Take Two: Would Chip Kelly be the best fit at Florida?

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

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Chip Kelly at Florida. That has a nice ring to it, especially to those fans who are starved for a productive, inventive offense, something not seen in Gainesville since the days of Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow.

But would Kelly, who was wildly successful at Oregon and took the Ducks to the national championship but fizzled in the NFL, be a good fit for the Gators? This is someone who has developed a reputation for wanting complete control over the operation and that could be an issue at Florida, as reports indicate that was a problem during Jim McElwain’s tenure.

Kelly would bring some really positive things to Gainesville: A wide-open offense that has worked on the college level; an ability to recruit the state filled with top playmakers; a genius football mind who could revolutionize an offense that has been stuck in the mud for years.

He would also bring some concerns: A show-cause penalty from his time at Oregon; an understanding that it’s his way or no way; potentially using Florida as simply a springboard back to the NFL?

Florida needs an offensive-minded coach and UCF’s Scott Frost, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and others seem to be on the list. Kelly could be as well.

But would it be worth it for the Gators to pursue a top-notch coach who could restart the program, bring a fresh offense and possibly get Florida back to the top of the SEC even if there’s baggage coming with him?

“Is Chip Kelly the leading candidate to many in the Gator Nation? Absolutely. Is he a leading candidate for Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin? Apparently. Should he be? In my opinion, no. Without question Kelly checks the boxes of two of the main criteria in that he is an offensive-minded coach who is a proven winner at the collegiate level. However, it is hard to overlook the fact that he left Oregon with the Ducks serving two years of probation while he received a 14-month show cause from the NCAA. The SEC has a bylaw now that member schools trying to hire coaches who fit that description have to get clearance from the league office. Is that really a road Florida wants to travel down?”

“He has to go through a little more scrutiny in the SEC with their bylaws because he has that show-cause. He will land someplace. I’ve heard Florida’s first target is Scott Frost and who knows if he’ll want to go to Florida or go back to Nebraska.

“You have Dan Mullen out there, Matt Campbell at Iowa State, Mike Norvell at Memphis – you have a lot of really good coaches that could fill spots. I don’t think Florida is the fit for Kelly because this is a guy who is used to having complete control and he would not have that at Florida. Maybe someplace else, but probably not Florida.”

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