Eagles coach Chip Kelly says he’s not going to be the Texas coach. Without actually saying, “I’m not going to be the Texas coach.”
Kelly’s name emerged Sunday as part of an ever-growing Longhorn NFL wish list. On Monday, Kelly said he’s not going anywhere.
“I understand you have to ask the question, but I’m not involved in any jobs [that are vacant],” Kelly said Monday, via Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. “I’m the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and I’m going to prepare for the Bears, we’re going to prepare for the Cowboys after that. Hopefully, we have an opportunity to go to the playoffs and I plan to be here for a while.”
Kelly is subject to an 18-month “show cause” penalty from the NCAA, which would expose any school that hires him to sanctions.
“I haven’t to talked to anybody,” Kelly said. “It’s just speculation. I haven’t spoken to anybody, nor will I speak to anybody.”
Kelly nearly took the Buccaneers’ job two years ago. In January, after flirting with the Browns and Eagles, Kelly returned to Oregon. And then out of the blue he became the head coach in Philly.
The key question contractually would be whether Kelly obtained from the Eagles a Nick Saban-style term that allows him to return to the college game whenever he wants. If so, he has the same flexibility that prompted Saban to become the Alabama coach weeks after declaring that he won’t be.