Chip Kelly has developed a lot of longtime friendships with NFL coaches and those relationships may help him remain in the league.
Kelly is reportedly under consideration for the offensive coordinator position with the Atlanta Falcons, but he has also been linked to the Houston Texans.
Kelly could join the Texans as an offensive assistant, according to a report.
The Texans parted ways with offensive coordinator George Godsey after their playoff loss to New England, and head coach Bill O'Brien will be calling the plays and he may go without an official offensive coordinator in 2017.
Kelly and O'Brien are longtime friends, dating back to Kelly's days at the University of New Hampshire. The two were born and raised in the New England area - Kelly was born in Dover New Hampshire and O'Brien was born in the Boston, Massachusetts.
Kelly said they have "ran in the same circles" for years and the Texans and Bahis Siteleri San Francisco 49ers held a joint practice in August when Kelly was the head coach of the 49ers.
"We've kept in touch wherever he's been, whether it was at Georgia Tech, I had opportunities when I was at New Hampshire to go visit him there," Kelly told espn.com in August. "When he took over as the quarterbacks coach at the Patriots and I was at Oregon, I would always come back in the summertime and spend time with OB then, just talking football. So, we've kept in touch over the years."
O'Brien said Kelly possesses a "quick mind."
"Very, very bright guy, has a very quick mind, good sense of humor, great relationships with his players, and he really understands the game," O'Brien told espn.com. "Any time you can pair up with a team like that, you're going to get a lot of work done because there's a lot of ideas, a lot of creativity that goes into planning that practice."
O'Brien said he and Kelly are very much alike when the subjects are coaching and philosophy.
"We believe in a similar type of football, smart players and guys who love the game," O'Brien said. "We believe in similar things when it comes to football."
-- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold
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