Despite finding relative success everywhere he’s coached at both the professional and collegiate levels, Chip Kelly remains a polarizing figure in NFL circles.
Some feel Kelly is an offensive innovator while others believe his strategy is based on gimmicks that are doomed to fail at the pro level. Talking to Murph and Mac Thursday morning, there’s no question where former Super Bowl winning head coach Tony Dungy falls on that spectrum.
“I’m a big Chip Kelly fan,” Dungy said. “I think he’s tremendous.”
Kelly left a positive impression on Dungy when coaching his son, Eric, at the University of Oregon. Things might look bleak right now, but Dungy believes the 49ers will eventually be successful under Kelly, citing how he was able to turn the Philadelphia Eagles from a four to 10 win team in just his first year as an NFL coach.
“He did wonders with Mike Vick and Nick Foles,” Dungy said. “He knows offense and he knows football. The 49ers are gonna be okay, I guarantee you. It may not happen in the first six weeks, it may not happen even this first year, but they’re gonna be in good shape.”
It’s somewhat surprising to hear such effusive praise of Kelly by someone like Dungy, who made his bones as a top defensive coordinator before landing a head coaching gig with Tampa Bay in 1996. Most of the criticism directed at Kelly centers around the idea that his uptempo offense exhausts his defenses, forcing them to stay on the field for long periods of time. Interestingly, Dungy doesn’t see it that way.
“I don’t agree with that at all,” Dungy said. “They play fast, yes. You’re gonna play a lot of plays but ideally you’re gonna score a ton of points. If I was a defensive coordinator, you could tell me we’ll be out there all day if we’re gonna score 30 points, I can figure out a way to hold people to 28. That’s the way Chip feels; it’s a different way to attack.”
Dungy also believes Kelly can tailor his offense to whoever ends up leading the 49ers, whether it’s Blaine Gabbert or Colin Kaepernick, citing the different styles of Kelly’s previous signal callers. Ultimately, Dungy feels that the idea that Kelly needs a “system quarterback” is overblown, and that San Francisco will do just fine with whoever is under center.
“It’s not a matter of what system you run,” Dungy concluded. “It’s getting people that fit that and getting the ball to them. Chip will do that. It’s gonna take some time, but I promise you they will be moving the football.”