Chip Kelly: The Chip Flip and the Oregon Ducks' 'Unfinished Business'

Oregon Ducks fans were on an emotional roller coaster from Sunday evening to Monday morning, after coach Chip Kelly appeared to have been tapped as head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before opting out and deciding to remain in Eugene.

According to the press release issued by the school today, the primary reason Kelly decided to remain as head coach was "unfinished business."

Why would Kelly say no to one great opportunity to continue working on another great opportunity?

Well, maybe...

...He Still Wants to Win a National Championship

Losing the BCS National Championship by a field goal is a tough pill to swallow.

Yes, the the then-Pac-10 champs proved that they could hang with the big boys of the SEC a year ago, but no matter how close the score, they couldn't overcome the doubts whether speed could trump strength.

Beating Wisconsin this year in the Rose Bowl provided some validation, but until the Ducks beat a top-tier SEC team, the doubts will linger.

The early 2012 schedule is boring if you want to see great non-conference matchups, but exciting if you love video game scoring and stats. But, since losses matter, the Ducks have chosen more of an SEC-like non-conference schedule.  

The window for this team to make the title game is still open, and Kelly may be looking to capitalize on the hard work he and his assistants have done to get the right players in place and ready for another run.

...He Wants to Coach a Heisman Winner

Kelly may be looking to deliver to the school their first Heisman Trophy winner, after already coaching a finalist and having a strong prospect on his roster.

De'Anthony Thomas is already being talked about as a contender, and if he remains healthy he will certainly be on the short list for his junior year.  In addition to Thomas, a few dark horses may emerge, such as QB Bryan Bennett, RB Kenjon Barner or WR Josh Huff.

Kelly already delivered the Roses to Eugene. Can he bring the bronze along with it?

...He Is No Pete Carroll

Knowing full well that the school will be hit with some sort of penalty this offseason, Kelly may have decided to take them on the chin instead of letting the next head coach shoulder the load.

The first thing out of many mouths regarding Kelly's leaving was that he was taking the Pete Carroll route and not standing with his team to face the music.

To this date, Kelly has stood by individual players during times of trouble, and has taken a lot of heat for some of that.  For all the hits to Oregon's image by Jeremiah Masoli and Cliff Harris, the redemption stories of LeGarrette Blount, LaMichael James and Kiko Alonso stand as a testimony to the leader of men that Kelly has aspired to become.

Skipping out of town right now would tarnish a legacy of success to a degree, and Kelly's sense of honor and duty just would not allow for that.

...LOI Day Is Upon Him

There is a saying out there that "there is no such thing as negative publicity."

...Wrong.

Imagine you're a four-starrecruit who would be a perfect fit in the Oregon spread-option system. You've already made a verbal commitment to play for Oregon, and the only item to cross of the list is signing the letter of intent.  

Out of the blue, before LOI day, you hear the coach is leaving for another job.  Then the next day you hear he is coming back.

What kind of commitment are your going to make to the school if the coach isn't a solid commit himself?

A lot of work by Kelly and his assistants can come undone in the next week unless they can get out in front of their recruits and be honest about the present situation. The current situation may not impact recruiting, especially since Kelly is staying put.

But it only puts ammo in the guns of other schools' recruiting pitches as long as Kelly is at the helm in Eugene.

Kelly needs to be there for the kids who have chosen to "Win the Day."

...It's Just Not Time, Yet

The allure of coaching Josh Freeman and LeGarrette Blount in his spread-option attack at the top level is certainly there.

Out of the teams with head-coach openings, the Bucs seem to be most suited to fit his type of offense right out of the gate.  The fact that the Bucs are one year removed from the playoffs also has to be attractive: These guys have experience with winning, and they're hungry to get back to the postseason.

If I had a guess, I would say that the deal-killer today for Kelly involved personnel decisions.

At Oregon, Kelly's success is not due to simply having the best collection of athletes on his teams. He wants football players who buy into his "Win the Day" mantra.

The NFL deals with a lot of zeroes while calculating player paychecks, but lately it seems like they've had more and more zeroes lining up on either side of the ball.

Acts like the one Peyton Hillis pulled this year with the Browns are not going to be tolerated by Kelly at the next level.

Scouting for and assembling talent above the neck that complements the talent in the rest of the player's body is how Kelly molds his rosters, not by reading press clippings and listening to the promises made by agents.

"Win the Day"

This picture says everything anyone needs to know about Chip Kelly.

Yes, he can be abrasive to the media, and yes, he plays his cards extremely close to the vest.

When Michael Clay recovered this fumble to effectively seal the Rose Bowl for Oregon, however, Kelly leaped for joy just as much as every Duck fan in the stands or watching at home at that moment.  You can't get that level of emotion from the sidelines at the NFL level. Ever.  

The ride with Chip Kelly will come to an end eventually, though.  The events of the past two days have certainly made that clear.  Chip Kelly is a football junkie who will eventually look for his next fix, and that fix will be in the NFL.

At that time, the University will have the unenviable task of replacing a legend.

But I'm certain that the line for the job will be quite lengthy, as Oregon is now a destination school for top-tier coaching talent.