Widener University’s football team was eliminated from the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday and their coach is no fan of Philadelphia Eagles’ coach Chip Kelly.
Widener University is located in Chester, Pa., just 14 miles southwest of Philadelphia.
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And the school’s football coach maybe the biggest Seattle Seahawks fan in the country today when the defending Super Bowl champions visit the nearby Philadelphia Eagles.
Widener coach Mike Kelly was angry with Eagles coach Chip Kelly—no relation—after the Pride was thumped at home by Linfield College of Oregon 45-7 in a Division III quarterfinal Saturday at Quick Stadium on the Widener campus.
"“Make sure you put in the paper that we thank Chip Kelly and I hope the Seahawks do well tomorrow,” Mike Kelly told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He was helping them out. Maybe somebody in Philadelphia ought to buy him a map so he knows where he lives now.“But, go Seahawks.”"
The Eagles coach allowed Linfield to practice at the NovaCare Complex, the Eagles’ practice facility, and stopped by there Friday along with quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave to wish the Wildcats luck.
Kelly had gotten to know Linfield coach Joseph Smith when he was the head coach at the University of Oregon.
"“That was a neat opportunity for us,” Smith said. “Knowing Coach Kelly from his Oregon days and the connection there, so it was great to have him let us come out there and practice. That was fantastic.”"
But where Widener’s Kelly believed Eagles’ Kelly offered Smith strategic advice, Smith disputed that claim.
"“Well, he really couldn’t because of the rules that they have with the NFL,” Smith said. “He wasn’t able to come out and talk to the team.”"
It seems unlikely that a brief conversation and a photo op would yield a 38-point loss. But hey, whatever helps Mike Kelly get through the pain of defeat.
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