The UF brass got on a plane and went out to see Chip Kelly at least once, perhaps more than once. While it was obviously never a "done deal", it was far closer than some people here are acting like it was. Kelly is the one who ultimately backed out, not UF. I suppose we should thank him for that.
No I agree. We were obviously interested and so was he. But we clearly had an issue when we came back with an empty seat in the plane, and rather than acknowledging that it was still a work in progress, there was this mental gymnastics about when it could legally be announced, his prior contracts, etc. That’s what I’m talking about.
And to be clear, I thought the “there’s no chance” crowd was equally exhausting and ridiculous. It wasn’t some pipe dream either. His “playing UF” as it was deemed, screwed his actual current employer much more than it did us.
As you pointed out, we probably should thank him. The only negative for us that came from it is that it initially looked bad, and probably gave Mullen even more leverage in his negotiations, which was my complaint when the terms were announced. Otherwise, even if by total accident, Stricklin comes out looking great, especially given the noles’ choice.