Time to pump the brakes on those Chip Kelly to the NFL stories folks. Just as clearly it looked as though Kelly would attempt to bring his up-tempo offensive mindset to the NFL and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reports now say Kelly will remain in Eugene, Oregon and stay on board as Oregon’s head football coach.
The following was reported by The Register Guard’s Adam Jude;
University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly told a highly placed UO source late Sunday night that he has reversed course and decided to turn down an offer from the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The source told The Register-Guard earlier Sunday night that Kelly had reached an agreement to become Tampa Bay’s head coach. “It’s done,” the source said.
Just before midnight, Kelly changed his mind, telling the source: “I’m staying.”
Now, will Kelly stay at Oregon for the long haul, or was his path to the NFL just placed on temporary hold? That much remains to be seen. There were certainly enough quotes and sources suggesting that Kelly likes to challenge himself and that he was fond of the idea of trying to see what he can do at the professional level, so one day coaching an NFL team may still be in the future for Kelly.
Most of us do not seem to be big fans of college football coaches going to the NFL, because it rarely plays out as well for those coaches in the NFL than it does on the college gridiron. There were some mixed opinions on Kelly’s potential future in he NFL, depending on who you asked, but one thing is for sure. For Kelly to remain committed to Oregon at a time when NCAA sanctions could be dropped on the program any day now is a positive not only for Oregon, but for college football in general.
At this moment in time Kelly is saying that no matter what the future holds for Oregon, and even with out star players such as LaMichael James in 2012, Kelly is ready to move forward in Eugene.
But for how long?
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