Chip Kelly Bio: Early Life, Career & Net worth

Chip Kelly is a renowned American football coach. He is the head coach of UCLA Bruins. He came to fame after being recognized as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012.

Here, he led to four progressive BCS bowl tournament appearances.

Let’s dive into his journey. Here, we will address his personal life, net worth, family, career, and many more.

Chip Kelly | Quick Facts

Chip Kelly | Early Life, Family, and Education

Chip Kelly, a recognized personality, was born on November 25, 1963, in Dover, USA. He studied at Manchester Central High School and then graduated from New Hampshire University.

In 1990, when he was 27, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in physical education.

Chip Kelly played as a quarterback at Manchester central and defensive back at the University of New Hampshire.

He also developed a hobby to play ice hockey and basketball during his high school days.

Kelly looked determined and bold enough to make his decisions since his childhood. He was a bright kid back then. His parents always had huge expectations for him.

Hence, he kept their head up by accomplishing all their expectations.

Chip Kelly | Age, Height and Physical Appearances

The professional football coach is 60 years old as of 2024. He is born under the sun sign Sagittarius. Sagittarius people are optimistic, honest, and intellectual. 

Likewise, he stands at a height of 6 ft which is an average height for a coach like him. Similarly, he weighs around 230 lb(104 kg).

His personal look is incomplete without his grey hair color and blue pair of eye color.

Sadly the information regarding the football coach body measurement, shoe size, tattoo (if any) is unavailable at the moment.

Kelly belongs to American nationality with white ethnicity and follows Christian religion from the time of his birth.

Chip Kelly | Initial and Professional Career

Initial Career

At the age, of 27 Kelly started coaching at Columbia University, serving as a secondary and special teams coach for the freshman team.

It was during the year 1990. He progressed and earned a lot of recognition.

In the year 1992, he had been to the New Hampshire University as a running back coach. Later, he left after one season as he wanted to join the defensive coordinator position at Johns Hopkins University.

For the next three seasons, i.e., during 1994–1996, he returned to his alma mater as a running back coach.

Later, he preferred changing into the rude line coach for the next two seasons, i.e., somewhere around 1997-1998.

Once, American Football Monthly awarded him recognition as one of the college’s hottest football coaches.

After all this, he was also named the College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston after the 2005 season.

Joachim Low as well is one of the most renowned football coaches from Germany. You might want to learn about him.

Professional Career

How he turned Oregon into new territory?

Kelly soon turned his ambition into his professional career. Chip Kelly got a different recognition level after leading Oregon football to the new territory after being assigned as a head coach in the year 2009.

He did the coaching in the University of Oregon to BCS games in all four seasons as a head coach; the 2010 Rose Bowl,2011 BCS National Championship Game, 2012 Rose Bowl, and 2013 Fiesta Bowl.

He coached Oregon to three back-to-back obvious conference titles from 2009-2011 and a colloquium division title in 2012.

Consecutive Titles of Appreciation

Oregon won its second back-to-back BCS bowl game after crushing season 5 Kansas State in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl.

He was entitled as the 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, 2010 Walter camp coach of the year, 2010 Sporting News Coach of the Year, and many other influential titles.

Read about a player whom Kelly coached. LaMichael James Bio: Stats, 40 Time, Killer Burger, IG, Net Worth Wiki

On 2009, March 21, Oregon declared that head coach Mike Bellotti would be hired as the athletic director; and also, Kelly would be promoted as head coach.

Kelly had made wonder in his coaching career. He won a variety of prestigious and influential awards consecutively.

Chip has made a huge impact in his entire coaching career.

Chip Kelly | Fired

So, that was a sudden step and unexpected too!

The Philadelphia Eagles abruptly fired head coach Chip Kelly on one warm Tuesday evening after posting a disappointing 6-9 record in his third year.

He couldn’t even get a chance to finish the season, which was quite sad, as the Eagles still had one game left.

The Philadelphia Eagles have fired chip Kelly, the team announced on Tuesday evening.

“We appreciate all the contributions that Chip Kelly made and wish him every success going forward,” Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles’ owner, said in a statement.

According to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, Lurie wanted to strip Kelly of his general manager duties, which caused Kelly to refuse. During that point, a decision was made to let Kelly transpire.

Kelly had made a 26-21 record as a head coach, which is much good. So what basically was the reason for Lurie to fire such an incredible coach?

Read about a player whom Kelly coached. LaMichael James Bio: Stats, 40 Time, Killer Burger, IG, Net Worth Wiki

Philadelphia-based ESPN NFL reporter Sal Paolantonio says Lurie wanted to take back Kelly’s control over the team’s personnel.

Kelly wasn’t interested in that, and therefore Lurie decided to fire him.

Chip Kelly | Friendship

When the Eagles fired the very talented coach Chip Kelly with one game left in the 2015 season, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick quickly came to Kelly’s support.

Chip Kelly and Bill Belichick have a lot of similar features. Apart from being football mentors or coaches, these two grew up in the same region with similar histories.

They have similar characters, humorous and slightly copying. They’re mates; they’re advisors, they aid each other.

And both are often misconstrued. And both have taken a similar path in their careers.

Belichick called the firing “really unpleasant” and ensured that Kelly would “end up somewhere and will do a superb work there.”

