PHILADELPHIA _ Chip Kelly was fired after just one season as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, but that didn't stop one team from bringing him in for an interview.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Jacksonville Jaguars interviewed the former Philadelphia Eagles coach prior to hiring Doug Marrone to fill their head coaching vacancy.
The Jaguars had interviewed five known candidates in addition to Marrone: Tom Coughlin (whom they hired as executive vice president), Harold Goodwin, Mike Smith, Kyle Shanahan and Josh McDaniels. No word why the team chose to keep their interview with Kelly under the radar.
Back in 2006, when Coughlin was still head coach of the New York Giants, he offered Kelly a job on his staff. Kelly turned it down, opting instead to remain as the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire.
"It was a great job, but it wasn't the right job at the right time," Kelly said of the opportunity. He was later hired by Oregon in 2007 and became head coach in 2009.
Kelly was fired after the 49ers' season-ending loss to the Seahawks. The team, which went 2-14 under Kelly, set a franchise record with 13 consecutive losses and ended the year at the bottom of the league in most offensive categories.
With every other vacancy around the league filled (except the 49ers), it looks like Kelly will either have to consider an offensive coordinator position or head back to college, something he told Fox Sports reporter Bruce Feldman at the beginning of the month he was open to.
"I evaluate all jobs individually," Kelly said. "I wouldn't rule anything out. I never said I'm only looking at one thing."
Kelly went 26-21 in three seasons as head coach of the Eagles. The team went 10-6 back-to-back in his first two seasons, but Kelly was fired prior to the final game of the 2015 season after finishing a disappointing 6-9.
