Oregon Football Coaching Rumors: Chip Kelly And The Philadelphia Eagles, Mark Helfrich The Successor?

It has begun with Chip Kelly.

Here is what one of them had to say about the Eagles pursuit of a new head coach.

"I’ve heard talk about (Eagles GM) Howie Roseman already meeting with (Oregon head coach) Chip Kelly," said one of Pro Football Weekly's sources. "Obviously, there are no rules preventing a GM from talking to a college coach during a (school) visit."

Addicted to Quack had this remark.

The Eagles have been an oft discussed landing spot for Kelly, should he jump to the NFL after the Fiesta Bowl, and this isn't likely to be the last we hear about the City of Brotherly Love.

It all makes sense if you think about it. The Philadelphia Eagles would be the perfect place to implement Chip's system. You have LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin and Desean Jackson, three of the most dynamic playmakers at their position Obviously, Nick Foles isn't the most mobile quarterback out there (and he's certainly no threat to run), but he can definitely distribute the football to playmakers in space.

The big question concerns whether Michael Vick is the type of player Kelly trusts to run his system. Although he has the athleticism, he is definitely more in the pro-style mode. Will Kelly try and bring back one of his Oregon players, a la Dennis Dixon or Darron Thomas?

Another interesting nugget:

"I’ve heard talk about (Eagles GM) Howie Roseman already meeting with (Oregon head coach) Chip Kelly...I think San Diego would be a better fit for Kelly, myself.

I'm not sure why the source believes the Chargers are a better landing spot. Rivers is as immobile as they come, and San Diego's offense is a stuttering mess. There's no doubt that Kelly will have his pick of jobs this offseason though, so he'll probably find whatever the best fit for him is.

Again, the succession plan remains the same: If Kelly is to leave for the NFL, all indications are that offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich would take over the reigns. And the ambassador of Oregon football has signed off on it.

Per the Oregonian's Adam Jude, Helfrich has the Phil Knight seal of approval:

One UO insider estimated that, if Kelly were to leave, offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich would almost certainly be promoted to the head-coaching job. The same source would be "shocked" if Oregon went after Boise State's Chris Petersen.

Another source said that while Nike co-founder Phil Knight is "a big fan of Chip," Oregon's most influential booster approves of Helfrich as Kelly's successor.

Not much is known of Helfrich yet and how capable he'll be of commanding the Oregon program if Kelly leaves. But he's no doubt attuned to the system and should keep the Ducks humming offensively for the most part. The system pretty much runs itself at Eugene at this point, and it'd take some colossal mismanagement for things to go South.