It was a huge shock when Chip Kelly left his job as a head coach at UCLA for less money and a demotion at Ohio State. Except it wasn’t. The landscape of college football has completely changed with the addition of Name, Image and Likeness alongside the transfer portal.
Head coaches are spread thin.
Where their time would be better spent on the Xs and Os, they are forced to devote countless hours to fundraising. And once that money is in the bank, focus shifts toward roster retention and recruiting. Then, and only then, can actual on-field football become the priority.
As a result, college coaches are reevaluating their futures. Many of them are bolting.
Jeff Haffley left his job as head coach at Boston College to take a coordinator role in the NFL. Iowa State’s offensive coordinator took an analyst job with the Rams. There are many other examples.
Chip Kelly is perhaps the most unique.
He did not leave for the NFL. He left his job as a head coach in the Big Ten to become an offensive coordinator in the Big Ten.
Chip Kelly chose joy.
The reasons for his departure are exactly what could be expected.
Kelly broke his silence on the move after the first day of spring practice at Ohio State on Tuesday. His explanation is a testament to the new era of college football.
Sometimes I do a lot of things other people don’t do. I don’t know if that’s right or wrong, but I think it started when we were preparing for a bowl game. Ryan Gunderson is a great quarterbacks coach, left to go to Oregon State as the coordinator. So he wasn’t there. So I actually coached quarterbacks during the bowl game and I just started to think like I hadn’t actually coached a position since 2008.
And I think my wife, she’s like, “I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.”
And to me, the best part of football is football. And so you got to do football, and not do some of the things that involve being the head coach.
— Chip Kelly
Kelly just wants to coach football.
I had a chance after we beat Boise in the bowl game and as we started recruiting just to kind of think about what that experience was like, and then I get to make the decision on what my future is going to be.
So what do I want to do? So I started to look, is there an opportunity and it would’ve had to have been the right spot to go somewhere and just coach a position and then be back with that group.
— Chip Kelly
Being a head coach did not allow him to do what he wants to do.
I think as a head coach, you sit in position meetings, but then you’re always getting pulled out. And there’s other things that are involved with being a head coach, and I think it’s more of a CEO operation right now. You know, it’s the job in the landscape as we all know of college football has changed.
— Chip Kelly
To really drive his point home, Kelly referenced one of the most famous musicians of all-time.
So I just thought at the time that you know, there’s a story about John Lennon when he was a little kid. He had an assignment of what do you want to be when you grow up?
And he said, “I want to be happy.”
His teacher said, “I don’t think you understand the assignment.”
And his mom said, “I don’t think you understand life.”
— Chip Kelly
The decision to leave Los Angeles for Columbus came down to happiness. Coaching alongside his former quarterback and prodigy is something that makes him happy.
So I just wanted to be happy, and I’m really happy coaching positions. Really happy to be at this place. You know, it would have taken a special place for me to leave UCLA because I love those players and I love that coaching staff but to be here with Ryan Day, who I have a great relationship. I’ve known Ryan since he was a little kid. So I think a lot of things just fell into place.
— Chip Kelly
Retirement was never an option for Kelly. Nor was quitting.
Leading the offense at Ohio State was an opportunity to be happy. It’s that simple!