Chip Kelly returns to Oregon this week
Almost six years after he coached his final game at Oregon, UCLA coach Chip Kelly returns to the campus where, from 2007 through 2012, he made an indelible impact on the Pac-12.
Kelly spent six seasons with the Ducks, two as offensive coordinator and four as head coach. His tenure — and especially his time at the helm — brought Oregon unprecedented success.
The Ducks won three conference championships and came a possession away from winning a national championship in 2010. His innovative takes on the zone-read spread and no-huddle offense sparked programs around the Pac-12 to follow suit.
Before his final season at Oregon, four schools in the conference introduced new coaching staffs. All introduced some variation of hurry-up and spread offense.
Another wholesale wave of change overcame the Pac-12 last offseason, with Kelly this time a direct participant. He is one of five new head coaches around the league in 2018, and he returns to Oregon on Saturday in a much different situation than when he left for the NFL nearly six years ago.
The Bruins (2-6, 2-3 Pac-12) rallied from the program’s worst start since 1943 with a pair of conference wins over Cal and Arizona, but the rebound was short-lived. UCLA lost 41-10 to Utah last Friday, and one more loss this season will equal Kelly’s total during his four seasons as Oregon head coach.
The Ducks (5-3, 2-3) are undergoing their own adjustments since the days of Kelly’s teams going 46-7. Mario Cristobal is one of those five new coaches in the Pac-12, and is Oregon’s third head coach in as many years.
Oregon finished 4-8 and 7-6 in the past two campaigns, but an Oct. 13 win over Washington had the Ducks positioned for a potential Pac-12 title push. Back-to-back losses at Washington State and Arizona have Oregon reeling upon their return home for the first time since the Washington victory.
“The bottom line is it’s just not anywhere near the performance that’s good enough for us to become accustomed to,” Cristobal said in his postgame press conference, following the 44-15 loss at Arizona.
Coming home should be a boon for Oregon as it seeks to avoid a three-game skid for the third straight season. One thing that hasn’t changed since Kelly left the program is the advantage Autzen Stadium provides the home-standing Ducks.
“They’ve got probably the best home advantage, because of the crowd and the setting and the stadium and how loud they can make it,” Kelly was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times on Monday. “A very educated crowd (that knows) when to cheer and not to cheer.”