There Will Be A Lot Of Chatter About Chip Kelly to USC

After USC fell to 17-point underdog Washington Thursday night, the vultures once again began circling Steve Sarkisian. By now, we know how all this works. One man’s possible firing is another’s next job, buzzy names are thrown around like contracts don’t matter (because they don’t), and logical matches get made that almost manifest themselves. It’s easy to envision a scenario where whispers about Chip Kelly to USC become shouts, and precedent ensures that even outright denials won’t quell the masses.
Our friend and kind of colleague Dan Wolken at USA Today writes that USC needs Kelly:
There was also this:
Pete mentions Chip Kelly in here ... Chip loves the NFL but has long been said to have eyes for the USC job. https://t.co/CWKEikwZCx
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 9, 2015
Ultimately, the jury is still out on Chip Kelly’s effectiveness as a head coach in the NFL. As much as sentiment shifts week-to-week about him, we still don’t know conclusively. The Eagles were 10-6 in each of his first two years. They’ve gotten off to an unpromising 1-3 start this year, but they’re only a game back of everyone else in their flawed division, of which it would shock nobody if they won.
The biggest issue with Kelly is that for all his maneuvering and purportedly superior schematics, he hasn’t proven adept at evaluating quarterbacks with the Eagles. While anything could happen, it doesn’t look like Sam Bradford has been the right answer. Remember, Chip didn’t just trade Nick Foles — who’s played better than Bradford this year — for him straight up. The Eagles gave up extra picks and are paying him way more. It’s not revisionist history to question this now. Our site’s Jason Lisk wrote at the time:
However it plays out on the field with Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, and even if he vehemently denies he’ll ever coach in college again, we’ll never stop talking about it.
With Chip Kelly now taking a bigger role in personnel decisions–and taking criticism for how many of the changes have impacted this year’s results–Philadelphia will always face a moral hazard with Chip as decision maker. He will always have options in college, and be linked to big jobs. He can enjoy the fruits of good decisions, and if he ever wants to get out of bad decisions in the NFL, he can just walk away.
This is about the time last year that Jim Harbaugh to Michigan rumors started popping up. Everybody remembers what happened with Nick Saban and the Dolphins, and Bobby Petrino and the Falcons. Chip Kelly could win the Super Bowl, and every time a job like Texas or USC came up he’d be mentioned for it. It’s the way of the world.