Coaches in college are often faced with a tough decision. If they lead a successful team, they have to debate whether or not to stick with it, or try to recreate the same success in the NFL.
Chip Kelly faced this dilemma after taking the Oregon Ducks to the national championship game in 2011. He stuck around for one more year at Oregon before jumping to the NFL in 2013. He spent four seasons in the NFL — with two teams — before deciding to head back to the college level.
Kelly has seemingly done it all when it comes to coaching. As a player, he was a defensive back for New Hampshire. So when he transitioned to coaching, he initially took the role on the defensive side of the ball. He evntually switched to offense, and worked his way up the ranks before becoming a head coach.
Now, Kelly serves as the offensive coordinator for Ohio State and will see a familiar foe when he takes on Oregon in a huge Big Ten matchup on Saturday. Ahead of the game, let's take a look back at Kelly's career coaching timeline.
MORE: History of college football coaches in the NFL, from Nick Saban to Chip Kelly
Chip Kelly teams coached
Chip Kelly has coached in the NCAA and NFL since 1990, holding a variety of jobs with eight different schools and franchises.
He first became a head coach at Oregon in 2009 before jumping to the NFL, where he coached the Eagles and 49ers for parts of four seasons. Kelly returned to the college ranks in 2018 as UCLA's head coach for six seasons before resigning in 2023 to go to Ohio State as Ryan Day's offensive coordinator.
Kelly has a combined 81-41 (.664) record as a head coach in college and went 28-35 (.444) in the NFL.
Chip Kelly coaching timeline
Columbia, 1990-1991
Kelly's playing career ended in 1984, and it took him six years to find his way into coaching. He started as the defensive backs and special teams coach for Columbia's freshman team. The next year, he was promoted to the varsity team's outside linebacker and safety coach.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 1990 | 1-9 | Missed playoffs |
| 1991 | 1-9 | Missed playoffs |
New Hampshire, 1992
Kelly played defensive back for New Hampshire all four years of his collegiate career. In 1992, he returned to the program to be the running backs coach, but his first time back was a short stay.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 1992 | 5-5-1 | Missed Playoffs |
Johns Hopkins, 1993
Did you know that Johns Hopkins was more than just a medical school? Kelly left New Hampshire to serve as Johns Hopkins' defensive coordinator in 1993.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 1993 | 4-6 | Missed Playoffs |
Back to New Hampshire, 1994-2006
Kelly returned to New Hampshire the next year, where he took over as the team's running backs coach. He finally found a place to hunker down and was with the Wildcats for the next 13 years. Kelly was the running backs coach until 1997 when he was promoted to offensive line coach. In 1999, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and served in that role until 2006.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 1994 | 10-2 | L, App State 1st round D1-AA Playoffs |
| 1995 | 6-5 | Missed Playoffs |
| 1996 | 8-3 | Missed Playoffs |
| 1997 | 5-6 | Missed Playoffs |
| 1998 | 4-7 | Missed Playoffs |
| 1999 | 5-6 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2000 | 6-5 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2001 | 4-7 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2002 | 3-8 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2003 | 5-7 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2004 | 10-3 | Beat GA Southern 1st round, lost to Montana 2nd round D1-AA Playoffs |
| 2005 | 11-2 | Beat Colgate 1st round, lost to Northern Iowa 2nd round D1-AA Playoffs |
| 2006 | 9-4 | Beat Hampton 1st round, lost to Massachusetts 2nd round D1-AA Playoffs |
Oregon, 2007-2012
After helping New Hampshire to three straight playoff appearances, Kelly got his first taste of coaching at the D1-A level. He became the offensive coordinator for the Ducks in 2007 and held the position for two years. Head coach Mike Bellotti led Oregon to a 10-3 record and, after a bowl win, became the school's athletic director.
