After missing out on the playoffs once again this season, the Philadelphia Eagles finally decided to cut ties with Chip Kelly. Although he registered back-to-back 10-win seasons in his first two years, things changed in the third season for Kelly where questionable personnel decisions and poor on-field performances earned him a pink slip. Although most people figured Kelly would eventually end up back in the college game – especially with so many job openings – but now most of those jobs are filled. So what’s Kelly’s next move? Here are four potential landing spots for him:
Tennessee Titans
Even the casual football fan is probably aware of the relationship between Kelly and former Oregon quarterback and current Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota. With Tennessee dumping Ken Whisenhunt, the door is now wide open for those two to reunite. No coach in the NFL understands Mariota’s abilities better than Kelly and there is every reason to think he is the man who can maximize Mariota’s potential as an NFL quarterback. The Titans have a solid young core but their city doesn’t always attract the sexy, brand-name head coaches. They’ve had to settle on guys like Ken Whisenhunt and Mike Munchak in recent years. Kelly’s name would at least bring some pizzazz. The cupboard is not bare at Tennessee. If the Titans pair him with a reasonable general manager who can deliver the talent, the Titans could experience a quick turnaround.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have already fired multiple coaches this season and are buried at the bottom of the AFC East. They will reassess the head position this offseason. Dan Campbell is currently serving as the interim bench boss but he won’t be back. It only makes sense that they will consider Kelly – especially when you consider the type of offensive talent that’s there. Yes, Kelly could reunite with Mariota in Tennessee but Miami can offer a quality quarterback, decent running backs and a solid receiver rotation highlighted by Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker.
Miami gave Joe Philbin a pretty long leash before finally pulling the plug and there is no doubt that they will want whoever they bring in next to be a long-term solution that has some NFL experience and can maximize the potential of the current roster players. Kelly appears to be a strong match for most of that criteria.
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland is another team that will be forced to re-assess its situation at the end of the season as Mike Pettine appears to be on the outs. He hasn’t done a terrible job when you consider the flaws of his roster but nobody actually believes he’s the guy to take them to the promise land. And remember, the Browns made a strong push for Kelly when he was at Oregon.
Kelly is exactly the type of dynamic coach that can change the complexion of the team looking forward to next season. It’s worth noting that he could be a good fit to coach Johnny Manziel after he recruited him heavily when he was at Oregon before Manziel ultimately decided to go to Texas A&M.
Texas Longhorns
Kelly has been open about his desire to coach in the NFL but almost all of the college jobs are taken. Should he decide to return to the college game, one team that could push very hard for him is the Longhorns. There has been plenty of talk about just how committed Texas is to Charlie Strong at this point as he’s produced an 11-14 record in his first two seasons. Other than beating Oklahoma this season, the Longhorns didn’t really present much optimism for the future.
There have been rumors that they are hot on Kelly as the potential head coach that can help turn things around for them moving forward, so if he does decide that he wants to make a return to the college level, don’t be surprised if he ends up on the sidelines for the Longhorns. They have the money to make it happen.
