The Florida Gators may target Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly as an option to be their next head coach, as CBS Philly reports that Kelly's show cause agreement will be over at the end of this year and this comes as the school needs a new football coach with Will Muschamp stepping down after the season.
Kelly has had great success in the NFL since taking over the Eagles job before last season and he is eligible to go back to the college game after Christmas Day in 2014. According to CBS Philly, the Gators will contact Chip Kelly about the job and to "gauge" interest in whether he would return to college football. Pro Football Talk writes that Kelly is eligible to return after his "show cause" order expires and that was agreed on after Kelly was involved in some NCAA violations from his time in Oregon.
Kelly did say that he would not be returning to college after coming to the Eagles, but that was over a year ago and nothing would be stopping him from going back. This seems very unlikely though, as Kelly has been a success thus far in the NFL and for the most part once major head coaches make they leap, they usually stay in the pro ranks. Sources said that the Gators will contact Kelly "as early" as Tuesday about the job to see whether or not he is interested.
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley is looking for a major hire after the way the Gators have fallen over the past few years. Urban Meyer led the team to national championships when he was head coach, but Muschamp did not have anything close to the success that Meyer did. The source said to CBS Philly that the contact will not be an interview and will be the "first pitch" on the job.
Muschamp is out after going just 28-21 with Florida and he was officially let go after the Gators fell to Florida State on Saturday night. Muschamp has won just 10 games in the past two seasons and the source also added that the interest in Kelly goes back to August. Kelly has had success with the Eagles, taking the team to the playoffs in his first season, but those around football would not be surprised to see him return one day.
Kelly has won 19 games over the last two seasons to start his coaching career in the NFL and his team is currently in first place in the NFC East. The offense has been one of the best in the NFL over the last two seasons and they are ranked fifth in passing yards and sixth in rushing yards in the league this year. Florida finished the season 6-5 on the year with a 4-4 record in the SEC and while they went 4-2 against their division, the team was 1-2 against the Top 25.