Chip Kelly Isn’t Leaving the Eagles for the University of Florida

Don't pay attention to the rumors.

Things are going pretty well for Eagles fans right now. The Birds are 5-1, neck-and-neck with Dallas at the top of the NFC East, and it’s already looking like the team made the right choice in Chip Kelly.

But could one thing take it all away? Could Chip Kelly leave the team for a college?

Well, no. No no no. Recently, ESPN’s Colin Cowherd reported that Chip Kelly would take Florida’s call if they picked up the phone to offer him a job. Florida currently has a coach, but is expected to fire Will Muschamp after the season.

A reporter who covers Florida’s conference said Kelly would be a perfect fit: “The name that I keep hearing around the country is Chip Kelly. And everybody says, ‘well, he’s the Philadelphia Eagle coach.’ But he really is the kind of guy that needs to come in there and take over that program.”

Well, ease any fears you have, people. It’s not going to happen. It’s a stupid rumor.

Bleeding Green Nation had a nice title for its piece on why the coach wouldn’t leave Philly: “Chip Kelly isn’t going back to college so shut up.” Including playoffs, Chip Kelly is 15-8 since he arrived in Philadelphia. He prefers the NFL schedule to one where he has to go recruit kids in the offseason.

And, Football Scoop — “the premier source for coaching job information” — says it’s not a deal.

Rumors like this spread for many reasons. I’m sure Florida would like to have Kelly as its coach (though he doesn’t have any connections to the area, so recruiting would be harder) — he had very successful run at Oregon. But it’s not a real thing that’s going to happen. Surely, Chip Kelly would take Florida’s call — he wouldn’t want to be unprofessional and refuse a call from a colleague. But why would he ever be interested in going back to college when he’s had such instant success in the NFL?

Chip Kelly will be the Eagles coach for the near future. Until they start losing a few seasons in a row or, if we’re lucky, he retires after a long career and several Super Bowls. Let’s not speculate on which one is more likely.

[Bleeding Green Nation | 24/7 Sports]