Chip Kelly’s Firing Should Be Notice to Colts Jim Irsay: No Nick Saban
After the Philadelphia Eagles recently parted ways with head coach Chip Kelly, it should serve as notice to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay that big named collegiate coaches don’t always pan out.
With Chuck Pagano‘s days seemingly numbered in Indianapolis, there’s been rumors that Irsay’s Colts could strongly consider the University of Alabama’s Nick Saban as their next head coach–which in my opinion would be a mistake.
Dec 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban reacts during the first quarter of the 2015 SEC Championship Game against the Florida Gators at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Don’t get me wrong, there’s no question that Saban is a great college football head coach with the Crimson Tide.
In his 9 seasons as Alabama head coach, he’s compiled a 103-18 record (.851) including 3 National Championships. Not to mention, he coached another team to a 4th National Championship while with the LSU Tigers prior.
However, the collegiate ranks aren’t the same as the professional level, where recruiting is oftentimes just as important as the coaching itself. In big time collegiate football, talent largely wins out.
As Chip Kelly just learned in the NFL, a coach is only as good as his personnel a lot of times–no matter what “revolutionary” system a coach is running.
In the NFL, every player is essentially a world-class athlete, as rosters are loaded with players possessing elite speed, strength, and athleticism.
Problem is–like Kelly before him, a top collegiate coach like Saban will also presumably want to be in charge of player personnel decisions. However, managing both a salary cap and grown men–while simultaneously drafting and signing players, isn’t the same as recruiting 5-star high school kids anymore.
Just ask Chip.
The former Oregon Ducks offensive genius got rid of proven stars such as LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin only to replace them with the underwhelming likes of Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, and Nelson Agholor.
However, Saban is no stranger to his own NFL struggles. He has learned firsthand the hard way before, when he left LSU in 2005 to become the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Nick Saban argues with a head linesman while with the Dolphins in 2006. (USA Today Sports Images)
During his time in South Florida, Saban compiled a 15-17 record (.469), lasting just two seasons–even less than Chip Kelly’s 3 seasons, before prudently deciding to return to the college ranks to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Still, that’s not to say that Saban can’t achieve NFL coaching redemption.
Just look at the Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll, who was mediocre as the head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots, then went on to star coaching USC, only to return to the NFL and coach the Super Bowl XLVIII Champion Seattle Seahawks.
That being said, like just recently Kelly and even the Atlanta Falcons Bobby Petrino and Washington Redskins Steve Spurrier among others before him, there’s been a long list of colossal collegiate head coaches who have simply flamed out at the NFL level.
While Saban is no doubt a flashy name for Irsay’s coaching consideration, he’s far from a sure thing–at least at the NFL level. Buyer beware, as Irsay only has to look at Chip Kelly and other past precedent for further notice.