Bye Bye, Ducks

The Oregon Ducks lost more than a great coach this week. With sources saying that Oregon’s head coach Chip Kelly will now become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, U of O finds themselves in a tough spot. Under Kelly, the Ducks went 46-7 over four years. The decision to leaves comes on the tail end of a dominant victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl in early January 2013.

Kelly had previously stated he would stay with the Ducks, but after interview with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and the Eagles, he decided to recant and head to the NFL. Kelly had made reference to signing with the Cleveland Browns, but emerged as the top choice again for Philadelphia this week.

Kelly, known as an offensive innovator, will take the reigns of the Eagles after they decided to part ways with Andy Reid after a 4-12 season. Reid was the head coach of the Eagles for 14 seasons, boasting the title of longest-tenured NFL coach, and the best win total, winning percentage and playoff wins in team history. He led the Eagles to nine playoff appearances, six division titles, five conference championship games and one Super Bowl berth.

The Eagles are faced with some tough decisions, especially surrounding quarterback Michael Vick. Though they have the number four pick in the NFL draft, the route which they are going is yet to be determined. Some thought about trying to snag Kelly’s graduating U of O quarterback Nick Foles, who has been brought to daylight, but this seems unlikely.

Regardless of the new direction, Chip Kelly has some large shoes to fill in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a tough football town, not taking loosing lightly. After the 8-8 debacle in the 2011/2012 season, and this past season's mess, Kelly will need to make improvements at rapid speed if he wants to win over the hometown crowd.  

Image courtesy of Bleacher Report