Former NFL and University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly will decide between coach openings at Florida and UCLA in the coming days, ESPN reports.
Here’s the ESPN report that came out Wednesday:
Chip Kelly met with UCLA officials regarding its vacant head-coaching position in Los Angeles on Tuesday and is expected to decide between Florida and UCLA in the next few days, a source close to Kelly told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
Former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, a member of the school’s search committee, is putting a “full-court press” on Kelly to accept the UCLA job, the source said.
Kelly, 53, isn’t expected to consider any other college openings.
This is huge news for college football. It sounds like Kelly is coming back to college football no matter what, and the only question now is where he ends up. Anybody who watched him coach at Oregon knows that his offenses are absolutely electric.
It’ll be a lot easier to win at UCLA. The PAC-12, generally speaking, features weaker teams, there aren’t as many great recruiting schools ,and UCLA is in Los Angeles, which makes recruiting so easy.
However, if his dream is to get back to the NFL, then Florida would be the better job. Winning a national championship with Florida would be incredibly impressive, especially if Saban hangs around in the SEC. The money doesn’t make a big difference. Both schools can afford to pay lots of money.
I’d like to see him at Florida. I think it’d be good for the SEC, but I bet there’s a better chance we see him at UCLA next season.