I originally wrote a pretty long piece on who the possible candidates are to replace the head coaching position left by Oregon’s Chip Kelly, who had, of course, accepted a job as the new head man for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Just before bedtime, though, Kelly changed his mind. And it was an extremely wise decision.
Kelly has never been shy to discuss his goal of coaching in the professional ranks. He’s said before that he wants to coach the best players in the world. He wants to coach in a league without sanctions and parents to deal with. He wants to coach in the NFL. When the sudden opportunity came for him to interview with Tampa Bay, let alone the opportunity to accept their job offer, who could have deemed it a bad decision?
Of course, by turning down the offer and changing his mind at the very last minute, Kelly made the best career decision since he… well, since he left New Hampshire for Eugene. Granted, that was only a few years ago, but let’s be honest: Kelly always makes good decisions. Once again, Ducks fans weren’t let down.
Kelly could have lived out his NFL dream and gone to Tampa Bay. Wisely, though, he clearly thought this thing through. The Buccaneers are obviously a rebuilding team, and they don’t have the talent – or the drive – on their current roster to do anything near spectacular in the next couple of years. And with the incredibly high firing rate of NFL head coaches lately, (Jim Caldwell, anyone?) where would Kelly be in three to four years from now?
He wouldn’t have turned the Bucs into contenders. You can argue with me all day on that – but it’s true. So, in three years, Kelly would be fired and looking for a new job. And, like Dennis Erickson years ago, Kelly would have to grudgingly return to the NCAA. Then what? Take over for UCLA?
No, no. The man who coined the “Win the Day” mantra is not in the business of losing football games.
In what job in the entire country – high school, college, or pro – would Kelly have everything around him to succeed? In what job would he be loved forever? And in what job would he have the best shot at furthering his dream of becoming a (successful) NFL coach? How about the job he has right now, at the University of Oregon?
Chip realized last night that taking the Tampa Bay offer was a dead end. He would not have been successful at turning that organization around. And then it would have been decided by the powers that be that Kelly’s innovative mind was made solely for the collegiate ranks.
And do you know how many guys get a second chance at the NFL after failing miserably the first time around?
Not many.
Now Kelly can get back to work and continue to be successful at Oregon. With a few more years of what he’s been doing for the past three years, more NFL opportunities will come, and you’d have to believe that at least one of them will be a better fit than the Buccaneers.
So, for now… Win the Day.
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