Well, that was fast! Almost like plan B was really plan A** I was excited by the BoB hire but I think this one has a different feel for me. I’m asking why? Not why would Day do this but why would Kelly do this? What is his longer term plan….. to coach a NC offense in hope of another D1 head coach position or NFL job? Or is he just wanting to have fun again and fiddle with some new exciting parts and be a part of something special, in the service of someone he mentored and respects? Idk and I really shouldn’t care but it’s hard not to ask that. No matter which of those is true(or neither) as long as we win next year it’s all good and I do think this hire is just as likely as the last to achieve that goal.
Say what you want about Kelly but saying he’s soft or can’t win big games is just lazy. His Oregon teams were real good 3 top 4 finishes in 4 years including a NC game loss to Cam Newtons Auburn team where they were anything but soft. They lost but they were undersized and fought for 4 qtrs losing by a FG. Auburn was very fortunate they had a generational talent or they would have gone down
His NFL stint was 10-6 (which followed a 4-12 season by his predecessor) and playoffs, 10-6 and no playoffs (would have made playoffs under todays system) and then 7-9 and fired before last game, so far from a flop but not what Philly fans hoped for. His tenure at UCLA has been okay but not the success he had in PAC 12 at Oregon but it was a very different PAC 12
I really dont get the soft accusations tbh. Seems like that is said to describe whoever loses whatever big game. Football does not always come down to the stronger or tougher guy winning. There is not one way of being tough that prevails. Two really tough teams can play and one will lose, not just cuz they weren’t tough enough. If I had one area that might be fair to question Kelly it was in some of his NFL personnel decisions but I also think to fire a guy after two 10-6 seasons and not give him a chance to learn from his mistakes in year 3 is a little impatient, but that’s NFL these days I guess.
Anyway I am excited for this season already, probably more than any prior season I can remember. Day has taken steps each year and has taken some really big ones this year. The portal moves and retention of draft eligible guys makes this team a potential juggernaut. Kelly won’t be deciding on any of the parts he’s just going to play with those parts and best use them to attack opponents, which I think he’s quite adept at. It might only be one season with him but if that’s the case it’ll be because we had a historic season
