The name Chip Kelly needs no introduction in Pac-12 country.
For four seasons, Oregon fans watched as a man in a visor brought the Ducks into the national spotlight.
Three consecutive Pac-12 titles, four trips to BCS Bowl games — including a National Championship game appearance and a Rose Bowl victory, on top of the program’s first undefeated regular season since 1948 are the highlights of his career at Oregon.
Kelly will make his return to Autzen Stadium this Saturday; however, instead of green and yellow, he’ll be wearing blue and gold as he leads the UCLA Bruins through the visiting team’s tunnel.
“It will be difficult to be honest with you because it is a special place,” Kelly said at the Pac-12 Football Media Day this July in Hollywood. “It’s one of the real hallowed grounds of college football. I think if you have ever played a game in Autzen Stadium, whether you were the home team or the visitor, you’ll remember it.”
With today’s Oregon team full of athletes who never played under Kelly, nor were even in high school at the time, former Ducks have spoken about their experiences playing in the Kelly era and their reactions on his return to collegiate football.
“He had a vision,” said Curtis White, who played under Kelly at Oregon for two seasons. “Maybe it wasn’t so common back then, the spread offense or the high-flying, high-speed offense, but he wanted to change the game — and he did.”
After originally being offered a scholarship by former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti during high school, Kelly still recruited White when he took over the program in 2009.
A ruptured Achilles just weeks away from what would have been the start to his redshirt freshman season capped White’s Oregon career. Despite being stuck in Eugene on the day of the season opener (against LSU at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas), Kelly made sure White still felt a part of the team.
“I was down. I was thinking there was no way I could ever come back from that,” White said. “But even though he had the whole team head down to Texas, he still took the time to give me a call and tell me, ‘You’ll be back. You’ll make it.’ That kind of stuff sticks with you forever.”
Along with White, inside linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. was also a part of Kelly’s first recruiting class at Oregon. Malone played under Kelly for three of his five seasons as a Duck and refers to his former coach as the first authoritative figure to believe in both him and his dreams.
“He was the first figure to really, really believe in me,” Malone said. “The fact that he didn’t brush me off or try to dwindle my dreams or downplay them at all … really spoke volumes and really allowed me to think broader and realize that the sky really is the limit.”
When Kelly left the program after the 2012 season to coach the Philadelphia Eagles, Malone understood that Kelly had to go and follow his dreams onto the professional stage. The former Duck said he’s curious to see how Kelly will continue to change the sport.
“I’m excited to see what he brings forth,” Malone said. “He literally changed the entire game of college, as well as NFL, football. So, I’m really interested in how innovative he’s going to be this time around.”
As former players and long-time Oregon fans travel into Eugene to watch Saturday’s game at Autzen, there’s bound to be a mix of emotions.
“I think there is going to be of course the booers out there, but I think for the most part people are going to cheer because he gave a lot. We all gave a lot,” White said. “We won a lot of games, we did some amazing stuff. We can’t forget that.”
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