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Chip Kelly’s interest in returning to the NFL appears to be getting more serious. The UCLA coach interviewed on Tuesday with the Seattle Seahawks for their offensive coordinator opening, according to The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak.
Kelly, 60, would give new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald an experienced play-caller who has run productive offenses in the NFL (with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers) and college (Oregon). Seattle’s previous OC, Shane Waldron, left to take the same position with the Chicago Bears.
Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle has also looked at Alabama‘s Ryan Grubb (formerly of Washington), New York Giants OC Mike Kafka and Detroit Lions assistant Tanner Engstrand as candidates for its opening.
Kelly has been mentioned among NFL circles in recent weeks despite signing a contract extension with the Bruins last year that runs through the 2027 season. He would surely take a pay cut from his $6 million annual salary at UCLA to take a coordinator position in the pros. Yet judging from the amount of chatter regarding Kelly’s NFL interest, it appears that he’s very interested in getting out of college football.
Last season, UCLA went 8–5 overall, and tied for sixth place in the Pac-12 with a 4–5 conference record.
But winning figures to be more difficult next season with the Bruins moving to the Big Ten, joining USC, Oregon and Washington. That, in addition to NIL and the transfer portal changing the college football landscape, may be compelling Kelly to pursue an NFL return.
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