Innovative Chip Kelly back for more at Oregon

Bellotti kids him: 'This year, you'll have to do a little coaching'

By Jason Vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Aug 11, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Second-year Oregon coordinator Chip Kelly directs the Duck offense during training camp. Says QB Nate Costa: "His attention to detail is amazing."

L.E. BASKOW / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

Any who doubt how the Oregon Ducks will do in the post-Dennis Dixon/Jonathan Stewart era should consider perhaps the most important returnee:

Chip Kelly.

The offensive coordinator worked wonders with Dixon, helping make him a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Kelly also orchestrated an offense that in 2007 became the envy of teams throughout the country. Not counting the 16-0 loss at UCLA – really an anomaly because of Oregon’s injuries and upheaval at quarterback – the Ducks averaged 41.3 points and 494.2 yards per game, 6.2 yards per play and 5.6 yards per rush, and they completed 62.2 percent of their passes.

Even with the team’s poor performance at UCLA, the UO offense set school records for points and yards.

Kelly earned the trust of Mike Bellotti as fast as any of the head coach’s previous coordinators.

Now Bellotti says, kiddingly, that the second-year coordinator has to prove something else this season.

“I told him, ‘Last year, we had the cupboard stacked pretty well,’” Bellotti says. “’This year, you’ll have to do a little coaching.’”

Enter sophomore quarterback Nate Costa, senior running back Jeremiah Johnson, junior-college transfer back LeGarrette Blount, senior receiver Jaison Williams, tight end Ed Dickson and an experienced offensive line.

Kelly believes he can get some things done this year and that fans and media shouldn’t be too concerned with the Duck offense.

“We have enough talent to throw wrinkles at teams,” Kelly says.

“What’s funny,” he adds, “is at this time a year ago, people wanted to know if Dennis Dixon was even a football player. People remember him as a Heisman candidate, but I sat at media day fielding questions about whether Brady (Leaf) was going to beat Dennis out.

“We as a staff and players had confidence in Dennis. We stunk up the joint against UCLA (after Dixon’s injury), but we had 87 points in the last two games against good defenses.”

Actually, minus defensive scores, it was 69 combined points against OSU and South Florida, but Kelly makes his point. The Ducks, in time, responded with some good offense after Dixon went down in the ninth game, at Arizona.

Kelly says Costa would have taken the reins against Arizona and beyond, had he been healthy. Bellotti says the Ducks might have been able to beat UCLA with Leaf totally healthy; he broke one ankle after replacing Dixon against Arizona, and then rolled the other ankle early against UCLA.

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