Oregon Football: Why Chip Kelly Still Has Something To Prove
For the past three years, Chip Kelly has elevated the Oregon football program to heights that it has never seen before.
The Ducks have won three straight conference titles, been to a national title game and two Rose Bowl games, winning one of them.
Since arriving, Kelly has given Duck fans plenty to be excited about, as his warp-speed offense and gutsy play-calling have been a treat for fans to watch every Saturday in the fall.
During his time at Oregon, Kelly has transformed players into stars and he has done a terrific job of finding a way to put his talented players into the best spots for success.
When Kelly first arrived, he had the combination of Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart in the backfield. That has transformed to combinations like Jeremiah Masoli and Jeremiah Johnson, Masoli and LaGarrette Blount and finally Darron Thomas and LaMichael James.
While all of these combinations have worked out great, the head coach is in the middle of another transition and the answer is not yet clear.
At running back, the clear answer to carry the load will be Kenjon Barner with De'Anthony Thomas seeing a variety of roles.
On the other hand, the answer at quarterback is not as clear.
This year, Darron Thomas decided to stun everyone when he passed up on his senior season at Oregon in favor of the NFL. With that decision, Kelly is now looking at Bryan Bennett and Marcus Mariota.
During the 2011 season, Bennett did see some action, as Thomas missed some time with a knee injury.
In relief duty, Bennett was outstanding, showing Ducks fans that he has not only the legs, but the arm to keep this offense moving.
With spring practice less than a week away, the speculation will run wild and will heat up even more when the Ducks play their spring game on ESPN 3.
For Ducks fans, all you can do now is sit back, relax and enjoy the show, knowing that this isn't the first time that Kelly is looking to transition this offense to the next generation of stars.
