Chip Kelly Marked a Turning Point in Oregon Football, Not the 2010 Season

After a few days of mourning, the Oregon football team, fans, and coaches cannot help but feel empty. A 22-19 loss to Auburn crushed what had become a "dream" season—something that Duck fans had never experienced before.

But that is the point. This season, winning every game, making it to the national title game is all brand new.  

The '70s and '80s were not the kindest to the Oregon community, creating an enormous reason to not not call yourself an Oregon football fan at the time.

The '90s were a bit different. Some may say the "pick" (Kenny Wheaton interception to beat UW) marked a turning point in Oregon football, and from that point on things would never be the same. 

In a way that is true, but the real turning point occurred when Chip Kelly was making his trip across the country, looking over offensive playbooks of success football programs. He stumbled upon Oregon and he presented his new ideas to the staff, and Belotti hired him right on the spot. 

You can attribute the success of Oregon's football team to Nike, or to Kenny Wheaton's pick, or to Joey Harrington and the 2001 team that led to many more great Oregon teams, but Chip Kelly is revolutionizing the game of football right before our eyes and he is the sole reason why the Oregon Ducks made it to the national title game this year. 

His pace, demeanor and mindset are what makes him a football genius. He has five coaches who have been in the program for over 20 years, and he stepped in front of all of them to take the head coaching job, and to be able to keep all five on staff is remarkable.

In the locker room at the Civil War this season, right before taking the field, Chip said this to the players: "I have told you all season long, I view every game as if it were a round in a boxing match. This is round 12, let's finish it!"

This quote is a perfect example of his ability to reach out to the players on a different level. His techniques may be far-fetched, but they work. From assigned meals during the summer to watching old boxing matches with motivational speakers, Chip knows how to reach out to his players. 

In his first year he had to suspend his starting running back for almost the entire season after an embarrassing loss in his first game as head honcho—he finished with a trip to the Rose Bowl and a Pac-10 championship. Not bad. 

A little side note: after the first game against Boise (Blount punch, embarrassing loss), a fan that was furious emailed him and said, "I want a refund of every penny that I spent traveling to that lousy game."

Chip sent him every penny in a check out of his own pocket, and that check is now framed up on the wall of the Duck fan's office, not cashed. 

Concluding his first year, he had to suspend his starting running back for the first game of the year, and had to kick his starting QB off the team. He finished 12-0 with a trip to the national title game. Oh, and another Pac-10 championship. 

Seeing a trend? 

You either hate him or you love him, but there is one fact that every Oregon fan has to face: Chip Kelly is the best thing that has ever happened to Oregon football, and whether he does not interview well or act like he really cares that he's losing a game, he just may be the best coach out there, and he will prove that in years to come.