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Ohio State football hires Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator

Joey Kaufman and Bill Rabinowitz, Columbus Dispatch
·4 min read
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UCLA coach Chip Kelly has been hired to replace Bill O’Brien as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The school announced the hiring of Kelly on Friday with a three-year agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kelly will take over for O’Brien after O’Brien was formally named the next coach at Boston College hours earlier in the latest spin of the coaching carousel. The Eagles’ opening emerged last week when Jeff Hafley was hired as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.

During Chip Kelly's tenure as head coach, UCLA's offenses ranked in the top-20 in scoring in the Football Bowl Subdivision for three straight seasons before slipping to No. 70 this past season.
During Chip Kelly's tenure as head coach, UCLA's offenses ranked in the top-20 in scoring in the Football Bowl Subdivision for three straight seasons before slipping to No. 70 this past season.

“We are extremely excited to have Chip and his wife, Jill, joining our program,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said in a statement. “His experience as a head coach at Oregon, UCLA and in the NFL will bring immediate value to our entire team. I am really looking forward to reconnecting with Chip, introducing him to our staff and team and chasing a championship together.

“I would also like to wish coach Bill O’Brien and his family well as he takes over at Boston College.”

In a letter, athletic director Martin Jarmond had confirmed Kelly's departure from UCLA after six seasons coaching the Bruins in which he went 35-34.

It is uncommon for sitting head coaches to voluntarily leave for coordinator positions, but the ties between Day and Kelly span a quarter century. Day was a quarterback at New Hampshire from 1998-2001 when Kelly was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator and began his coaching career at the school.

They also worked together in the NFL. Kelly hired Day as his quarterbacks coach in his last season leading the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 and brought him to the San Francisco 49ers the following year.

While Kelly’s relationship between Day is a long-standing one, he also has a connection with OSU offensive line coach Justin Frye, who was Kelly's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with the Bruins from 2018-21.

The extensive experience of the 60-year-old Kelly is likely to allow Day to go through with plans to delegate play-calling for the first time and step into a more CEO-style role at the helm of the Buckeyes.

Ohio State football: Who is Chip Kelly? OSU reportedly set to hire former UCLA, Oregon coach as offensive coordinator

Day said at a news conference on Wednesday that he intended to hand over those responsibilities to O’Brien, another veteran play-caller with head coaching experience between the NFL and college level.

Kelly was last an offensive coordinator under Mike Bellotti at Oregon in 2007 and 2008.

It was during that period when Kelly, who succeeded Bellotti and led the Ducks for four seasons, introduced a no-huddle offense that operated at such a fast pace that it became known as the “blur.”

The innovative system contributed to the popularization of no-huddle offenses throughout college football.

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Oregon had the highest-scoring offense in the nation in 2010 when it finished as the national runner-up, falling to Auburn by a field goal in the BCS national championship game.

Kelly’s offenses at UCLA were not as prolific, but the Bruins ranked in the top-20 in scoring in the Football Bowl Subdivision for three straight seasons before slipping to No. 70 this past season, struggling with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson no longer behind center.

The addition of Kelly to the Buckeyes’ staff is likely to come with an extra financial cost. Under the terms of an extension Kelly signed with UCLA last March, he owes the school $1.5 million for leaving.

Chip Kelly has agreed to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator despite the fact that he was set to make $6.1 million as UCLA's head coach next season.
Chip Kelly has agreed to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator despite the fact that he was set to make $6.1 million as UCLA's head coach next season.

Much of the sum of that buyout could be shouldered by Ohio State, which has previously covered similar obligations.

When it poached defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State two years ago, it awarded him with a $138,850 signing bonus as a one-time lump sum payment to assist with the penalty.

Kelly had been due to make $6.1 million at UCLA next season.

The Bruins are joining the Big Ten next season, but the Buckeyes are not scheduled to play them during the regular season until 2025.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State hires Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator