Chip Kelly facts for kids
Kelly talking to press ahead of the 2025 CFP National Championship.
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Offensive coordinator |
| Team | Ohio State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Annual salary | million |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | November 25, 1963 Dover, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1981–1984 | New Hampshire |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990 | Columbia (DB/ST) |
| 1991 | Columbia (OLB/S) |
| 1992 | New Hampshire (RB) |
| 1993 | Johns Hopkins (DC) |
| 1994–1996 | New Hampshire (RB) |
| 1997–1998 | New Hampshire (OL) |
| 1999–2006 | New Hampshire (OC) |
| 2007–2008 | Oregon (OC) |
| 2009–2012 | Oregon |
| 2013–2015 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 2016 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2018–2023 | UCLA |
| 2024–present | Ohio State (OC/QB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 81–41 (college) 28–35 (NFL) |
| Bowls | 3–3 |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NFL playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| CFP national champion (2024) 3 Pac-12 (2009–2011) 2 Pac-12 North Division (2011, 2012) NFC East Division (2013) |
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| Awards | |
| Maxwell Club NFL Coach of the Year (2013) 2× Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2009, 2010) AP College Football Coach of the Year (2010) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (2010) Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award (2010) Sporting News Coach of the Year (2010) AFCA Coach of the Year (2010) |
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Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963), known as Chip Kelly, is a famous American football coach. He is currently the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Kelly became well-known as the head coach for the Oregon Ducks college team from 2009 to 2012. He led them to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.
After his success in college, Kelly coached in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He coached the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. In 2018, Kelly returned to college football as the head coach for the UCLA Bruins. He coached there for six seasons before joining Ohio State in 2024 as their offensive coordinator.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Chip Kelly was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He went to Manchester Central High School. In 1990, he earned a degree in physical education from the University of New Hampshire.
During high school, he played quarterback. At the University of New Hampshire, he played defensive back. He also played ice hockey and basketball in high school.
Coaching Career Highlights
Starting as a Coach
Kelly began his coaching journey in 1990 at Columbia University. He coached defensive backs and special teams for the freshman team. The next year, he coached outside linebackers and strong safeties for the varsity team.
In 1992, he moved to the University of New Hampshire as the running backs coach. He then spent one season as the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins University. He returned to New Hampshire for three more seasons (1994–1996) as the running backs coach. During this time, he helped star player Jerry Azumah achieve great success. Azumah rushed for over 6,000 yards, which was a record at the time. Kelly then coached the offensive line for two seasons (1997–1998).
Kelly became the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire from 1999 to 2006. His offenses were very strong, often gaining over 400 yards per game. In 2004, the team broke 29 offensive records. In 2005, they were second in the nation for total offense. Quarterback Ricky Santos won the Walter Payton Award in 2006 under Kelly's coaching.
Kelly is part of a group of coaches with strong ties to New Hampshire. This group includes Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
Oregon Ducks (2007–2012)
Offensive Coordinator Success
In 2007, Kelly became the offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon. His fast-paced "spread offense" was an immediate hit.
In his first year, the Ducks led their conference in scoring and total offense. They set new school records for points and yards. Quarterback Dennis Dixon improved greatly under Kelly, becoming a top player. In 2008, Oregon's offense was even better, breaking their own records.
Head Coach Achievements
In 2009, Kelly was promoted to head coach of the Oregon Ducks. He led the Ducks to major "BCS" bowl games in all four of his seasons. These included the 2010 Rose Bowl and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.
Kelly's teams won three straight conference championships from 2009 to 2011. They also won a division title in 2012. He had a perfect record against Oregon's biggest rivals, Oregon State and Washington. No other Oregon coach had done this before.
Kelly won many awards, including the Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice. He was also named the AP College Football Coach of the Year in 2010.
In 2009, Kelly led the Ducks to a big upset win over USC. This helped Oregon gain national attention. They reached the Rose Bowl for the first time in many years. They lost a close game to Ohio State.
In 2010, Kelly led the Ducks to an undefeated regular season (12–0). They reached the BCS National Championship game against Auburn. Oregon lost a very close game, 22–19. This was the closest a team from the Pacific Northwest had come to winning a national championship in a long time.
The 2011 season saw the Ducks win nine games in a row. They defeated Stanford in a big blowout. They won their third straight conference title. Oregon then won the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin. This was their third year in a row playing in a major BCS bowl game.
In 2012, Oregon started with ten straight wins. They were led by new quarterback Marcus Mariota. They finished the season with a 12–1 record. They won the Fiesta Bowl against Kansas State. This put them in the top five national rankings for the third year in a row.
NCAA Investigation
In 2013, the NCAA investigated Oregon's football program. This was about some rule violations that happened when Kelly was coach. The team received a probation period and some scholarship reductions. Kelly also faced a temporary restriction on coaching at other college teams. This restriction did not affect him, as he moved to the NFL.
NFL Teams Show Interest
Even before becoming a head coach, NFL teams were interested in Kelly. In 2006, the New York Giants tried to hire him. In 2012, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers interviewed him for their head coach job, but he decided to stay at Oregon.
