Chip Kelly won't be coaching football in 2017 after not taking a job back in the college ranks and not finding a position in the NFL. After getting off to a hot start in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles, he was fired two years ago, and the San Francisco 49ers fired him last season after he could only lead the team to two wins in the 2016 NFL season. Now, Kelly is trading his coach's headset for a microphone as he takes a multi-year deal to work for ESPN as a studio analyst for college football.
Chip Kelly's new TV deal
According to Chip Kelly, this is a new venture that he is excited about.
Kelly said that he has worked as a coach for 30 years, and now he can bring that expertise and experience to the fans. Chip also mentioned that this will be a good move for him as well. Kelly said that he has coached for so many years that working as an ESPN TV analyst will give him the opportunity to see the game from a completely different angle.
Chip Kelly said that he can give insight to college football fans when it comes to what a coach might be thinking in different situations. He also said that he can give alternate views of different situations that the teams face on the field. Kelly also said that choosing ESPN over other networks was an easy decision, pointing out their high-quality productions.
Chip Kelly returns to college football
When Chip Kelly washed out in his attempt to turn around the San Francisco 49ers, it seemed unlikely that he would get another shot in the NFL as a head coach. All eyes turned to college football where Chip Kelly achieved huge success as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks. While with Oregon, Kelly coached the team to four straight BCS bowl games including the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.
That makes it natural that ESPN would want Chip Kelly to work with them on college football broadcasts. His overall record in the NFL was 28-35 but after two straight 10-6 seasons, he only went 8-23 in his final two NFL seasons. As a head coach with the Oregon Ducks, Chip went 46-7 in four seasons and never lost more than three games in a single season.
Lee Fitting, the senior coordinating producer for ESPN, said that Chip Kelly has one of the most innovative football minds in the world today. He also said that Kelly takes on football from unconventional means, and ESPN wants him to bring that same mentality into his work in covering college football as an analyst for the network. Interestingly, Kelly won't get paid anything extra for this, as his ESPN salary will simply be deducted from what the San Francisco 49ers owed him when they fired him.
