College Football Rumors: Chip Kelly To The Philadelphia Eagles?

With bowl season just around the corner, the hot stove of college football coaching rumors is overflowing with talk. Who will try their hand at moving up to the NFL this season? It seems that one of the more popular choices to talk about, Chip Kelly of the Oregon Ducks, is rumored to be bolting for the NFL once again. This time, however, the source is a bit different.

According to former Oregon defensive back Chad Peppars‘ twitter, Kelly will be leaving Oregon after their bowl game for the Philadelphia Eagles:

https://twitter.com/chadpeps/status/274636883005419521

Peppars was at Oregon from 2006-2010, appearing in 13 games his senior season making 12 tackles with three passes defended. It seems likely that the Los Angeles native would still have contact with members of the current team. Is it possible they know that Kelly is on his way out already before they even know where they’ll be going for bowl season?

Chip Kelly was also linked to an open NFL job last offseason when reports indicated that he was leaving Oregon to take over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That position ultimately went to Greg Schiano and Kelly returned to Eugene to gear up for this season.

The Philadelphia Eagles have not formally let go of their long-time coach Andy Reid, but are stuck in the middle of a dismal 3-8 season. They are in last place of the NFC East and popular sentiment is that the coaching staff and roster will be cleaned out at the end of the season.

Kelly is a popular name for NFL jobs because of his innovative offensive philosophy that uses athleticism and motion to get favorable mismatches to break big plays. His run-heavy style would likely play very well with LeSean McCoy and the young Bryce Brown in the backfield while utilizing the speed of receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin to break big plays down the field.

The Oregon head coach will likely deflect these rumors, saying that his only focus is on the Ducks’ upcoming bowl game. That won’t do much, however, to stop the talk from happening once it gets going.

Will Chip Kelly finally make the leap to the NFL? Does Chad Peppars know more than the rest of us? Only time will tell, but until we know for sure, the rumors are sure to keep flying.

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