With Steve Sarkisian leaving Alabama to take the offensive coordinator job with the Atlanta Falcons, you knew it wouldn’t be long before the Chip Kelly rumors started to fly.
Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports is reporting that Kelly is one of the names to watch now that Nick Saban has a vacancy on his coaching staff.
Names I'm told could get consideration for #Alabama OC: Mark Helfrich, Chip Kelly & George Godsey who is tight with OL coach Brent Key.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 7, 2017
Kelly has met with multiple NFL teams, but he has still not taken a job. After he was fired by the San Francisco 49ers, he expressed a willingness to go work as an offensive coordinator for an NFL team. It’s unclear if he would be interested in doing that at the collegiate level, but it doesn’t get more high-profile than Alabama.
For what it’s worth, Kelly was thought to be a strong candidate for the job Sarkisian was offered.
If Kelly wants to be a head coach for a college team again, working for Saban would be a great stepping stone. Lane Kiffin was able to parlay the opportunity into a head coaching gig after he flopped at USC, so there’s no reason Kelly can’t do the same.
The question is, would Saban want Kelly? The two have indicated in the past that they are friendly, but Kelly is known to have an ego. Given the way things ended between Saban and Kiffin, the Crimson Tide coach may not want to risk going through something similar with Kelly.
