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Nearly as soon as the news that the Philadelphia Eagles had fired head coach Chip Kelly Tuesday night broke, the speculation that another head coaching job at the NFL level could be in his future started. It did not take long for rumors to turn to the Miami Dolphins, who fired head coach Joe Philbin four games into the season. Add in this tweet from Benjamin Allbright, and the speculation has already started to grow:
Three NFL teams have already reached out about Chip Kelly. Only one of those three currently has a "vacancy"
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) December 30, 2015
Earlier this morning, we took a look at my personal top five candidates for the Dolphins' head coaching job, and Kelly was not included in it. He could fall into the Wildcard category, however, and he would give Miami a splashy name at head coach. Theoretically, he learned from his first go as a head coach, and would be able to make changes to his approach. Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer spoke with Kelly after he was fired, tweeting:
Kelly said few times he really wants to remain in the NFL
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) December 30, 2015
Even players and some coaches trying to find out info on what happened too
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) December 30, 2015
In my convo w Chip he said next stop he just wants to coach & insists he does NOT want to be the personnel guy too. This is significant
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) December 30, 2015
If Kelly does mean he does not want to have personnel control, something he fought for this year and then made moves no one really understood, then he does come back to being a more viable candidate for a head coaching position.
For the Dolphins, however, it would be a confusing move. The team fired offensive coordinator Bill Lazor during the season, the same Lazor who they hired away from Kelly's staff to promote him from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. Lazor's offense did not mirror Kelly's, but it did bring some of the elements. Would the Dolphins be willing to take a chance on Kelly, having just seen how horribly Lazor performed? There are plenty of differences, especially the uptempo schemes, which Joe Philbin was supposed to bring during his four-years as a head coach, but never saw it materialize. The Eagles also ran the ball more than Lazor did as Miami's offensive coordinator, a huge part of why Lazor was finally fired by interim head coach Dan Campbell. A big part of Kelly's offense is also the quarterback read-option, something he really could not use this year with Sam Bradford at quarterback, but would be a viable option with Ryan Tannehill.
It is a move the Dolphins potentially will consider, though they are probably behind the Tennessee Titans, with former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. What do you think of the idea? Vote in the poll below and discuss in the comments.