Would a Chip Kelly-Oregon reunion make sense?

Throughout the week, ScoopDuck’s staff will be evaluating the leading candidates for Oregon’s head coach vacancy. We will take a look at each coach’s track record, and the potential pros and cons of giving them the keys to the program.

First up: Chip Kelly.

The rundown

The man needs no introduction.

During his tenure as Oregon’s head coach from 2009-2012, Kelly revolutionized the football program and launched the Ducks into the national spotlight with an electric, high-paced offense. Kelly is directly responsible for some of the greatest seasons in school history, and the trickle-down effect of his success is still impacting Oregon to this day.

Since he left Eugene in January of 2013, Kelly has found varying degrees of success while bouncing between NFL and college jobs but has never come close to the heights he reached with the Ducks.

Kelly’s record in four seasons at Oregon was 46-7 and 30-3 in Pac-12 games. In four years at UCLA, he is 18-25 and 16-18 against conference opponents. Granted, Kelly inherited a mess there and has steadily improved the Bruins each season from a pure wins and losses standpoint.

• 2018: 3-9 (3-6)
• 2019: 4-8 (4-5)
• 2020: 3-4 (3-4)
• 2021: 8-4 (6-3)

The Positives

At first glance, Kelly returning to Eugene sure sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?

It’s easy to fall in love with the idea of bringing back the coach who helped establish Oregon as a national power. In the early 2010s, Kelly was at the cutting edge of so many trends that are now commonplace in the college football world.

His coaching tree is extensive, and it would be interesting to see what kind of staff he could put together with Oregon’s financial backing.

At a time that both he and Oregon’s program are at a bit of a crossroads, Kelly’s return to Eugene would provide a feel-good factor and a ton of stability. He’s a known commodity, and it’s rumored that Phil Knight would be in favor of the move, which is a major factor.

Kelly hasn’t quite found his stride yet at UCLA, but he’s facing an uphill battle there. A return to Oregon could reenergize him and help the program avoid a drop-off following Mario Cristobal’s departure.

The concerns

Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing.

When Kelly was at his best in Eugene, he was arguably the most brilliant offensive mind in all of college football and was perpetually one step ahead of Oregon’s opponents. Nearly a decade later, though, that isn’t the case anymore.

Kelly’s UCLA teams aren’t running opposing defenses off the field, and he no longer has Nick Aliotti holding the defense together. The Bruins had the fourth-worst scoring defense in the conference in 2021, and the 260.2 passing yards-per-game they surrendered were the worst in the conference by a wide margin.

If the lack of on-field production doesn’t ring alarm bells, the recruiting should.

Kelly has added some nice players during his time at UCLA, but finished with the No. 20, 46, and 29 classes over his first three seasons there. Right now, the Bruins’ 2022 class sits at No. 21.

Given the immense talent pool Kelly has in his backyard, that’s concerning. It’s even more concerning when you take into account that USC has been a non-factor on the recruiting front during that time.

Of course, during the height of his Oregon success, Kelly never finished with a top-10 class. He and his staff did an incredible job identifying talent that fit the system, and it’s possible he could do that again in Eugene.

But a reunion with Kelly would likely end Oregon’s current run as a recruiting juggernaut.