Why Chip Kelly Took A Demotion To Become The Ohio State OC
On their Bleav Network Oregon Ducks podcast Sco-ing Long, hosts Jonathan Stewart and Zachary Neel speculated as to why six-year UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly opted to ditch Westwood in favor of essentially a step down, taking a gig as the offensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
UCLA and Oregon, of course, will both be joining OSU in the Big Ten next fall.
"Chip wasn't happy there. They weren't really happy with Chip," Neel opined. "It's interesting. I mean, Chip, part of this thing is he hated recruiting. I mean, I think he wanted to get away from the transfer portal and recruiting. He wanted to go somewhere where he could just coach ball, and that's all that's all to do with Ohio State because they got a recruiting machine there."
Kelly finished with a 35-34 overall record during his tenure on the West Coast, having made bowl game appearances in three of his six seasons.
"They get the best players in the nation and he could just drop X's and O's, which I think is very scary," Neel continued. "I'm just very used to see what his aspirations are. Does he want to be a head coach again? Does it want to be an NFL coordinator? Is he just happy to be the Ohio State offensive coordinator for the next 15 years? Because I think that's the scariest answer. If he's just happy drawing up these plays for one of the best teams in the nation, that's when Oregon fans have to be a little bit worried.
Stewart, a two-time All-American running back and the 2007 Sun Bowl MVP while at Oregon, enjoyed a solid 11-season pro career from 2008-18 with the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants, making one Pro Bowl (and one Super Bowl, though the Panthers lost to the Peyton Manning-era Denver Broncos).
Stewart ultimately concurred with his co-host.
"Yeah, I think he's definitely just, you know, all about football," Stewart said. "I remember when he came in, you know, the first time I actually had a conversation with him, we were standing in line at the training table. I got my two steaks and he comes up. He's like, 'Hey, there's no reason why you're not going to be a 1500 yard rusher this year.'"
Kelly enjoyed his greatest success as the head coach of the Ducks, from 2009-12, when he led the squad to a 46-7 overall record and three Pac-12 championships. The Ducks appeared in bowls across each of those seasons, including two Rose Bowls (they won one). The team also made the 2010 National Championship Game, though it lost to the Auburn Tigers.