In early 2013, several NFL teams, including the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Philadelphia Eagles, interviewed Kelly. After initially deciding to stay at Oregon, Kelly accepted the offer from Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Eagles (2013–2015)
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Chip Kelly became the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles on January 16, 2013. In his first season, he turned the team around. The Eagles had a 4–12 record the year before. Kelly led them to a 10–6 record and won their division. They lost a close playoff game to the New Orleans Saints.
In his second season, the Eagles again finished 10–6. However, they did not make the playoffs that year. In 2015, Kelly was given more control over the team's player decisions. He made some big trades, including trading star running back LeSean McCoy. On December 29, 2015, with the team's record at 6–9, Kelly was fired before the last game of the season.
San Francisco 49ers (2016)
On January 14, 2016, Kelly was hired as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He was the team's third coach in three seasons. The 49ers won their first game under Kelly, beating the Los Angeles Rams 28–0.
However, the team then went on a long losing streak. They finished the season with a 2–14 record. After the season, Kelly was fired by the 49ers.
ESPN (2017)
In 2017, Kelly worked for ESPN as a studio analyst. He shared his insights on college football games.
UCLA Bruins (2018–2024)
On November 25, 2017, Kelly was hired as the head football coach at UCLA. In his first season (2018), the Bruins started 0–5. However, they later defeated their rivals, USC. UCLA finished the season with a 3–9 record.
The next season, UCLA started 0–3 again. But they made an amazing comeback against Washington State. They were down by 32 points and won 67–63. This was one of the biggest comebacks in college football history.
Later in 2019, the Bruins won three games in a row. This was their first three-game winning streak since 2015. They beat Stanford, Arizona State, and Colorado.
After three losing seasons, UCLA had a winning record of 8–4 in 2021. In 2022, they started 5–0 for the first time in many years. They finished the season 9–4 and were ranked #21 nationally. Kelly signed a new contract extension after this successful season. In 2023, the Bruins were 8–5 and won the LA Bowl. This was their third straight season with at least eight wins.
On February 9, 2024, Kelly left UCLA after six seasons. He decided to become the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State Buckeyes (2024–Present)
At Ohio State, Kelly replaced Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator. This move reunited Kelly with Ryan Day, who had worked under Kelly before. In his first year at Ohio State, Kelly helped lead the team to win a National Championship. His offense faced and defeated four of college football's top teams. These included Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame. This led to Ohio State's ninth National Championship.
Personal Life
Chip Kelly prefers to keep his personal life private. He lives in Los Angeles, California. He has a close group of friends in Manchester, New Hampshire, who do not talk about him to reporters. People who have interviewed Kelly describe him as funny and surprising.
Kelly was married to Jennifer Jenkins from 1992 to 1999.
In 2009, a fan asked Kelly for a refund for travel costs after a game. The game ended with an Oregon player punching an opponent. Kelly sent the fan a personal check for the exact amount. The fan then sent the check back to Kelly with a thank you note.
Awards
- 2009 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
- 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
- 2010 Associated Press Coach of the Year
- 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
- 2010 Walter Camp Coach of the Year
- 2010 Sporting News Coach of the Year
- 2010 AFCA Coach of the Year
- 2013 Maxwell Club Coach of the Year
Head Coaching Record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Ducks (Pac-10/Pac-12 Conference) (2009–2012) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Oregon | 10–3 | 8–1 | 1st | L Rose† | 11 | 11 | ||
| 2010 | Oregon | 12–1 | 9–0 | 1st | L BCS NCG† | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2011 | Oregon | 12–2 | 8–1 | T–1st (North) | W Rose† | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2012 | Oregon | 12–1 | 8–1 | T–1st (North) | W Fiesta† | 2 | 2 | ||
| Oregon: | 46–7 | 33–3 | |||||||
| UCLA Bruins (Pac-12 Conference) (2018–present) | |||||||||
| 2018 | UCLA | 3–9 | 3–6 | 5th (South) | |||||
| 2019 | UCLA | 4–8 | 4–5 | T–3rd (South) | |||||
| 2020 | UCLA | 3–4 | 3–4 | 5th (South) | |||||
| 2021 | UCLA | 8–4 | 6–3 | T–2nd (South) | NC Holiday | ||||
| 2022 | UCLA | 8–2 | 5–2 | ||||||
| UCLA: | 26–27 | 21–20 | |||||||
| Total: | 72–34 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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NFL
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| PHI | 2013 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to New Orleans Saints in NFC Wild Card Game |
| PHI | 2014 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in NFC East | — | — | — | — |
| PHI | 2015 | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 | Fired | — | — | — | — |
| PHI Total | 26 | 21 | 0 | .553 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||
| SF | 2016 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 4th in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| SF Total | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Total | 28 | 35 | 0 | .452 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||
Images for kids
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Kelly talking to press ahead of the 2025 CFP National Championship.
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Kelly in 2010
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Kelly (left) with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015