Kelly was promoted internally and took over as head coach in 2009. He helped the Ducks win or at least tie for four consecutive Pac-12 titles, and Oregon made the playoffs in each season. Kelly had four straight seasons of at least 10 wins, notching 12 every year from 2010-2012. The Ducks made the national championship game in 2011 but came up short against Auburn, 22-19. He stuck around the college ranks a bit longer before making the leap to the NFL.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 2007 | 9-4 | Won Sun Bowl |
| 2008 | 10-3 | Won Holiday Bowl |
| 2009 | 10-3 | Lost Rose Bowl |
| 2010 | 12-1 | Lost BCS National Championship |
| 2011 | 12-2 | Won Rose Bowl |
| 2012 | 12-1 | Won Fiesta Bowl |
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Philadelphia Eagles, 2013-2015
Philadelphia fired head coach Andy Reid following a 4-12 record. Given Kelly's consistent success over the past nine years in his roles, the Eagles front office decided to hire Kelly as their next head coach. Philly succeeded with Kelly, winning 10 games in his first two seasons. But after a losing 7-9 record, the Eagles' front office decided to fire Kelly ahead of the team's final regular season game.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 2013 | 10-6 | Lost Wild Card vs. Saints |
| 2014 | 10-6 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2015 | 7-9 | Missed Playoffs |
San Francisco 49ers, 2016
Even though Kelly was fired after a losing season, there was speculation he would be one of the more sought after coaches that cycle. He was fired December 29, 2015 and hired by the San Francisco 49ers on January 7. Kelly got just one season in San Francisco. After a dismal year, the front office did an overhaul, firing Kelly and then-GM Trent Baalke and replacing them with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, respectively.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 2016 | 2-14 | Missed Playoffs |
UCLA, 2018-2023
Kelly took a year off from coaching in 2017, but returned in 2018 as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He took over for Jim Mora, who was fired after a 6-7 season. It took a few years, but Kelly was able to get the Bruins back to bowl games. The beginning of his tenure was rough, with a combined 10 wins in three years. When Kelly left after the 2023 season, he had tallied three consecutive eight-win seasons with the Bruins.
| Year | Record | Result |
| 2018 | 3-9 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2019 | 4-8 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2020 | 3-4 (shortened COVID season) | Missed Playoffs |
| 2021 | 8-4 | Holiday Bowl (Cancelled) |
| 2022 | 9-4 | Lost Sun Bowl |
| 2023 | 8-5 | Won LA Bowl |
Ohio State, 2024
Kelly was expected to remain the Bruins head coach despite rumors he had been in talks for NFL coordinator positions. After most college head coaching jobs were filled, Kelly left the Bruins. He became the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Previous OC Bill O'Brien took the head coaching job at Boston College, opening up an opportunity for Kelly.
| Year | Record (as of 10/9/24) | Result |
| 2024 | 5-0 | -- |
Where is Chip Kelly coaching now?
Kelly became Ohio State's offensive coordinator in 2024, replacing Bill O'Brien after he left the Buckeyes to become head coach of Boston College. Kelly had not served as an offensive coordinator since his days at Oregon in 2007-08.
Through five games under Kelly, the Buckeyes are averaging the ninth-most yards per game (510.2) and have scored the seventh-most offensive touchdowns (30).
Chip Kelly college record
- 81-41 (10 seasons)
Kelly went a combined 81-41 (.664) as a head coach in college. He enjoyed the majority of his success at Oregon, going 46-7 across four seasons while winning three Pac-12 championships, the 2012 Rose Bowl and 2013 Fiesta Bowl.
Kelly has not won a national championship, however. Oregon lost the 2011 BCS Championship game against Auburn, 22-19.
Chip Kelly NFL record
- 28-35 (four seasons)
Kelly left the college ranks to become head coach of the Eagles in 2013. His jump to the NFL was met with a ton of hype as he led Philadelphia's turnaround from 4-12 in 2012 to 10-6, an NFC East title and a playoff berth as a rookie head coach. The Eagles went 10-6 again in 2014 but missed the playoffs.
Kelly was fired after Week 16 during the 2015 season with the Eagles at 6-9, three days after they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. It was reported team owner Jeffrey Lurie wanted to strip Kelly of personnel decision making, and Kelly's refusal led to his firing.
Kelly was hired to coach the 49ers the following season in 2016, but his stint in San Francisco was short-lived. He went 2-14 and was fired along with GM Trent Baalke as the 49ers cleaned house after one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
