Farewell Chip, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. As the clock expired and Chip Kelly was doused in yellow Gatorade, it seemed that would be the last time we would see Coach Kelly with the Oregon visor upon his head. Chip had lead the team to four consecutive BCS Bowls in four years, and won the last two trips. Arguably the most successful head coach Oregon has ever seen, looked poised to head to the NFL. When word got out that Chip would be returning for another shot at a Natty, you could almost hear the entire city of Eugene sigh in relief. Although it was thought he would be returning, I knew that it was just a matter of time before he headed to the Pros. That time ended up being sooner rather than later, as the Philadelphia Eagles announced their new coach would be none other than Chip Kelly. Even though I was a little dissapointed, I could not say I was surprised nor angry. For people to question the character of Kelly really gets on my nerves. Sure, I'm not happy with his decision to leave, but you have to be able to see where he is coming from. He has spent his four years in College and is now heading for the ultimate challenge. Coach Kelly has elevated this program to a level that we have never seen before, and left us in a pretty good situation (disregarding possible sanctions). Next season will not be the year to see if we can survive without Chip. There is so much returning talent on that Duck roster, the true test will be a few years from now when the new recruiting class must take over. To me, Mark Helfrich makes the most sense to be the head guy, instead of going out and chasing after Chris Peterson or somebody else. Oregon Football will live on, but Chip Kelly will surely be missed.