screw Chip...talk is cheap he didn't say one damn thing of any substance about this when his UCLA Bruins, along with USC, defected to the Big-10, supercharged conference re-alignment, killed the Pac-12, and trashed most opportunities for regional competition. Now, nearly 2 years after UCLA bolted, he's got ideas for keeping regional matchups alive after all the major conferences have signed new GOR's with media and created new schedules
To be fair to Chip, this press conference wasn't the first time expressed a dislike for the overall impact of conference realignment. It would've also been kinda weird for him to talk about how UCLA/USC killed the Pac12 2 years ago and the conference still had 10 teams in it. I don't think Chip or any coach benefits greatly for speaking up against realignment so I give him some credit. And since Chip didn't have any say in the decision for UCLA to leave the conference, I certainly don't blame him for it.
I gave my reasons. I wasn't 'blaming' him for situation. But for damn sure he was right at the epicenter of the earthquake that destroyed the foundation of the Pac-12 and decimated regional match-ups, two things he's apparently nostalgic for right now. he didn't say anything when the State of California and the Board of Regents were in the middle of a debate & process about UCLA's decision. He didn't say anything when the Big-10 was in discussions with media about a new GOR that was certain to lock-in non-regional schedules for 6-8 years, including for all the other sports. It's only after all the water has passed under the bridge and is miles downstream that he has ideas about preserving what can't be preserved now, if you're talking about what could happen in the 2030's, it's open conjecture. But even then, it's will be next to impossible to time it all. The SEC's media deal runs thru 2034. The Big-10's runs thru 2030, expiring 4 years before the SEC's deal (and a year before the Big-12's; and 6 years before the ACC). And if you can't get those two conferences on the same page, a nationally coordinated re-alignment is impossible. That's especially true because ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC, etc own the media GOR's and are not going to cooperate unless they can make more money than they already will.
I don't disagree with any of that. But I don't think Chip Kelly had any responsibility to have a plan in place when this was all going on. In the time between when USC and UCLA announced their defections and the time the PAC collapsed it seems like he had time to think about it, and the first time I heard him talk about this was, I believe, before the rest of the PAC collapsed. Again, I agree that it sucks the way things have happened, but it's a good idea. Did Chip Kelly know USC and UCLA were leaving? Could he have done anything about it? Did he just think they were playing hard ball with the rest of the conference? Should he have even known how to tell the difference? I think that's all above Chip's pay grade. So I can't really fault him for only speaking up now that it's apparent PAC12 leadership was an effing disaster. It's tough for soldiers to know the full story until after the battle.
Ducks land a RB in the transfer portal: not a lot of tape on him. There's this: he's listed as 6-2, 215 and appears to have good power and excellent speed. I'd say expectations might need to be tempered a bit because of the competition level. Too much a 'man-amongst-boys' vibe. But he might end up being really good
Everyone clamoring over Chips ground breaking message should check it out more. Its basically turning college football into the NFL.
that's the rumor but it hasn't happened yet there is also speculation that Dante Moore is going to commit to transfer but the staff wants him to wait until after the early NLI window that opens Wednesday and with the growing rumor that Walter Nolen is going to transfer to Ole Miss instead of Oregon (visited Oregon to get an opening NLI bid), the focus has shifted to Derrick Harmon, the MSU nose tackle who visited the Duck this weekend. His 6'5, 260 pound presence would sure plug the hole left by the graduation of Taki Tamani and Popo Amumvae
