Chip Kelly recently signed on as a college football analyst for ESPN, but one insider can't see the former Oregon coach making it past December.
With his 46-7 record at Oregon in view and his disastrous tenures with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers seemingly forgotten, Kelly's name is being tossed around with the likes of Texas A&M, UCLA, Arizona State and a host of other programs as possible options by Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel.
Apparently, it may not even take a full year for silly season to be instituted:
"All I know is if I'm ESPN, I would not count on Kelly still being out of coaching come that first Saturday in December."
Mandel discussed the obvious spot of Texas A&M, following the school's AD publicly calling out current head coach Kevin Sumlin earlier in the week.
As far as other possible spots that Mandel discusses:
Tennessee:
Butch Jones is another SEC contender, but with a new athletic director en tow, the leash may be shorter than ever in Rocky Top. Two Bowl wins and back-to-back 9-4 seasons may not be enough for the SEC East Championship-hungry Volunteers. Kelly's uptempo offense would be a perfect fit for the ever-changing SEC.
Auburn:
His name was in plenty of hot seat stories last season before Gus Malzahn turned things around and made a run at the College Football Playoffs. Auburn hasn't won more than eight games since appearing in the BCS Championship game in 2013. Another decent landing spot for Kelly here.
Ole Miss:
No Bowl game for the Rebels no matter how 2017-18 plays out due to a self-imposed Bowl ban. Coming off a 5-7 season and plenty of drama behind the scenes, Hugh Freeze will have his hands full.
UCLA:
Despite having the possible future No. 1 draft pick in quarterback Josh Rosen, Jim Mora is just 12-13 over the past two seasons. Following an 8-5 year with a miserable 4-8 campaign has turned the heat up on Mora. Kelly would prosper being back in the Pac-12, where he saw a decent amount of success with Oregon.
Arizona State:
Four-consecutive bowl appearances had Todd Graham trending up at Arizona State. Back-to-back seven-loss seasons however have him on the hot seat heading into 2017-18. Another Pac-12 spot, another solid landing spot for Kelly.