‘I want to be happy’: Chip Kelly explains why he became Ohio State’s offensive coordinator

Before UCLA’s LA Bowl game in December, Bruins quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson left to become Oregon State’s offensive coordinator.

By necessity, head coach Chip Kelly took over the quarterback position group during bowl preparation. He loved it. He’d been a head coach in college and the NFL for so long that he didn’t realize how much enjoyed getting into the nitty gritty of working intensely with players.

Mar 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly works with quarterbacks during the first spring practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

“I hadn’t actually coached a position since 2008,” Kelly said Tuesday in his first press conference since becoming Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “My wife remarked, ‘I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.’ To me, the best part of football is football, and so you got to do football and not do some of the things that are involved with the head coaching deal.”

After the bowl game, Kelly realized that if the right assistant coach opportunity presented itself, he’d consider it. When Bill O’Brien left to become head coach at Boston College soon after taking the OSU offensive coordinator job, the opportunity arose.

After all, Ohio State coach Ryan Day was Kelly’s protégé. They are both Manchester, New Hampshire, natives. Kelly recruited and coached Day when Day was the University of New Hampshire quarterback. Day was Kelly’s quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.

Mar 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly works with quarterback Air Noland during the first spring practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Still, it is unusual for a head coach at a program such as UCLA to take a step down the coaching ladder…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/want-happy-chip-kelly-explains-204054492.html

Author : The Columbus Dispatch

Publish date : 2024-03-05 20:40:54

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