Count Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly as one of the many prominent figures in college football who believes the sport needs a commissioner to help steward it.
Given the many different stakeholders in the sport—the conferences, coaches, players, media rights holders and myriad others—the idea has merit. The most popular name that many have connected to the currently hypothetical job: former Alabama coach and current ESPN personality Nick Saban.
Saban doesn't appear to want that responsibility, but that didn't stop Kelly from being the latest to float him for the job. He added three other names as options: former Stanford coach David Shaw, former Washington and Boise State coach Chris Petersen and former Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith.
Ohio State OC Chip Kelly said college football needs a commissioner immediately. His top candidates: former coaches Nick Saban, David Shaw & Chris Petersen & former Ohio State AD Gene Smith
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 18, 2025
Kelly himself doesn't want the job either, but stressed that adding a commissioner is probably the biggest thing the sport could do to start to remedy its most significant issues.
"The first thing I would change is they should have a commissioner of college football. That's the first thign I would change. It would not be me, but there's a lot of really good people out there who care very much about this game," Kelly said at Saturday's national championship media day.
Shaw has been out of coaching since leaving Stanford in 2022, and currently works with the Denver Broncos front office. Petersen is an analyst for Fox after leaving Washington in 2019. Smith wrapped a lengthy tenure as Ohio State athletic director in '24.
Perhaps they would all be effective figureheads to try and steer the sport's many disparate stakeholders in the same direction for the good of college football. However, that is a goal that will likely take much more than just one person, even someone with the gravitas of a Saban.
More of the Latest Around College Football
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ohio State's Chip Kelly Pitches Three Former Coaches for 'CFB Commissioner' Role.
