Oregon Ducks Football: It's the Beginning of the End of the Chip Kelly Era

Oregon Ducks fans everywhere frantically rushed to the nearest laptop or smartphone on Sunday night after they heard that Chip Kelly, the head coach of their beloved football team, was about to leave for the NFL.

As reported by KGW in Portland, Ore., Kelly was close to agreeing to a deal that would've made him the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But for those Ducks fans who stayed up late that night in agony over losing the coach who brought the first Rose Bowl trophy to Eugene in 95 years, their prayers were answered.

Kelly's heart was in college football, as well as with the Oregon Ducks.

As Kelly stated, "I enjoyed meeting with the Glazer family and general manager Mark Dominik but after numerous discussions, I concluded that I have some unfinished business to complete at the University of Oregon."

That was music to the ears for all those who associate themselves with the Duck Nation. It would've been a devastating setback for the program if it lost its starting quarterback, Darron Thomas, its starting running back, LaMichael James, and its head coach all in the same offseason. Those are arguably the three most important pieces to a football team.

But the part of the quote that stands out is when Kelly mentions the "unfinished business" that he has yet to complete at Oregon.

What in the world could he be talking about?

Does Kelly want to bring a national championship trophy back to Eugene? Does he not want to hand over the crown to USC as being the king of the Pac-12 conference? Could Kelly want to enjoy his new house in Eugene that has just finished being constructed?

All of these could be true. However, I believe it has to do more with the fact Kelly simply didn't want to leave this program in shambles, and that's exactly what would have happened if he left Oregon this weekend.

All of the big-name head coaches had already been claimed, so Oregon wouldn't have gotten a chance to pick from the entire litter.

Also, national signing day is only a week away. If Kelly left for the NFL, who knows what verbal commits would've stayed true to their word and still gone to Oregon. Seeing the head coach, who probably recruited most of the prospects, leave a week before signing day would not have appealed to the potential recruits.

Kelly wouldn't leave this program at this point of the offseason. He has way more class than that.

But this is an early indication of what Kelly's ambitions are for the future. He has shown his cards and has made it evident that he wants to coach in the NFL one day.

Todd McShay even reported that Kelly believes the spread offense he runs at Oregon can work in the NFL.

But if Kelly is, in fact, keen on coaching in the NFL one day, why wouldn't he have taken the Tampa Bay job? He would've had a lot of pieces to work with, as well as being reunited with LeGarrette Blount, Oregon's star running back from 2008 to 2009.

One reason for this could be that Kelly wants to groom his protege and have him take the reins after Kelly leaves for the NFL, whenever that may be.

It would be a little reminiscent of what Mike Bellotti, the head coach of Oregon before Kelly, did when he stepped down. Bellotti handpicked Kelly to become the new head coach of Oregon, and that move helped transformed the program into a conference powerhouse.

Whom Kelly is planning to name his successor has yet to be determined. If Kelly already knew, he would be the head coach of the Buccaneers right now.

Ideally, however, Kelly would like to name an in-house replacement because this team has been assembled to run a very complex and diverse offense. Bringing in an outside head coach is always an option, but this team would be better suited to have a new head coach who is already familiar with the spread offense that the Ducks run. Changing the offensive scheme with the type of athletes that are slated to be on the team for the next couple of years might not be a wise decision.

Although nothing is for certain, all signs point towards it being the beginning of the end of the Chip Kelly era in Oregon. No one, except for Kelly himself, knows when the end will finally come.

However, looking out for whom Kelly has in mind to succeed him as head coach for the Ducks will be something to keep an eye on next season.