Since leaving the Philadelphia Eagles, it hasn’t been a smooth ride for Kelly.
Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly‘s run in the NFL wasn’t one that will evoke feelings of jealousy by any coach. He didn’t have the run of an Andy Reid. He wasn’t loved by the fans like Buddy Ryan. He definitely won’t be seen as a champion. It would actually be his replacement that would deliver the Vince Lombardi Trophy that so many fans hoped his innovation would guarantee.
Chip Kelly has a few fingerprints on Philly’s lone championship trophy. After all, he’s the guy that drafted Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, and Nelson Agholor. Then again, it was also Chip Kelly that shipped off DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, and Nick Foles.
Oh, and don’t forget that it was also Kelly that stuck Howie Roseman in the equipment room and gave Riley Cooper a five-year, $25 million deal with $8 million fully guaranteed.
There were days where it seemed that Kelly was a spy sent by the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Giants to destroy the Eagles from the inside, and since his firing that was seemingly one year overdue, the San Francisco 49ers decided to move on after a single season, one in which he crafted a less-than-impressive 2-14 win-loss total.
He also managed to finagle his way into the head coaching position with the UCLA Bruins, but he’s only been able to craft a 7-17 record while there with no Bowl appearances. What’s worse is that has been despite the fact that most of the Pac-12’s teams have been experiencing mediocrity, but even with all of that being said, that may be the least of Chip Kelly’s problems.
To every Philadelphia Eagles fan. Thank your luck stars that this guy is gone.
Leading a football program is, no doubt, tough, but it’s going to be even tougher if you don’t have any players to coach. Get a load of this. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, around 30 members of the Bruins football program united in support behind a document that states they “do not trust UCLA to act in their best interest, particularly in regard to their health”
A corresponding tweet was sent out on stating the following.
"UCLA football players are demanding that a “third-party health official” be on hand for all football activities to see that protocols for COVID-19 are followed, saying they don’t trust coach Chip Kelly’s program to act in their best interest."
It probably needs to be mentioned that the document doesn’t provide any examples, and as of right now, there’s no reason to state that any of this should be used to create a Chip Kelly feeding frenzy, but isn’t it ironic that a man who tried to slaughter DeSean Jackson’s character and failed in every relationship as a professional coach to connect with any athlete that was an alpha male is mentioned as being the head of a program that doesn’t have its players best interest at heart?
Maybe Kelly is better suited to be an offensive coordinator. Head coaches are leaders of men, and Kelly seems to be lacking in leadership ability. His run with the Oregon Ducks ended eight years ago, and the farther we get from it, his legacy feels like a Snapchat post, fading in its presence.
UCLA boasts 25 varsity teams that span some of the most celebrated programs in college athletics. In total, this proud university has produced 118 NCAA championships at the Division I level. Not one of them is for football. That won’t change with Chip pacing the sidelines. You can count on that.