Chip Kelly reveals why he decided to leave UCLA for Ohio State: 'I just want to coach football'

During Saturday’s broadcast of the Ohio State Buckeyes spring game, Joel Klatt caught up with freshly-minted offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

Kelly shocked many by going from the head coach at UCLA, to accepting the offensive coordinator position with the Buckeyes. Speaking with Klatt, he elaborated on why exactly he chose to come to Columbus in the first place.

“I just want to coach football,” Kelly responded. “And I think in this day in age, things are changing. And I coached our quarterbacks in our bowl game. … I haven’t been in a meeting room on a consistent basis since 2008. When I was an assistant. And I have a lot of fun. The best part of football is football, and I love coaching football and getting to do that. I think sometimes the role has changed, to a little bit more of an administrator. Not at all places. But at some places where you’ve got to fundraise, you’ve got to do a lot of those things. And I just wanted to coach football.

“If I was going to go somewhere, it would be somewhere where the program shows the same values and visions that I have. I’ve known Ryan since he was a little kid, so you know when he called and he was talking about it a little bit, it was intriguing.”

So what’s Kelly looking for during Saturday’s spring game? He knows there’s plenty of talent on Ohio State’s squad, but it’s all about cultivating it.

“We do, and I think that’s our job as a coaching staff here, on the offensive side of the ball. It’s always a collaborative effort, and Ryan’s still gonna be really, really involved. Like he is, Ryan is not a CEO. He’s a football guy himself. So the fact that all of us will contribute and put a game plan together. We have talented wideouts. We’ve got really talented running backs. We’re gonna figure out who the quarterback is going to be. And we’re playing through this whole thing right now. But we feel really good about the group we have on the offensive side of the ball.

“… We haven’t really been outside for much of the spring. So to be here today in front of a crowd, that’s a different setting. The wind is a little bit of a different setting, but you’re gonna have to play in front of a crowd you’re gonna have to play in the wind, so we’re gonna see who can step up on the day like this.”

Alas, Chip Kelly seems content with the Buckeyes, and happy with his decision to join Ohio State. We’ll see how he gets the offense to him moving forward.