Edit: Staying at Oregon <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">[rQUOTEr]PORTLAND -- University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly is close to signing a deal with the NFL, a source says. Kelly is reportedly in the process of finalizing a deal that would make him the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A source close to the situation told KGW Kelly will make the jump to the NFL if he can come to terms on a contract.[/rQUOTEr]</span>
If true, bad decision for the Bucs. The gimmick offense won't work in the NFL. 5 years ago, Chip Kelly was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire. This would be a meteoric rise to be an NFL head coach with no prior NFL experience.
Always a great move when a team hires a college coach. I can't think of any examples of times this strategy has ever failed
Jim Harbaugh did OK this year. The NFL is rapidly evolving and adapting more and more college strategies. 10 years ago, QBs who played mostly shotgun in college were considered to be major risks. Now, some of the best NFL offenses almost exclusively run from the shotgun and have little to no semblance of a running game. The Kurt Warner Rams proved that fun-and-gun could work. Tim Tebow, as bad a passer as he is, showed how option type football can work - add passing ability and that's a very difficult offense to prepare for. I have no idea if Chip Kelly's offense can work, but it does feature balance. And more than ever, speed and finesse works in the NFL as opposed to simple power football. The challenge will be assembling the talent to make that offense work - it needs very specific types of players.
Great news for the NFC South. So Oregon will lose their Starting QB, RB, and coach. Don't see why Darron Thomas would leave when he could go undrafted.
Balance? Oregon's offense is predicated on (1) running the ball, (2) running the ball, (3) running the ball, (4) misdirection + hurry-up and (5) having multiple skill players that are way faster than anyone on the defense. I doubt that translates in the NFL. UO's passing game is not sophisticated at all. I think he's concerned about competition and losing the starting job this year. IMO, they won't miss James or Thomas that much. Chip Kelly leaving could blow a hole in the program.
Chip Kelly turned them down. Bucs dodge a bullet of their own making. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7...mpa-bay-buccaneers-offer-general-manager-says
Who the hell wants to coach that team? Zero commitment from the Glazers to pay staff and players...exactly why they got crossways with Gruden, as well.
While I don't think Kelly would be a good fit, your reasoning that I bolded is what I disagree with. I agree that there is something to be said for experience. However, it ain't everything. Look at Chad Morris, OC @ Clemson. 2 years ago, he was the head coach at Lake Travis High School. He's never coached in college, then he gets the OC gig at Tulsa. 1 year later, he's at Clemson with one of the best offenses in the nation...and rumored for a few different head coaching openings around the country. Sometimes, people just know how to coach. I don't seriously think that the TB management just decided to offer the guy a contract w/o doing at least some due diligence.
I was just stating a fact and implying it was a very risky move for an NFL team to make. "Due diligence" hasn't prevented many NFL teams from making disastrous head coaching hires.
Coaching kids is different than coaching men. Intelligent men. Family men. Millionaires. Business men. C'mon.