. He would serve until 2006. He coached Ricky Santos to the Walter Payton Award as the most outstanding player in the FCS in 2006.

Kelly then left for the Oregon Ducks, where he made a name for himself. He began there as the quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator. A role he served in from 2007-2009. After serving in that role and obtaining a top offense in the country, Kelly was promoted to head coach. In his first season as the head coach, he guided the Ducks to a 10-3 record and a trip to the Rose Bowl. In his tenure with the Ducks, he compiled a 46-7 overall record with wins in the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. He became the first coach in program history to guide the Ducks to three consecutive conference championships before leaving in 2012.

He then went on to the NFL, where he was named the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. In his first season with the Eagles, he guided them to the postseason and an NFC East division title. In his three seasons with the Eagles (2013-2016), Philadelphia ranked third in points per game (26.9) and third in total offense (392.8 yards per game).

After his stint with the Eagles, he served as head coach for one season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. He guided the 49ers to the fourth-best rushing attack as they gained 2,019 yards on the ground in his lone season as head coach.

Kely would return to college and coach for the UCLA Bruins, where he was the head coach from 2018-2023. He finished with a 35-34 record and guided the Bruins to the No.17 rushing attack in 2023, and set a school record with 503.6 total yards per game in 2022.

After his tenure with the Bruins, Kelly went to coach the Ohio State Buckeyes as an offensive coordinator. In his lone season with the Buckeyes, he guided Ohio State to a 14-2 record and a national championship in the first year of the 12-team playoff. The Buckeyes finished with the No.14 scoring offense (35.7 points per game), and the No.30 total offense (429.4 yards per game).

For his great work with the Buckeyes, he spent time back in the NFL in 2025 with the Las Vegas Raiders before being let go midseason, and is a free agent again.

Pluses:

Ton of experience: One thing coach Chip Kelly has is 34 years of coaching experience, and nobody can take that away from him. He is one of the best offensive minds you will find, and through his experience, he has coached at a high level. He has spent 30 years at the collegiate level and four years as an NFL head coach. The experience will be valuable for the Yellow Jackets.

An offensive savant: Say what you want, but you probably aren’t going to find a better offensive mind in the country than Chip Kelly. He routinely produced top units in rushing, passing, total yards, and touchdowns. He’s been doing it for years, and how he runs his schemes allows his players to flourish and play at a high level consistently. He would make Georgia Tech infinitely better and a top offense in the country. He gets the most out of his players, and they play well under him. Offensively Georgia Tech wouldn’t miss a beat.

Minuses:

Recruiting could be an issue: Even when Chip Kelly was at the prestigious Ohio State University, he didn’t like to recruit players. He’s been known for that stigma at several stops, including the UCLA Bruins. Essentially, he just wants to coach and have the players at his disposal. That would be more taxing on members of the staff who would have to go out and recruit at a high level, and find players who fit his scheme.

He won’t stay long: The unfortunate thing with Kelly is that he usually does a great job, and the bigger offers come, and he leaves. He coached Ohio State in 2024 to a national championship and immediately left for the NFL. It would be the same thing if he took the Georgia Tech offense to new heights. Head coach Brent Key would be tasked with finding another offensive coordinator in a short amount of time. Now, it just depends on whether Key wants a long-term solution or a short-term one at the offensive coordinator position. Kelly would likely be short-term.

Will Georgia Tech Hire Chip Kelly?

It will be a story to watch as Coach Key goes through the evaluative period and ultimately comes to a decision. There are a lot of positives and things that Kelly can bring to the table that could help the Yellow Jackets thrive. The only pitfall is getting him to stay long-term. Realistically, he could be out after a year and chase a bigger fish. Does Coach Key want to go through this process again a year from now? Those are some of the things he will have to ask himself when evaluating Kelly as a viable candidate.

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•Report: Top G5 Coordinator Will Interview With Georgia Tech Today For OC Position