Chip Kelly Charles " Chip " Kelly ( born November 25 , 1963 ) is an American football coach . He is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the former head coach at the University of Oregon . During his four seasons at Oregon , he led the team to three Pac - 12 Conference championships and four BCS game appearances . Early life and education . Kelly is a native of New Hampshire , and attended Manchester Central High School and earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from the University of New Hampshire in 1990 . He played quarterback at Manchester Central and defensive back at the University of New Hampshire . Coaching career . Early coaching years . He broke into the coaching ranks in 1990 at Columbia University , where he served as secondary and special teams coach for the freshman team . The next year he was outside linebackers and strong safeties coach for the varsity team . In 1992 he went to the University of New Hampshire as the running backs coach . He left to become the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins University for one season . He returned to his alma mater as the running backs coach for the next three seasons ( 1994 – 96 ) . He changed to the offensive line coach for two seasons ( 1997 – 98 ) . Kelly was promoted to offensive coordinator at New Hampshire ( 1999 – 2006 ) . The Wildcats ' offenses averaged better than 400 yards per game of total offense in seven of his eight seasons and more than 30 points per game in his final four seasons . In 2004 , the school broke 29 offensive school records ; compiling 5 , 446 yards of total offense and scoring 40 or more points in seven games . Their best offensive output was in 2005 when the Wildcats finished second nationally in total offense ( 493 . 5 ypg ) , third in scoring ( 41 . 7 ppg ) and fifth in passing ( 300 . 1 ypg ) . They completed the season with an 11 – 2 record . He was named the College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston following the 2005 season in addition to being selected as “ one of college football ’ s hottest coaches ” by American Football Monthly . In 2006 , quarterback Ricky Santos won the Walter Payton Award under Kelly ' s guidance , after Santos finished second in balloting for the award in 2005 . University of Oregon . Chip Kelly led Oregon football to new territory after taking over as head coach in 2009 . He coached the University of Oregon to BCS games in each of his four seasons as head coach ; the 2010 Rose Bowl , 2011 BCS National Championship Game , 2012 Rose Bowl , and 2013 Fiesta Bowl . He coached Oregon to three consecutive outright conference titles from 2009 - 2011 and a conference division title in 2012 . Oregon won its second consecutive BCS bowl game after they defeated # 5 Kansas State in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl . He was named the 2009 and 2010 Pac - 10 Coach of the Year , 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year , 2010 Walter Camp Coach of the Year , 2010 Sporting News Coach of the Year , and 2010 Associated Press Coach of the Year . Offensive coordinator ( 2007 – 2008 ) . Kelly was hired as offensive coordinator at Oregon in February 2007 . His potent spread offense attack was an instant success at Oregon . In his first season as offensive coordinator at Oregon , the Ducks led the Pac - 10 in scoring ( 38 . 15 ppg ) and total offense ( 467 . 54 ypg ) , and also became the highest scoring team while amassing the most yards in the history of Oregon football . Prior to Kelly ' s arrival at Oregon , Dennis Dixon struggled in his first three seasons at quarterback . Under Kelly ' s guidance , Dixon was the Pac - 10 Offensive Player of the Year and emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate . In 2008 , the Ducks once again led the Pac - 10 in scoring ( 41 . 9 ppg ) and total offense ( 484 . 8 ypg ) , while breaking the school record marks set the previous season . Head coach ( 2009 – 2012 ) . On March 31 , 2009 , Oregon announced that head coach Mike Bellotti would be promoted to athletic director ; consequently , Kelly would be promoted as head coach . 2009 . Kelly helped the Ducks gain national attention in 2009 after an upset of the then # 5 USC Trojans on October 31 . Kelly became the first Pac - 10 coach to win an outright conference championship in his first season , sending the Ducks to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995 . Oregon also became the first Pac - 10 team to win a conference title by two games since Washington accomplished the feat in 1991 . On December 7 , 2009 Kelly was named Pac - 10 Coach of the year . He was the second Ducks coach to earn the honor , the other being Rich Brooks ( two times ) . 2010 . Prior to the 2010 season , Kelly suspended Jeremiah Masoli for the season after the quarterback pleaded guilty to second - degree burglary charges , marking the second year in a row that a key player was suspended . Masoli was later dismissed from the team following an arrest for marijuana possession and several driving infractions . In early October , Kelly led the team to a # 1 spot on the AP , Harris , and USA Today Coaches Poll , followed a few weeks later by a # 1 BCS ranking . With a 37 – 20 win over the Oregon State Beavers on December 4 , 2010 , Kelly led the Ducks to a 9 – 0 finish in conference play , winning their second consecutive outright Pac - 10 title . With Darron Thomas at quarterback and Doak Walker Award winner LaMichael James at running back , the Ducks averaged 49 . 3 points and 537 . 