When Kelly was asked about Belichick’s public support, Kelly said he admired it. “It obviously means a lot,” Kelly said. “He’s an excellent friend, and I appreciate the support he’s given me in my career.”

Both of these have been excellent friends so far. And they still excel in their fields. But, today, Kelly is way behind his mate Belichick.

Chip Kelly | Criticisms

Allegations after being fired

Since leaving Oregon, Kelly has faced firm blame for dividing locker rooms and playing his own favorite picks. He got in by with Eagles Front Office too.

“Chip Kelly wasn’t stable with grown men of our culture,” Brandon Boykin blamed after being sold by the Eagles to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round puff pick in 2015.

After he departed from the Eagles, NBCS Philly wrote:

“Kelly no doubt is the only reason for his own demise in ways that had few with his act on the sideline. He created a split in the front office, then made one wary personnel decision after another. He divided the locker room and was impersonal and unwilling to adapt to his players’ needs. The whole situation became flawed and illogical.”

Chip Kelly has been to a 46-7 as head coach of the Oregon Ducks, driving to a Fiesta Bowl win, two Rose Bowl appearances (one win), and a BCS National Championship form.

Read about fellow coach Jon Gruden Bio: Age, Career, Wife, Kids, Net Worth, Contract Wiki.

Then, he went as a head coach in the NFL after returning to college football with the Bruins. Kelly has been slow to change.

He thinks his system will win games and can get anyone to do it.

Reason for his downfall

Rumors believe that he slips to connect with players like his own dear friend Belichick does and uses fun to be tough and bare.

Critics say that this man himself is the reason for being late in such a competitive generation. He started well, but his consistency wasn’t seen.

And as a result, he failed. Critics say that he was an excellent coach back then who prepared his players with determination.

But, he got back due to some of the allegations of cheating and fraud.

Read about fellow coach Jon Gruden Bio: Age, Career, Wife, Kids, Net Worth, Contract Wiki

None of the sources yet have shreds of evidence regarding these allegations. Some made these of his players, which is also considered one of the major reasons for his downfall.

No doubt, he is an excellent coach, but no one could make positive thought after looking at so many blames and allegations.

Is he the one to be blamed?

Even though so many allegations were made, there is not a single strong evidence to prove it. Kelly has been through a lot of criticisms and is still stuck with plenty of unnecessary rumors.

After looking at various sources, I don’t think that he is the one to be blamed. He had worked really hard for a certain accomplishment, and he also made the team win so many consecutive matches.

Read about fellow coach Jon Gruden Bio: Age, Career, Wife, Kids, Net Worth, Contract Wiki

Despite being appreciated, Kelly has been highly probed and still is the eye of many critics. Kelly is an inspiration to many people. Hence, he is still deciding on his journey.

Chip Kelly | Divorce

Kelly brought a beautiful wife, namely, Jenifer Jenkins, in 1992. But after seven years of marriage, they decided to divorce.

Kelly and Jenifer didn’t make a plan of having kids. Hence, Kelly doesn’t have any children of his own.

However, they are still perfect friends, and according to the sources, they still have good communication often.

Chip Kelly | Honors and Awards

The excellence of Kelly’s performance in his career has helped him to achieve various awards and career achievements. Here are a few career achievements of the coach.

• 2009 – Pac-10 Coach of the Year
• 2010 – Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
• 2010 – Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year, 2010 AFCA Coach of the Year
• 2013 Maxwell Club Coach of the Year

Chip Kelly | Net Worth

The very hard-working coach Kelly holds a massive amount in his pocket. Most of his income source comes from his coaching career.

As of 2024, he has a net worth of around $14 million.

Kelly owns a huge house. His 6300 square-foot house covers a half-acre land that is double of Gilham Road in northeast Eugene. In the area, Chip’s house stands as an extra-supersize.

His mansion is huge and beautiful, surrounded by all the luxuries an individual could require.

Net Worth of Chip Kelly in Different Currencies

Below is the net worth of Chip Kelly in different currencies, including the cryptocurrency BitCoin. 

Chip Kelly | Social Media

Chip Kelly doesn’t use any social media yet. He believes not to showcase his personal or professional life publicly. People use hashtags from his name and have a fan account.

Common Queries

How much did Kelly make from the Eagles?

Kelly earned $6.5 Million Per Year Eagles.  Kelly signed a 5-year, $32.5 million contract with the Eagles.

What is the current salary of Kelly?

Currently, his estimated net worth is around $14 million but his salary is unknown. It is because Kelly is not public about his personal and professional things.

Why did Kelly divorce Jenifer?

Chip Kelly hasn’t made any statements regarding this topic.

But his ex-wife definitely made a statement, “It wasn’t his fault because he was focused on football,” she said. “That’s just not the way we’ve ever — that’s not it. That’s not what happened. . . .“We were just young.”

Where does Kelly Resides?

He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Which team does Chip Currently Work with?

Chip Currently works with UCLA Bruins. He was hired by UCLA Bruins on November 25, 2017.

How many drafts pick the Eagle made after Kelly Joined as a Coach?

After Kelly joined as a coach with the eagles, they made 21 draft picks.

Which was Kelly’s first NFL game as a Head Coach?

Kelly’s first game as a head coach was with the Philadelphia Eagles.