Earlier this week, rumors were flying that Chip Kelly was one of a couple of leading candidates to fill the vacancy at Florida. In fact, the speculation was far enough down the road it was reported that the SEC would not stand in the way of UF’s hiring of Kelly, who was given an 18-month show-cause by the NCAA from his days at Oregon.
Wednesday, former Gator head coach and current UF ambassador Steve Spurrier, without naming or even hinting at Kelly specifically, intimated during a radio interview that the ex-Ducks head coach doesn’t fit the criteria for who will become the next Gators head coach. And not because of any past NCAA issues.
From FootballScoop.com‘s transcription of the interview:
Kelly, of course, was fired by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers in January of this year and has spent this season as a college football analyst for ESPN, which means he doesn’t have a team now and, thus, doesn’t fit into what the Ol’ Ball Coach described as the current employment status of the man who will ultimately replace Jim McElwain. While it certainly doesn’t rule Kelly out, especially with the “almost 100 percent” qualifier from Spurrier, it does tap the brakes significantly on the chatter.
Additionally, not long after that interview, Spurrier shot back on his personal Twitter account at speculation that he’s pushing for UCF’s Scott Frost to become the next UF head coach.
I am not recommending anyone for the job. We all have complete confidence that Scott Stricklin will make the best choice for our school - and we will support his decision 100 percent. https://t.co/GREyvfIfFW
— Coach Steve Spurrier (@SteveSpurrierUF) November 15, 2017
In addition to Kelly, Frost and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen have been the names most connected to the opening in Gainesville.