Chip Kelly

Charles "Chip" Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the former head coach at the University of Oregon. During his four seasons at Oregon, he led the team to three Pac-12 Conference championships and four BCS game appearances.

Early life and education
Kelly is a native of New Hampshire, and attended Manchester Central High School and earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from the University of New Hampshire in 1990. He played quarterback at Manchester Central and defensive back at the University of New Hampshire.

Early coaching years
He broke into the coaching ranks in 1990 at Columbia University, where he served as secondary and special teams coach for the freshman team. The next year he was outside linebackers and strong safeties coach for the varsity team. In 1992 he went to the University of New Hampshire as the running backs coach. He left to become the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins University for one season. He returned to his alma mater as the running backs coach for the next three seasons (1994–96). He changed to the offensive line coach for two seasons (1997–98).

Kelly was promoted to offensive coordinator at New Hampshire (1999–2006). The Wildcats' offenses averaged better than 400 yards per game of total offense in seven of his eight seasons and more than 30 points per game in his final four seasons.

In 2004, the school broke 29 offensive school records; compiling 5,446 yards of total offense and scoring 40 or more points in seven games. Their best offensive output was in 2005 when the Wildcats finished second nationally in total offense (493.5 ypg), third in scoring (41.7 ppg) and fifth in passing (300.1 ypg). They completed the season with an 11–2 record.

He was named the College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston following the 2005 season in addition to being selected as “one of college football’s hottest coaches” by American Football Monthly. In 2006, quarterback Ricky Santos won the Walter Payton Award under Kelly's guidance, after Santos finished second in balloting for the award in 2005.

University of Oregon
Chip Kelly led Oregon football to new territory after taking over as head coach in 2009. He coached the University of Oregon to BCS games in each of his four seasons as head coach; the 2010 Rose Bowl, 2011 BCS National Championship Game, 2012 Rose Bowl, and 2013 Fiesta Bowl. He coached Oregon to three consecutive outright conference titles from 2009-2011 and a conference division title in 2012. Oregon won its second consecutive BCS bowl game after they defeated #5 Kansas State in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl.

He was named the 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, 2010 Walter Camp Coach of the Year, 2010 Sporting News Coach of the Year, and 2010 Associated Press Coach of the Year.

Offensive coordinator (2007–2008)
Kelly was hired as offensive coordinator at Oregon in February 2007. His potent spread offense attack was an instant success at Oregon.

In his first season as offensive coordinator at Oregon, the Ducks led the Pac-10 in scoring (38.15 ppg) and total offense (467.54 ypg), and also became the highest scoring team while amassing the most yards in the history of Oregon football. Prior to Kelly's arrival at Oregon, Dennis Dixon struggled in his first three seasons at quarterback. Under Kelly's guidance, Dixon was the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

In 2008, the Ducks once again led the Pac-10 in scoring (41.9 ppg) and total offense (484.8 ypg), while breaking the school record marks set the previous season.

Head coach (2009–2012)
On March 31, 2009, Oregon announced that head coach Mike Bellotti would be promoted to athletic director; consequently, Kelly would be promoted as head coach.

2009
Kelly helped the Ducks gain national attention in 2009 after an upset of the then #5 USC Trojans on October 31. Kelly became the first Pac-10 coach to win an outright conference championship in his first season, sending the Ducks to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995. Oregon also became the first Pac-10 team to win a conference title by two games since Washington accomplished the feat in 1991. On December 7, 2009 Kelly was named Pac-10 Coach of the year. He was the second Ducks coach to earn the honor, the other being Rich Brooks (two times).

2010
Prior to the 2010 season, Kelly suspended Jeremiah Masoli for the season after the quarterback pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary charges, marking the second year in a row that a key player was suspended. Masoli was later dismissed from the team following an arrest for marijuana possession and several driving infractions.

In early October, Kelly led the team to a #1 spot on the AP, Harris, and USA Today Coaches Poll, followed a few weeks later by a #1 BCS ranking. With a 37–20 win over the Oregon State Beavers on December 4, 2010, Kelly led the Ducks to a 9–0 finish in conference play, winning their second consecutive outright Pac-10 title. With Darron Thomas at quarterback and Doak Walker Award winner LaMichael James at running back, the Ducks averaged 49.3 points and 537.5 yards per game in the regular season.

