Sports Commentary.
Alex Harkaway – For the Review. In Oregon’s season opener against Boise State, the Ducks were outgained, outscored and utterly outclassed by the Broncos. Head coach Chip Kelly had been the leader of the Ducks for all of one game and already appeared to be in over his head.
Who would have thought, that just three months later, Kelly would be recognized as the Pac-10 coach of the year?
The conference awarded him the honor this week, partly because of what his Rose Bowl-bound team has accomplished on the field. But Kelly’s standing as a coach, and as a person, reaches far beyond that.
After the Boise State game, many Ducks fans were upset. Tony Seminary, an Oregon alumnus, was particularly distressed. He traveled to Boise from Portland to see the game and did not feel he got his money’s worth. In fact, Seminary was so disgusted with what he saw that he sent Kelly an invoice for $439 of travel expenses.
Kelly responded with a check for the full amount.
“When I received that check, I was literally speechless,” Seminary said. “[Kelly] showed an incredible amount of class.”
Kelly also made sure to show the world that Oregon would not tolerate a lack of class from its players by reacting swiftly to LaGarrette Blount’s sucker punch and suspending him for the season. But Kelly refused to turn his back on Blount and let him continue practicing with the team.
After Kelly consulted with renowned sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards and National Football League coach Tony Dungy, he realized he needed to change course. He decided to put together a series of personal and academic benchmarks for Blount. If Blount accomplished all of the tasks Kelly laid out for him, he could be reinstated before the season ended.
Kelly did not alter Blount’s suspension to appease the media or to get his star halfback back on the field. He did it to give a troubled player something to aspire to.
Since then, Blount has attended counseling sessions, maintained his grades and worked hard in practice. His appearance, and subsequent touchdown, in Oregon’s Civil War win against Oregon State University was a feel-good story.
Kelly’s Ducks are now in position to win the Rose Bowl for the first time since they defeated Penn 14-0 in 1917. Win or lose, the Ducks are blessed with a leader we can all look up to.