Kelly bounced back quickly from rocky debut at Oregon

Whatever happens in Chip Kelly's debut as Eagles coach on Monday night, it likely won't be worse than his first game as head coach at Oregon.

It was Sept. 3, 2009, a Thursday night contest in front of a national audience on the blue turf at Boise State. Kelly was a relatively unknown career assistant who took the reins of one of the nation's most visible programs.

His celebrated offense sputtered in a 19-8 loss to the Broncos. After the game, Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Boise State player.

As far as introductions go, it wasn't the best first impression for Kelly.

"Appreciate you bringing that up," Kelly deadpanned this week.

Kelly suspended Blount the next day. He also endured fan and public criticism. One Oregon alumnus even e-mailed Kelly expressing unhappiness and included an invoice of $439 in travel expenses.

Kelly wrote the fan a personal check for $439.

The check was never cashed. Oregon won its next seven games, earned a Rose Bowl bid, and finished the season 10-3. After Kelly's first loss, he won 46 of his next 52 games.

"A lot of people didn't think Chip was going to make it past the year because of the whole incident," said Eagles linebacker Casey Matthews, who was on that Ducks team.

Eagles receiver Jeff Maehl, who was also on the team, remembered the composure that Kelly maintained. He said Kelly was "the same guy" the next day, which resonated with the team.

"He knew what he was doing was going to work," Matthews said. "Obviously, we laid an egg the first game."

Oregon totaled just 152 yards that night. The Ducks had just 31 rushing yards. They went scoreless throughout the first half. It was the only time Oregon scored in single digits in Kelly's four seasons as head coach.

When the game was brought up to Kelly this summer, he insisted that Boise State doesn't get credit when that game is discussed. The Broncos finished 14-0 that season and won the Fiesta Bowl. Kelly wants Boise State coach Chris Peterson to be remembered when the game is rehashed.

"It wasn't like this catastrophic [thing], we lost by 50," Kelly said. "We lost 19-8 to the No. 4-ranked team in the country at the end of the year . . . so it was a good football team."

Yet the game is remembered as much for what happened afterward than during the game. Blount's punch was a critical moment for Kelly, whose response was going to be watched.

He suspended Blount for the season - the suspension was later reduced - but kept Blount on scholarship and practicing with the team. Kelly didn't want to dismiss Blount even though he wouldn't play in games, and told reporters that he hoped Blount's legacy "won't be a YouTube clip of what happened to him on Sept. 3 in Boise, Idaho."

Blount is now in his fourth NFL season. Kelly saw Blount earlier this summer, gave him a hug and told his former running back how proud he was.

One of the people Kelly consulted was Tony Dungy, a Super Bowl-winning coach who is now an NBC commentator. Dungy said last month that the way Kelly handled the situation and considered Blount as a person - not just a player - resonated with him so much that he felt comfortable sending his own son to play for Kelly at Oregon.

Inside the locker room, the players continued listening to their inexperienced head coach. Former Oregon players said Kelly relayed the punishment the next day, explained why such behavior would not be tolerated, and then said the team would play with the players they had.

"To tell you the truth, it probably helped us more in the long run, bringing the team together and knowing how to respond to adversity, and there was obviously a lot adversity following the game," said Eagles practice squad defensive lineman Brandon Bair, who started his first game that night.

Bair said Oregon "could have gone in two directions after that." The team made changes, adjusted to its offense, and the rest is history. Kelly became one of college football's elite coaches, accepted the Eagles job, and is now ready for another debut four years later.

"I think we're all a by-product of our experience," Kelly said. "Did we learn from it? Yeah, we learned from it. But do I want that to happen again in this game?  I hope not."

Follow Monday's Eagles action along with Inquirer beat writers Jeff McLane and Zach Berman on Twitter: @Jeff_McLane @zberm

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