Chip Kelly Tenure
Chip Kelly: From Oregon's BCS glory to NFL and back to college
Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator for Northwestern. He came to prominence as a college football head coach for the University of Oregon from 2009 to 2012, leading them to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. Kelly's success led to a stint in the NFL, where he coached for four seasons, three with the Philadelphia Eagles (2013–2015) and one with the San Francisco 49ers (2016). After the NFL, Kelly returned to college in 2018 as the head football coach for UCLA, coaching for six seasons before leaving in 2024 to join Ohio State as their offensive coordinator. Kelly was hired by the NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders, to be their offensive coordinator in 2025, but was fired after Week 12 following a 2–9 start to the season. He returned again to the collegiate ranks in 2026 with Northwestern.
Quick Facts
- Regular season record
- 26-21
- Playoff appearances
- 1 (2013)
- Notable acquisition
- Sam Bradford (acquired via trade in 2015; originally drafted No. 1 overall by the Rams in 2010)
Lore & Background
Kelly was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He attended Manchester Central High School, where he played football, ice hockey, and basketball. Kelly earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from the University of New Hampshire in 1990. Kelly played quarterback at Manchester Central High School and defensive back at the University of New Hampshire.
He broke into coaching in 1990 for Columbia University, then coached at New Hampshire, Johns Hopkins, and back at New Hampshire before becoming offensive coordinator there in 1999. He was hired as offensive coordinator at Oregon in February 2007, then became head coach on March 31, 2009. Kelly coached Oregon to BCS games in each of his four seasons as head coach: the 2010 Rose Bowl, 2011 BCS National Championship Game, 2012 Rose Bowl, and 2013 Fiesta Bowl. He posted undefeated records against Oregon State and Washington, something never before achieved by an Oregon coach.
Reader's Guide
It does not mention Michael Vick or any release date.
Did You Know?
- Kelly was named the 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, and won multiple national coach of the year awards in 2010.
- Under Kelly, Oregon led the Pac-10 in scoring and total offense in both 2007 and 2008.
- Kelly is part of the so-called 'New Hampshire mafia' along with Dan Mullen, Gary Crowton, and Ryan Day.
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