USC Morning Buzz: ESPN Hires Chip Kelly As Studio Analyst

Unable to get another NFL job, Chip Kelly’s signed a multi-year contract with ESPN as a studio analyst, “predominantly working college football pre-games, halftimes and studio wraps each Saturday on ESPN2.”

This is the logical landing place for Kelly, who will undoubtedly become a candidate for any big college jobs that open in the next year and until he takes another job. Despite USC’s Rose Bowl win, I’ve heard Kelly’s name in coaching circles as a potential USC candidate again, if that day ever arrives.

25 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: ESPN Hires Chip Kelly As Studio Analyst

  1. Chipper’s days have come and gone. Plus, he doesn’t have the personality to deal with the LA media. I can only imagine how fast the Wolfman would turn on Chipper when he blew off one of his inane questions.

  2. I’m trying to figure out the love for this man. Never won more than a conference championship, and not that many of those. While his offenses flourished against lower level teams, they usually had trouble with top flight defenses with size. Most notably, though, his defenses were generally small and undermanned.
    Hey Wolf, is it just anything not associated with USC? Which was the last coach you liked at SC for more than a season?

    • He overachieved at Oregon where he had Nike CEO Phil Knight to hype it all.

      • And had Willie Lyles steer Texas High School Players to him, and got caught, given a Show Cause Penalty for a ridiculously small period of time. Of course, LSU used the same guy and didn’t get whacked at all.

    • Kelly was the flavor of the month. He was pretty darn hot for awhile there and had people scrambling to figure him out. But he couldn’t win it all and then teams did figure him out.

      Plus he’s kinda surly and definitely cheated to get Texas players but basically got let off the hook by the NCAA even though he was caught red-handed paying for a player.

      I think his successful coaching days are over. His offense is already out-of-date. I don’t think he’s gonna create a new attack that would give him the leverage he used to have.

      Kelly is a great example of how quickly it can all come and go. You’ve got to strike when the iron’s hot and Kelly blew it, so he’s already a TV guy now.

      • He reminds me of chucky weiss, all talk. I remember how he was going to change the whole nutrition and training thing, didn’t work out so well either.

        • I think he’s a better coach than Weiss, the only coach in CFB history to make $20 mil on a single game he lost to USC, Leinart and Bush. American sports and economic valuation at its finest.

        • Charlie Weiss was a creation of the media. He was never a great offensive mind despite how they tried to portray him. Just look at the NFL stats. I don’t think that New England was ever in the top 10 offensively when he was offensive coordinator. I think that they were 13th one year. Most of the time, they were 16th or lower. Weiss talked a great talk but never produced much. Kelly, on the other hand, was a great offensive mind. There was a time when I really thought that he was going to take that Eagle franchise to the promise land. Then they just fell apart from that point on. His problem was that he was not a people person. He was really kind of a loner. He came up with a totally unique offensive system at Oregon that nobody knew how to defend. But sooner or later the other schools caught up with his option spread offense and learned how to defend it. If he’d have stayed around long enough he would have probably had his problems in college too.

          • I was starting to type the Oregon/Oklahoma comparison before I read your comment. Totally accurate assessment.. Switzer couldn’t score much against USC or Miami, but put 50+ up on everyone else.

      • I live in the NW and saw Kelly up close. He is a grade A redA** who wants total control.I think he a 1st class A** as well. I think he can be successful in College if he goes to the right school. USC and its tradition of stout defenses and pro style ( though a little less pure these days) are not his style and I do not think the fan base would be too accepting. Hell,, the criticism of USC is they are inbred when searching for coaches–can you imagine them go so far afield as to hire Kelly?

      • It will be interesting to see how Kelly’s career plays out. I expect him to return to coaching within a year or two–college coaching. He’s very obsessed with football, he’s not dumb at all, and I think the odds favor his becoming a successful college coach again. We shall see.

  3. I could think of another LA team he’s be perfect for next year. The show cause should be over by then.

  4. I hope Clay Helton wins while Lynn Swann is the athletic director, because something tells me that, Swann is incapable of making a major coaching hire .

    • Fred, taking the pessimistic view, let’s assume CH is fired or leaves. USC is and will be in much better shape than they have been in the last five years. Without the baggage of sanctions and the drama of Kiff/Sark I suspect top tier candidates will be more open to USC the next go around. Final thought, USC has got to win and win this season–we need something to break your cycle of gloom—just kidding. Enjoy the weekend

    • Just because he screwed up the women’s hoops hire doesn’t mean we should write him off entirely IMO. We apparently lost our #1 candidate from Enfield’s old school because of about 100 grand.

      Assuming that’s true, I wouldn’t necessarily lay all the blame at Swann’s feet because he could have been denied the extra money by Nikias. I’m not sure how much power Swann has over the dough, a pretty huge factor.

  5. Doesn’t he speak a little too fast for an analyst? Plus he hates the media. Solid move, Chippy. Your time has passed, my friend.

Comments are closed.