Not everyone would relish the challenge of succeeding the University of Oregon’s winningest football coach in school history. But such is the nature of the Ducks’ former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Make no mistake that Kelly is grateful for his first head coaching opportunity and holds the upmost respect for Mike Bellotti, who guided the Ducks to unprecedented heights in the previous 14 seasons. But the New England native, who has imported a swagger to the Oregon sidelines, is confident he can extend the unparalleled success his offenses have enjoyed to all facets of the game.
Named Oregon’s 30th head football coach in March 2009, Kelly has adopted a philosophy that was successful in eight seasons on the NCAA Championship Subdivision front (formerly Division I-AA) and has demonstrated few signs of slowing down at the top level of collegiate competition.
The former New Hampshire offensive coordinator arrived at Oregon in 2007 and promptly solidified his position in UO lore by producing the highest scoring team and most yards of total offense in school history. For an encore, his unit bettered both marks again the following year and finished in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense, total offense and scoring offense.
Under his guidance in ‘08, the Ducks were the Pac-10’s best at running the ball (280.1 yards per game) for the third year in a row, scoring (41.9 points per game), and moving the football downfield (484.9 ypg). UO ranked second nationally in rushing and was seventh in the country in the other two offensive benchmarks. Three of the conference’s top 10 rushers wore green and yellow, including a tandem of 1,000-yard runners in Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount.
Kelly saw last year’s squad eclipse 300 rushing yards in eight of 13 games, including one of 400-plus, while his offenses have surpassed 50 points 10 times during his first two years. Included was an attack that produced an Oregon single-game record 694 yards of total offense in the 2008 Civil War victory over Oregon State. UO’s 65 points that day against the Beavers were the most ever scored by the Ducks, or allowed by OSU, in a Pac-10 game.
Also during his second year in Eugene, the Ducks established school standards for touchdowns (71) and rushing touchdowns (47) on their way to a No. 9 (USA Today) national ranking. Oregon capped its top-10 run with a 42-31 win over No. 13 Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl - UO’s second bowl victory in as many years with Kelly at the offensive controls.
Epitomizing Kelly’s team approach and balanced offense mentality was the fact that the Ducks’ only offensive players to earn first team all-conference accolades were senior linemen Fenuki Tupou and Max Unger.
But among the most amazing aspects of his Oregon success has been the offensive numbers have been produced by a different cast of headliners. In 2007, it was quarterback Dennis Dixon, running back Jonathan Stewart, wide receiver Jaison Williams and tight end Ed Dickson. Last year, dual running threats complimented the talents of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and four receivers who each caught more than 35 passes for 400 yards.
In his first year as Oregon’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Kelly helped tap into the potential of Dixon, leading to the senior’s emergence as a Heisman Trophy candidate, and oversaw the top rushing offense at Oregon, which amassed 3,272 yards to lead the Pac-10 and rank sixth nationally. The Ducks also led the conference in scoring (38.15 ppg, 12th nationally) and total offense (467.54 ypg, tenth in the nation) in his first campaign at the top level of NCAA Division I football.
Oregon was forced to start four different quarterbacks over the final four games due to injury in 2007. Kelly tutored the final signal caller of that bunch, redshirt freshman Justin Roper, who turned in a near flawless performance in guiding the Ducks to a 56-21 Sun Bowl win over South Florida.
Kelly (11-25-63) served as New Hampshires’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1999 through 2006, where his offenses averaged better than 400 yards of total offense in seven of his eight seasons and more than 30 points a game in his final four years. As a result, three Wildcat players received first-team All-America acclaim each of his last two seasons in the Granite State.
He was named the College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston following the 2005 season in addition to being selected as “one of college football’s hottest coaches” by American Football Monthly.
“My philosophy has been to coach an attacking style of football and stretch the defenses in as many different ways as you can,” Kelly said upon arriving in Eugene. “You have to get the ball into the hands of your playmakers and let them operate in order to be successful.”
The Manchester, N.H., native and 13-year New Hampshire coaching veteran was elevated to offensive coordinator following two years as the Wildcats’ offensive line coach (1997-98) and three seasons coaching the school’s running backs (1994-96).
The school’s quarterback, Ricky Santos, was the recipient of the Walter Payton Award (awarded annually to the best offensive player in Division I-AA) in 2006 after finishing second in the balloting in 2005. He finished his junior year fourth in the country in passing (3,125 yards) and threw for 29 touchdowns.
New Hampshire finished that year with a 9-4 record and ranked sixth in the country after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA I-AA playoffs, losing to eventual national runner-up Massachusetts, 24-17. Kelly guided his contingent to second in the country (NCAA I-AA) in scoring offense (35.3 avg.) and seventh in total offense (400.6 avg.), while accumulating more than 40 points on five occasions.
Kelly’s best offensive output was in 2005 when the Wildcats finished second nationally in total offense (493.5 avg.), third in scoring (41.7 avg.) and fifth in passing (300.1 avg.), while completing the season with an 11-2 record. In 2004, the school broke 29 offensive school records, compiling 5,446 yards of total offense and scoring 40 or more points in seven games.
While his acclaim may have resulted from his offensive prowess, he has accumulated three seasons of experience coaching on the defensive side of the football. Included was a one-year stint as defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins (1993) between tenures at his alma mater.
The 1990 New Hampshire graduate (B.S. degree in physical education) broke into the coaching ranks in 1990 at Columbia University, where he served as freshman secondary and special teams coach. He assumed responsibility for the Lions’ varsity outside linebackers and strong safeties the following year before returning to New Hampshire as running backs coach in 1992.
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Courtesy: GoDucks.com
