Why did Ohio State’s Chip Kelly leave Oregon?

The Chip Kelly era at Oregon was a short but thrilling ride for Duck fans.

Kelly, now the offensive coordinator for No. 2 Ohio State, came to Oregon for that same role on Mike Bellotti’s staff in 2007, and two years later he was named Bellotti’s replacement.

From 2009 to 2012, Kelly and the Ducks captivated the college football world with their Blur Offense – a up-up-up tempo system that put points on the board and W’s in the win column for Oregon.

The Ducks went 46-7 under Kelly, and 33-3 in Pac-12 Conference games.

Oregon played in the national championship game against Auburn to end the 2010 season, played in the Rose Bowl in 2009 and 2011, and then the Fiesta Bowl in 2012 – a win against No. 5 Kansas State that would end up being Kelly’s last game as a Duck.

See also: What Chip Kelly said ahead of top-3 game vs. Ducks

Why did Chip Kelly leave Oregon?

On Jan. 16, 2013, Kelly agreed to become the coach of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

“It’s a very difficult decision for me. It took me so long to make it just because the people here are special,” Kelly said in 2013. “The challenge obviously is exciting for me, but it’s an exciting time and it’s a sad time – saying goodbye to people you love and respect.”

Kelly lasted three seasons in Philadephia, going 26-21 before getting fired before the final game of the 2015 season.

He was soon hired by the San Francisco 49ers, where he went 2-14 in 2016 and was fired when the season ended.

Two years later he returned to college as the coach at UCLA, where he went 35-34 and lasted six seasons before resigning last winter.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning, now in his third season, is the Ducks’ fourth coach since Kelly’s departure.

Kelly’s immediate replacement was Mark Helfrich, who was fired and replaced by Willie Taggart in 2017. Taggart didn’t last a full season before leaving for Florida State. He was replaced by Mario Cristobal, who took the Miami job before the end of the 2021 season.

Why is Chip Kelly back at Autzen Stadium?

After leaving UCLA, Kelly, 60, took the coordinator’s job at Ohio State under coach Ryan Day, who previously worked for Kelly at multiple coaching stops.

No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon will play at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Autzen Stadium.

With Kelly calling the plays and masterminding the offense, the Buckeyes are averaging 46 points and 510.2 yards per game and are 21 for 21 on red-zone scoring chances.

This isn’t Kelly’s first trip back to Eugene. His Bruins played three times at Autzen Stadium, with Oregon winning all three.

Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him on X @chansen_RG or by email at chansen@registerguard.com. 

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Why did Ohio State’s Chip Kelly leave Oregon?