The Revolution Part II

A few days ago, I mentioned how excited I was that San Francisco was ushering in a whole new ERA of NFL football. I haven't seen any other commentator anywhere make a big deal out of the offense that San Fran is now using. They are only talking about how good Colin Kaepernick is. All are missing the bigger picture: Offenses are about to change dramatically in the NFL.

Well, as of yesterday, the revolution just got bigger. One of my favorite college teams to watch the last four years has been the Oregon Ducks. They have the most explosive offense on the planet. Their coach makes more use of his running backs, receivers and QBs than any other coach in the game. He makes the fantastically cool offenses of Alabama and Texas A & M look average. And believe me, by any stretch, Alabama and A & M are light years beyond MOST college offenses.

It's just that Oregon has no equal in its innovative offenses. Coach Kelly is the most inventive offensive genius that football has ever seen. Period.

I was extremely excited when I found out that coach Kelly was being interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles last week. It was a long shot that he'd take the job since he was in a great position at Oregon and was being well-compensated. As expected he tuned them down.

Yesterday became the second part of the story. He went back for another interview, this time demanding that he be given more control of the personnel decisions. They agreed and he got the job. In effect, he's going to have some of the GM responsibilities. A college coach asking for this much power, having never coached in the NFL, is without precedent.

The cool part? It's not because he's an ego-maniac who craves power, it's because he wants to have the ability to transform the Eagles the same way he did the Ducks. You can't just coach the players the GM gives you. You have to have the ability to SELECT the players that will make your offensive schemes WORK. If you can't select the player for this type of system, it simply will not work. In effect, he's bringing the Oregon Ducks offense to the NFL, with the very best players available to run HIS offense.

Of course, I'm just speculating. I don't have any real reason to believe that he won't turn into your average NFL coach (run it up the middle twice, pass on third and long, and hope that that series of plays gives you at least 10 yards.) At the same time, WHY would this guy leave one of the cushiest, well-paid jobs in college to become an average professional coach?

Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick have opened the door for the option in NFL football. Coach Kelly is going to kick the door off its hinges, quite possibly bringing down the entire wall in the process. I will always be a Vikings fan, but I'm going to be rooting for San Fran and the Eagles as well. Suddenly, the NFL has become a very interesting place. Coach Belichick and the Patriots may have finally met their match. And pro football will never be the same.

I'm running out of time today. I'll talk about baseball and pitching tomorrow if I have more time.