Report: Oregon asks permission to speak with UCLA head football coach Chip Kelly about coaching vacancy

An Oregon-Chip Kelly reunion may be in the works.

Oregonian columnist John Canzano reported on Thursday that Oregon has sought permission to speak with UCLA head football coach Chip Kelly about its coaching vacancy. The school is currently seeking to find a new head coach after Mario Cristobal left for the Miami job earlier this week.

This potential move would bring Kelly back to Eugene, who served as head coach during the Ducks’ rise as a national power a decade ago. Arriving to Oregon from Eugene in 2007, he took over for Mike Bellotti as the head coach in 2009 and utilized his “blur” offenses to vault UO to the top of the Pac-10/12. During his four-year stint as head coach, he posted a 46-7 record that included three conference titles and a trip to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game where they lost to Auburn.

Following a four-year stint in the NFL where he served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers, Kelly returned to the college ranks in 2018 when taking over at UCLA. In his four years with the Bruins, he has posted an 18-25 record and just secured his first winning season with the program this year. UCLA is slated to play NC State in the Holiday Bowl on December 28.

While a reunion of sorts with Kelly would feel good initially for Oregon, there would be several questions surrounding the move. The college football world has adapted to Kelly’s offensive schemes over the past decade and it’d be difficult for him to try to replicate the success he had in his previous run. We’ll see where these conversations go and how serious Oregon is about bringing him back.