Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly is still unemployed. Here are five reasons he needs to replace Steve Sarkisian as the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator.
With Super Bowl LI wrapping up on Sunday night, the final revolution on the coaching carousel is upon us. For some time now, the Atlanta Falcons knew that they were going to lose offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the San Francisco 49ers head coaching vacancy.
On Tuesday, Atlanta also lost its quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur to the offensive coordinator position with the Los Angeles Rams. Frankly, it seems that Atlanta knew that losing both Shanahan and LaFleur was inevitable. What we didn’t expect was who the Falcons were going to hire to replace Shanahan: former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
Sarkisian had been on Nick Saban’s staff for less than a year in Tuscaloosa. He was going to replace Lane Kiffin, now with the Florida Atlantic Owls, as Saban’s offensive coordinator full-time in 2017. Atlanta kept this news hush-hush for a while, but the Pete Carroll coaching tree is strong in Flowery Branch. Sarkisian and Falcons head coach Dan Quinn both served as coordinators under Carroll in their coaching career.
While Alabama will be looking for its third offensive coordinator in a matter of weeks, there is reason to belief that former San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly is the perfect guy for the job in 2017. Here are five reasons Saban needs to hire Kelly as his newest offensive coordinator.
5. College football return for Kelly will garner huge buzz for Alabama
The two big names that could be in line to replace Sarkisian in Tuscaloosa are Kelly and former Oregon Ducks head coach Mark Helfrich. Helfrich took over for Kelly in Eugene in 2013. Kelly had spent the last four seasons in the NFL as a head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and the 49ers (2016). Helfrich was fired as the Oregon head coach in 2016 after going 4-8.
While both would be great fits for Alabama, Kelly easily garners the most buzz of the two. A return to college football for Kelly is a media lightning rod on par with Tim Tebow to the NFL rumors. The difference is that Tebow can’t play quarterback in the NFL, while Kelly can win 12 games annually in a Power 5 conference as a head coach.
He’ll need to wait at least a year before being a college head coach again, but he could benefit from a season serving under Saban in Tuscaloosa as his offensive coordinator. It would help Kelly substantially to get re-acclimated to the college game, the college coaches, and all things recruiting.
Kelly may not stick at Alabama for more than a year, but his short tenure in Tuscaloosa will only help the national brand of Crimson Tide football grow. The more news that Alabama can take away from Michigan, Ohio State, and USC, the better it will be for the Crimson Tide in 2017. They’ve proven that they can handle any media distraction that comes their way. Kelly is a superior coach and less of a distraction over Kiffin, probably the same over Sarkisian.