Dirty Bird Daily: Chip Kelly as next Falcons offensive coordinator?

Chip Kelly needs a new job and the Atlanta Falcons are likely in need of a new offensive coordinator for 2017. Crazier things have happened, right?

Would Chip Kelly be a fit as the next Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator? I think so. Please hear me out before completely dismissing the suggestion and flinging your favorite insults.

How many recall Chip Kelly’s back-to-back 10-6 seasons…?

Chip now has a less-than-favorable stigma within the NFL ranks that I’ll say isn’t fair to him at all. San Francisco gave him less than a full season before realizing they had the worst general manager in all of sports. Before then, Philadelphia pulled the plug on Chip Kelly almost a year after granting him full control over personnel moves. How many recall Chip Kelly’s back-to-back 10-6 seasons as Eagles’ head coach? NFL ‘snarks’ shook their heads at Kelly’s offense back in 2013. He just so happened to win the NFC East in his first year and took New Orleans to the wire in the playoffs.

Chip Kelly has recently said he’s ‘up for any football opportunity’ that presents itself. A return to college football seems obvious, except for the fact Chip isn’t a big fan of recruiting. I also think his ego won’t allow him to admit failure and walk away from the NFL, nor should it. As time passes, I believe Chip realizes his best track back an NFL head coaching job is via offensive coordinator. We’ve seen many ousted coaches get multiple head jobs after taking a step back to the coordinator ranks.

If Kelly has been awful at anything in the NFL, it’s full control of personnel moves. He did have final say on the Eagles’ 53-man roster in 2013 and 2014, but that power didn’t include trades, free agency, or the draft. Lucky for the Falcons, he wouldn’t be needed to any of the above.

Chip Kelly may be onto something that neither of his previous NFL employers allowed him time to fully develop. I happen to think he would thrive with the right personnel already in place and an open playbook. No personnel moves, no press conferences, and only opposing defenses to worry about. I have no idea how the X’s and O’s would fit with the Falcons, but that’s a conversation we’ll save for later. At this point, scratching the surface and at least considering the idea is the intent.

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Suggesting Chip Kelly as the next Falcons offensive coordinator is obviously assuming Kyle Shanahan has taken a head coaching job elsewhere. There’s some “crazies” out there who think Shanahan remains in Atlanta, but let’s be real, what 37-year old coach declines a promotion? Let’s say Shanahan is off to Denver or Los Angeles and the high-octane offensive talent remaining in Atlanta is left without a mechanic…

Why hire another mechanic when there’s a mad scientist available?

Yes, it’s absolutely crazy, but no more crazy than those of you who once suggested Rex Ryan as Falcons head coach. You fans know who you are.

Next: Kyle Shanahan may be Denver bound