5 yards per game in the regular season . In December , following an undefeated 12 – 0 season and an end - of - season # 2 BCS ranking , Oregon was selected to play the # 1 Auburn Tigers in the BCS national championship game on January 10 , 2011 . The Tigers , out of the Southeastern Conference , were coached by Gene Chizik , and had the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback in Cam Newton . The Ducks lost , 22 – 19 , on a last - second , 19 - yard field goal by Wes Byrum . In recognition of his coaching achievements , Kelly received the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award , the Walter Camp Coach of the Year award and was named Pac - 10 Coach of the Year for the second year running . Kelly also won the AP Coach of the Year . 2011 . The 2011 season began with the # 3 Ducks facing the # 4 LSU Tigers in the Cowboys Classic where they were defeated 40 - 27 . Oregon won their next nine games , including a 53 - 30 blowout victory at # 3 Stanford . A consecutive trip back to the BCS Championship game appeared to be a strong possibility , but they were defeated 38 - 35 by # 18 USC when an Oregon field goal attempt failed as time expired . The Ducks won their third straight Pac - 12 championship title after defeating UCLA in the inaugural Pac - 12 Football Championship Game . They represented the Pac - 12 in the Rose Bowl and defeated # 10 Wisconsin 45 – 38 . It was their second Rose Bowl appearance in three years and their sixth overall . This was Oregon ' s third consecutive year in a BCS bowl game . The Ducks finished the season 12 – 2 ( 8 – 1 Pac - 12 ) with a # 4 final season ranking . 2012 . Oregon ' s all - time leading rusher LaMichael James decided to forgo his senior season in 2012 for the NFL and starting quarterback Darron Thomas , with a career starting record of 24 - 2 , surprisingly also decided to leave early for the NFL . However this did not stop Chip Kelly and his team from having arguably the best season in school history . Led by redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota at quarterback and senior tailback Kenjon Barner , Oregon rolled to ten straight victories before finally falling to # 14 Stanford in overtime 17 - 14 on November 17 . Oregon had two opportunities to beat Stanford with a field goal but both attempts failed . Kelly ' s Ducks would rebound to beat # 16 Oregon State in the Civil War for the fifth straight year and play # 5 Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl . The Ducks proved to be too much for Kansas State as they prevailed to a 35 - 17 victory in Oregon ' s fourth consecutive year in a BCS bowl game . The Ducks finished the season 12 – 1 ( 8 – 1 Pac - 12 ) with a # 2 ranking , putting them in the top five of the final season rankings for the third straight season . NFL interest . In the spring of 2009 , Jon Gruden and Kelly spent several days in Tampa , Florida going over theories , progressions , and offensive strategies . In November 2010 , Kelly visited Pete Carroll at the Seattle Seahawks practice facility during an Oregon bye week . In January 2012 , the Tampa Bay Buccaneers interviewed Kelly for the head coach position but he declined to take the job because he had " unfinished business to complete " with the Ducks . During the 2012 offseason , Kelly met with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to discuss how he operated the " blur " offense that he ran at Oregon . New England then implemented a no - huddle hurry - up offense during the 2012 NFL season . " Oregonian " columnist John Canzano speculated that Kelly was waiting for the New England Patriots head coaching position to become available . In early January 2013 , numerous NFL teams expressed interest and Kelly was interviewed by the Buffalo Bills , the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles . After a seven hour meeting with the Browns followed by a nine hour meeting with the Eagles , ESPN ' s Adam Schefter reported that Kelly decided to remain at Oregon . Philadelphia Eagles . On January 16 , 2013 , Kelly , accepted the offer from Philadelphia and became the head coach of the Eagles , despite previously saying he would stay at Oregon . Personality . Kelly is known for speaking from one side of his mouth at rapid pace . He frequently provides short and abrupt answers to reporters . His answers have been referred to as " chipisms " , many of which are documented on a twitter page that is dedicated to them . ESPN blogger Ted Miller describes Kelly as being " funny , biting , pithy , strange , fiery and surprising when talking to reporters . " Despite his fairly charismatic personality , Kelly is reluctant to discuss his life outside of football . He has a small , tight group of friends back home in Manchester , New Hampshire who never speak about him to reporters . Fans at Autzen Stadium have given Kelly the nickname " Big Balls Chip " as a result of his unpredictable in - game play - calling , such as fourth - down attempts , trick plays and two - point conversions . His in - game coaching has also been called stubborn and unconventional . Kelly gained national acclaim for responding to a season ticket holder ' s letter demanding a refund for his expenses after traveling to see Oregon ' s 19 – 8 loss to Boise State , which ended with Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount responding to a Bronco player ' s taunts by punching him in the face . Kelly replied to the man with a personal check written out for his travel costs ( exactly $ 439 ) ; in response , the fan wrote him a thank - you note enclosing the original check , which he did not cash and made copies to frame . In November 2012 , Kelly was featured in a UPS commercial where the shipping business known for handling logistical challenges sees its catchphrase turned into " Duckgistics . "