In December, following an undefeated 12–0 season and an end-of-season #2 BCS ranking, Oregon was selected to play the #1 Auburn Tigers in the BCS national championship game on January 10, 2011. The Tigers, out of the Southeastern Conference, were coached by Gene Chizik, and had the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback in Cam Newton. The Ducks lost, 22–19, on a last-second, 19-yard field goal by Wes Byrum.

In recognition of his coaching achievements, Kelly received the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award, the Walter Camp Coach of the Year award and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the second year running. Kelly also won the AP Coach of the Year.

2011
The 2011 season began with the #3 Ducks facing the #4 LSU Tigers in the Cowboys Classic where they were defeated 40-27. Oregon won their next nine games, including a 53-30 blowout victory at #3 Stanford.

A consecutive trip back to the BCS Championship game appeared to be a strong possibility, but they were defeated 38-35 by #18 USC when an Oregon field goal attempt failed as time expired.

The Ducks won their third straight Pac-12 championship title after defeating UCLA in the inaugural Pac-12 Football Championship Game. They represented the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl and defeated #10 Wisconsin 45–38. It was their second Rose Bowl appearance in three years and their sixth overall. This was Oregon's third consecutive year in a BCS bowl game.

The Ducks finished the season 12–2 (8–1 Pac-12) with a #4 final season ranking.

2012
Oregon's all-time leading rusher LaMichael James decided to forgo his senior season in 2012 for the NFL and starting quarterback Darron Thomas, with a career starting record of 24-2, surprisingly also decided to leave early for the NFL. However this did not stop Chip Kelly and his team from having arguably the best season in school history.

Led by redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota at quarterback and senior tailback Kenjon Barner, Oregon rolled to ten straight victories before finally falling to #14 Stanford in overtime 17-14 on November 17. Oregon had two opportunities to beat Stanford with a field goal but both attempts failed. Kelly's Ducks would rebound to beat #16 Oregon State in the Civil War for the fifth straight year and play #5 Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks proved to be too much for Kansas State as they prevailed to a 35-17 victory in Oregon's fourth consecutive year in a BCS bowl game.

The Ducks finished the season 12–1 (8–1 Pac-12) with a #2 ranking, putting them in the top five of the final season rankings for the third straight season.

NFL interest
In the spring of 2009, Jon Gruden and Kelly spent several days in Tampa, Florida going over theories, progressions, and offensive strategies. In November 2010, Kelly visited Pete Carroll at the Seattle Seahawks practice facility during an Oregon bye week.

In January 2012, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers interviewed Kelly for the head coach position but he declined to take the job because he had "unfinished business to complete" with the Ducks.

During the 2012 offseason, Kelly met with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to discuss how he operated the "blur" offense that he ran at Oregon. New England then implemented a no-huddle hurry-up offense during the 2012 NFL season. Oregonian columnist John Canzano speculated that Kelly was waiting for the New England Patriots head coaching position to become available.

In early January 2013, numerous NFL teams expressed interest and Kelly was interviewed by the Buffalo Bills, the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. After a seven hour meeting with the Browns followed by a nine hour meeting with the Eagles, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Kelly decided to remain at Oregon.

Philadelphia Eagles
On January 16, 2013, Kelly, accepted the offer from Philadelphia and became the head coach of the Eagles, despite previously saying he would stay at Oregon.

Personality
Kelly is known for speaking from one side of his mouth at rapid pace. He frequently provides short and abrupt answers to reporters. His answers have been referred to as "chipisms", many of which are documented on a twitter page that is dedicated to them. ESPN blogger Ted Miller describes Kelly as being "funny, biting, pithy, strange, fiery and surprising when talking to reporters."

Despite his fairly charismatic personality, Kelly is reluctant to discuss his life outside of football. He has a small, tight group of friends back home in Manchester, New Hampshire who never speak about him to reporters.

Fans at Autzen Stadium have given Kelly the nickname "Big Balls Chip" as a result of his unpredictable in-game play-calling, such as fourth-down attempts, trick plays and two-point conversions. His in-game coaching has also been called stubborn and unconventional.

Kelly gained national acclaim for responding to a season ticket holder's letter demanding a refund for his expenses after traveling to see Oregon's 19–8 loss to Boise State, which ended with Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount responding to a Bronco player's taunts by punching him in the face. Kelly replied to the man with a personal check written out for his travel costs (exactly $439); in response, the fan wrote him a thank-you note enclosing the original check, which he did not cash and made copies to frame.

In November 2012, Kelly was featured in a UPS commercial where the shipping business known for handling logistical challenges sees its catchphrase turned into "Duckgistics."