Howe: Chip Kelly As Patriots' Offensive Coordinator 'Not Happening'
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots will probably have to fill some vacancies on their coaching staff during the offseason, with teams lining up to interview coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia.
It's very likely that McDaniels is manning his own sideline next season, leaving a void at offensive coordinator. There is speculation that if (when) McDaniels leaves for his own team, Bill Belichick may reach out to his friend Chip Kelly to take over. Belichick is a big fan of Kelly's offensive system and went to bat for the New Hampshire native when teams sought his services in 2013.
But don't expect him to be coaching in New England anytime soon, according to The Boston Herald's Jeff Howe.
"No, that's not happening for a number of reasons," Howe told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Tuesday. "For one, they've been grooming Brian Daboll to get that job since the inevitable departure of Josh McDaniels. Daboll can run the same system that has been in place since Charlie Weis came here and installed it. It's kind of morphed from there. Just think about it logistically; are you going to bring in Chip Kelly, who has an ego -- which he deserves to a degree -- and have him work with a 40-year-old Tom Brady and tinker with things? That all sounds like a nightmare."
Howe said the Patriots could bring Kelly on as an adviser, similar to how Mike Lombardi was an assistant to the coaching staff from 2014 until 2016. But even that is a longshot.
"If he doesn't want to be out of the game for a full year and have a chance to roam the Patriots' sidelines for a small amount of money, I could see that type of scenario. Even still, that wasn't anything that Belichick and [former Buccaneers head coach Greg] Schiano wanted to do a few years before this," noted Howe. "Lombardi wasn't as much of a coach as he was a front-office guy. It all seems like too much of a stretch. I'm not sure why Kelly would want to bury himself behind Belichick's shadow for that amount of time. When you're Chip Kelly, you can basically pick your spots in college football when all those firings happen.
"Go take a year off, spend some time to yourself and then go get $5 million-plus per year for whatever college program wants to take you in," said Howe.
Howe also discussed the chances of Matt Patricia leaving, Tom Brady's MVP chances, and looked ahead to potential Divisional Round opponents for New England. Listen to the full podcast below:
