Chip Kelly jokes about how he's approaching assistant role working under Ryan Day
New Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is now in a position that he hasn’t been in in quite some time.
After being a head coach at either the college level or NFL level since 2009, Kelly is now an assistant coach at Ohio State, working under Ryan Day.
Kelly was asked during a press conference on Tuesday how he is adjusting to working under a head coach and not being the guy in charge. He used some humor for his response.
“He makes me call him ‘sir,'” Chip Kelly joked of Ryan Day. “He just said, ‘Can you do that Day 1?’ And I was like, ‘Alright, Ry.’
Kelly went on to clarify that he was joking and added that he enjoys his role as offensive coordinator. He previously spent time as the head coach at Oregon, the Eagles, the 49ers and UCLA. He left UCLA this offseason to join the Ohio State program.
“No, I certainly understand my role. I’m not Al Hake. Like, I’m not in charge here,” Kelly said. “I certainly understand that, and I actually kind of relish it. I really love the scheming part. I love the individual part. I love being in the meeting room and trying to game plan. But everything we do here’s collaborative.”
Chip Kelly has been a part of numerous coaching staffs in several different roles over the years. Even though he hasn’t been at Ohio State long, he already loves the staff the Buckeyes have.
There are plenty of veterans on staff who have proven that they are excellent coaches and recruiters.
“The one thing that really struck me when I walked in this place is there’s an amazing coaching staff here,” Kelly said. “If you get a chance to talk to Larry Johnson, just about football, or Tim Walton, or Jim Knowles, or Brian Hartline or any of these guys on staff here, it’s a very collaborative effort.”
Ohio State has finished 11-2 each of the past three seasons, coming up just short of winning a national title. Kelly is hoping he can help the Buckeyes get over the hump.
“I think everybody’s on the same page. It’s not our offense and their defense. It’s Ohio State,” Kelly said. “It’s Ohio State versus the 12 opponents we’re going to play in the regular season and then beyond. So that’s the thing I like just in the short term that I’ve been here is just how collaborative everybody has been. We’re all trying to make each other better and we’re all trying to to develop this team.”