Chip Kelly is not wearing a headset for the 2017 college football season, as he spends his time opining on the air for ESPN. That never stops speculation that the former Oregon and NFL head coach could be trying to get back into the sport, though, and Alex Scarborough of ESPN discussed that in a recent piece for the worldwide leader.
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In short, the message was that Kelly is "not going to jump back into college football for just any opportunity" but, at the same time, Scarborough put forth an idea or two on places where Kelly would make sense.
Maybe if UCLA was on the verge of opening, that might pique his interest. But Jim Mora's buyout is steep. Maybe Arizona or Arizona State does the trick, but is either worth giving up a well-paying TV gig when he could wait to see what comes open next year? Probably not.
If Kelly ends up anywhere, it's probably as a quality control coach at Alabama. Nick Saban would love to add him to his stockpile of former coaches.
It should be noted that the article referenced Kelly being potentially focused on "turn-key, high-dollar programs" and those that "do not have a reputation for meddling." Frankly, that narrows the list considerably but UCLA has long been referenced as a possibility that makes sense.
Beyond that, the concept of Kelly on the sideline alongside Nick Saban would quite interesting, though it seems kind of crazy that he would give up TV for a job at that level. Regardless, the buzz won't stop until Kelly coaches again and it might be soon.
