Chip Kelly to Seahawks Rumors Offer Plenty of Intrigue
With the NFL's annual coaching carousel spinning at full speed in late January, the Seattle Seahawks have progressed this week into second interviews with a number of candidates vying to replace long-time coach Pete Carroll.
As is always the case this time of year for teams seeking a new coach, rumors have been coming in hot regarding potential successors for Carroll in Seattle. Taking the cake as the boldest report thus far, Shane Hoffmann of the Oregonian linked current UCLA coach Chip Kelly with head coach candidate Dan Quinn as a "package deal," specifically mentioning the Seahawks as a landing spot.
Formerly serving as defensive coordinator on Carroll's staff in 2013 and 2014, Quinn has been linked to the Seahawks ever since news broke of the team's decision to make a coaching change and he's slated to interview a second time with the organization this week. Interest between the two parties appears to be mutual and it wouldn't be a surprise for him to ultimately win the job.
Chip Kelly's name has surfaced as an offensive coordinator candidate with several teams, including the Seahawks, which could be an exciting match for both parties.
But Kelly's hat being thrown into the ring as an offensive coordinator would be an unexpected curveball. Though he previously held the head coaching position for the Eagles and 49ers in two separate stints, the majority of his success has come at the college level where he turned Oregon into a national powerhouse and has rebuilt UCLA into a top-25 caliber program as it prepares to join the Big Ten conference.
However, if Hoffman's report has teeth and the two coaches have discussed working together in 2024, the idea of signing Quinn and Kelly as a tandem actually would be an attractive option for the Seahawks.
From a record standpoint, Kelly's time in Philadelphia and San Francisco didn't go well. Though he posted a winning record with the Eagles and coached them to a pair of 10-win seasons, the team slipped to 6-9 in his third year and he received a pink slip with one game left to play. He only lasted one year with the 49ers, posting a 2-14 record with a rebuilding team lacking talent in all phases.
But just as he did at Oregon, where the Ducks finished in the top three in the nation in scoring in three of his four seasons at the helm, Philadelphia had a top-five scoring offense with Kelly calling the shots in 2013 and 2014. They managed to post those impressive numbers despite rolling out an uninspiring cast of quarterbacks such as an aging Michael Vick, Nick Foles, and Mark Sanchez under center.
Even in his last season with the Eagles, they still finished a respectable 13th in scoring offense with Sam Bradford and Sanchez as the quarterbacks before Kelly received his pink slip after Week 16. His one season with the 49ers didn't go well, but again, he wasn't given much to work with coaching the scrap heap left over from the team's glory years under Jim Harbaugh.
After returning to the college ranks, Kelly needed a few years to right the ship for the Bruins, as they finished 80th or worse in scoring offense in his first two years on the sidelines. But once he started to get his own recruits and had time to develop those players, results started to show, as they jumped up to 20th in scoring offense in a COVID-shortened 2020 season.
With a dynamic quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a bevy of quality skill players around him, UCLA finished 13th and eighth in scoring offense in 2021 and 2022 respectively as Kelly re-emerged as one of the sport's best offensive minds. Last season didn't go near as well offensively, but much of that boiled down to instability at quarterback and the team still went 8-5 and won a bowl game.
Considering his track record at the college level, why would Kelly want to jump back to the NFL as an offensive coordinator? While he'd likely take a significant pay cut, there's several reasons why taking a step back could pay dividends for him and the team that hires him.
For one, Kelly hasn't been quiet about his disdain for the current state of college football with the arrival of the transfer portal and rivalries being destroyed by conference realignment. From recruiting high school prospects to transfer portal prospects to managing boosters among actual football-related responsibilities, playing the role of a college head coach equates to running a large business these days, and he may be the latest to depart because of the workload.
Secondly, without having to worry about any of those administrative tasks on the plate of a head coach, Kelly could put his sole focus into crafting his offensive scheme, which still remains one of the very best at any level. Not having to concern himself with NIL payments, recruiting, or any of those burdensome tasks, less likely would be a lot more for one of the best offensive minds in the sport.
And, most importantly, Kelly likely still has an itch to be an NFL head coach again after flaming out with two teams. As far as ways to rebuild his reputation are concerned and show he learned from his past failures, nothing would put him back on the map as a prospective head coaching candidate better than orchestrating a top-tier offense in the league.
Looking at potential landing spots, Kelly has strong ties to the Pacific Northwest already given his prior success at Oregon, which makes Seattle an intriguing destination for him if he wants to come back to the league. Pairing him with Quinn, who has coached a top-five defense in Dallas the past two years, would give the franchise an experienced pair of renowned coaches with lengthy track records of success at the college and NFL level.
Having both failed as head coaches previously, Quinn and Kelly would have a chance to achieve redemption together with a talented young roster already in place, which would make for a great storyline.
What could also make the Seahawks a desirable fit for Kelly? The fact that the team has flexibility at the quarterback position. Considering he made the playoffs with Foles and nearly accomplished the feat with Sanchez in Philadelphia, teaming him up with Geno Smith could be a match made in heaven. And, at the same time, with his college background, few would be better options to develop an incoming rookie signal caller.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether or not the union of Quinn and Kelly will actually happen. But with Quinn being a finalist for multiple coaching spots, including in Seattle, there's a strong likelihood he will get his second crack at being a head coach next season and while he no longer checks of the box as an ascending young offensive prodigy, bringing Kelly on board as offensive play caller would have the potential to be a home run hire.
