Why the NFL is NOT the next step for NCAA coaches

Here's a little food for thought: When was the last time an NCAA football coach won a super bowl? Don't think too hard, the answers are not going to be good. But the thought you have is the same one I am having.

Why is it that NCAA coaches with successful teams leave for the NFL ranks only to be horrible at the next level? Well, not everyone has a concrete answer but I seem to have my own. NCAA coaches are not just coaches, they are also general managers. They give offers to players, manage discipline issues on and off the field all while running a team. This is a hard task, right? Well as it turns out, the job prospects don't transition well in the next level.

To punish this point, I will point to one of the more recent NCAA coaches to find disaster in the NFL: Nick Saban. Mr. Saban did great things in the NCAA leading up to his national championship with LSU. He had a great post there and probably could have been revered as a legend. He parlayed his lucky streak into a job with the Miami Dolphins. One year there and he realized that not being able to control everything, while not doing much at the next level, was not his thing. His luck going back has been epic. He had a great job at LSU, he fell into Alabama and did what he knows best by blowing everything away.

So let's go a little further.

Steve Spurrier. Another coach who led his team to a national championship. His luck in the NFL also ran dry. His return to the NCAA has been off beat to say the least. When he left Florida, no one thought he would do poorly at the next level. When he did, the return party wasn't waiting for him. Instead he found South Carolina for which he has not won anything major.

And another.....

Butch Davis. This selection might be a little controversial given that he never actually won a national championship at the college level. However he did finish with the #3 ranking in his final year, not to mention his recruited players made almost all of the contributions to Miami's 2001 national championship. Somehow, he managed to stay in Cleveland for 3 years. That proved to be a bust, as he only had a winning record the first year. Winning being 9-7. His return was even worse. He now coaches the University of North Carolina, where the only thing anyone can ask is "has basketball started yet?". Not a good slide for his career.

Which brings me to the whole point of this blog.....
Chip Kelly. He ran Oregon like there was nothing to lose. Every game, every play, he made Oregon a contender. He didn't recruit the best at every position, he recruited what he needed to win in his system. Speed and agility were the key. He guided his team to a national championship appearance. Although he lost, he made Oregon a contender again. It could be said that he revitalized the Pac-12 and gave the entire conference motivation to distance itself from just being everyone else and USC.
Now he is the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles where he has racked up a 1-2 record. Not bad right now, but the makings of a fallout are all in place. Just look, so many teams with NFL level talent are failing. The Eagles don't really have anyone who falls into his system, and he has not been able to keep his offense on the field long enough to allow the defense time to rest. It's time to start thinking, where will he go if this NFL gig fails?

Pondering.....