Ever since it was announced that Brian Hartline was leaving Ohio State to take the head coach job at USF, people have been wondering if maybe Ryan Day would give Chip Kelly a call. Kelly helped the Buckeyes win the natty last season, but he took off for the NFL. He's since been fired by the Raiders.
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Might a return to the college game be in the works for him? That could end up being the case, but, for now, it's not Ohio State where he's getting a serious look. Instead, John Canzano is reporting that Washington State could be interested in giving Kelly another HC job after Jimmy Rogers bolted for Iowa State. This sure would be something:
Kick the tires on Rick Neuheisel? How about Chip Kelly? Some outside-the-box options emerge in Washington State's coaching search.
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) December 7, 2025
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Former Ohio State OC Chip Kelly is reportedly getting interest from Washington State
"Meanwhile, an intermediary working on behalf of Chip Kelly spent Saturday poking around the edges of the Cougars’ sudden search, too," Canzano wrote in a new piece over the weekend. "Said the source: “I know it sounds like a stretch, but Chip might be interested in taking a crack at WSU, given the 12th spot in the CFP.”
Former University of Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel is also in the mix, per Canzano, which is a bit of a surprise - he's been out of coaching for over a decade. The Cougars were caught completely off guard with Rogers leaving for the Big 12, doing so less than a year after taking over the Pullman side.
As for Ohio State, it felt like it was only a matter of time before Hartline was going to be offered a HC gig. He's an ace recruiter, so this is a bit of a blow, but Day will also need to find a quality guy to take over his offense for him as well.
Plenty of people in Columbus have been pushing for Kelly to be brought back to Ohio State, but it's totally unknown if this is something Day will be open to or not. If Washington State offers him its head coach position, though, it might be tough for Kelly to turn that down. Things are in the early stages there, but it's feeling less and less likely that a reunion with Kelly will go down for the Buckeyes.