Former Ducks confident Chip Kelly's offense can succeed in NFL

A handful of former Oregon Ducks now in the NFL are elated that Chip Kelly has moved up to the professional ranks. More than a week after announcing his intentions to return to Oregon, Kelly reached an agreement to become the Philadelphia Eagles' head coach on Wednesday.

By Matt Rybaltowski

Jan 16, 2013 at 3:58 pm ET • 2 min read

Philadelphia Eagles LB Casey Matthews received the perfect present on Wednesday as he celebrated his 24th birthday.

More than a week after Chip Kelly announced his intentions to return to Oregon, the former Ducks coach made a stunning reversal by agreeing to become the 21st head coach in Eagles’ history. Matthews, a first-team All-Pac 10 member in 2010 at Oregon, will be reunited with his former college coach.

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In November, Matthews lauded Kelly’s coaching abilities as speculation mounted that former Eagles coach Andy Reid could lose his job. Kelly will bring a high-tempo, no-huddle offense to Philadelphia that confounded opponents on the collegiate level over the last four years. Oregon ran 1,077 plays in 13 games during the 2012 season. Only six teams in the NFL ran more plays in the regular season over a 16-game schedule, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

"I think it could work [in the NFL],” Matthews told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It's pretty tough to stop. Even when you have it down, teams will start getting tired quickly. They're not used to that pace."

Ravens QB Dennis Dixon led Oregon to a No. 2 ranking in the BCS standings in November of 2007 when Kelly served as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator. Dixon also believes that Kelly could be successful in the NFL.

“I think he can export that same offense and bring that to the NFL,” Dixon told the Baltimore Sun. “I could see Michael Vick doing the same things we did at Oregon."

49ers RB LaMichael James, a 2010 All-American at Oregon, is another proponent of Kelly’s high-tempo offense. James compares it favorably to the offense that Mike Shanahan runs with the Redskins.

“I don’t think anything can stop [Kelly's] offense -- NFL, college or high school, no matter what it is,” James said, via CSNPhilly.com. “I think he can be one of the best coaches in the NFL.”

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