In the midst of a dreadful first quarter against Stanford, Chip Kelly started clapping.
It was quite a strange sight to see, considering that Stanford looked invincible, while the Ducks seemed completely lost. The crowd, and even the press box, had been rendered silent.
Now, I’ve seen my fair share of coaching faces and reactions in my life. Last year, there was the Vinny Del Negro “Look of Utter Confusion” while coaching the Chicago Bulls. In Alabama, Nick Saban maintains a look of relative calm — until something goes wrong, and he spontaneously erupts. And then there’s Lovie Smith of my hometown Bears, who may or may not be alive on the sidelines.
But with his team in a big hole during a pivotal game, Kelly didn’t blow a gasket. He didn’t throw his hands up in disgust, or pace the sideline looking for someone to blame. Instead, he clapped.
To me, this says everything about Kelly as a coach and explains why his teams are truly never out of a game. The guy just doesn’t panic.
The Ducks couldn’t have looked any worse coming out of the gates last Saturday, and Kelly knew it. What he also knew, however, was that yelling and screaming would do no good (at least, not at his players. This mantra apparently did not apply to the referees).
Indeed, panic would have only made things worse. A frantic coach creates frantic players, and this is where many games are lost.
So, as the players came off the field, Kelly looked them in the eye and clapped, imploring them to wake up and gain control of the game.
We all know what happened after that. The Ducks outscored Stanford 49-10 from the second quarter on, a remarkable turnaround that few could have ever predicted.
Many factors contributed to this comeback. Darron Thomas played the game of his life, LaMichael James proved unstoppable on the ground, and the Oregon defense finally put some pressure on Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck.
Credit goes where credit is due, and the Ducks played a phenomenal game that night. But in my eyes, the spark for the resurgence came from Kelly. At a pivotal moment in the game, he chose positive reinforcement over throwing a tantrum.
Sure enough, on Oregon’s first drive of the second quarter, Darron Thomas hit Jeff Maehl for a touchdown, 21-10.
Then, Kelly proved how confident he was in the team by calling for an onside kick. Predetermined or not, it was a brilliant call that set Oregon up for another quick touchdown, and put the Ducks right back in the game.
And now, here we are, with the Ducks ranked No. 3 in the nation heading into a meeting with conference doormat Washington State.
As it turns out, that contract extension came at a perfect time for Kelly. Some grumbled about the contract’s size, given the monetary problems the University’s athletic department currently faces.
It’s a worthy discussion, one that could easily fill an entire column. But in terms of proving his own worth, outside of any larger issues, Kelly couldn’t have done any better this past week.
Some coaches earn their keep in the film room, mastering the Xs and Os of every matchup. Others are motivators, spiritual leaders who use pure enthusiasm to make up for a relative lack of expertise in certain facets of the game.
Kelly seems to be a rare combination of both. We knew he was an offensive mastermind when he was promoted to head coach, but his motivational skills weren’t readily apparent.
No longer. One needed only to watch Kelly calmly clapping on the sidelines to see that Chip has it. The aftermath of the Boise State game last year proved to be his shining moment as a leader; the Stanford comeback may well be remembered similarly this season.
Put simply, this program is in good hands.
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