(SNH) — Whether you like him or not, Bill Belichick ended his 24 years with the New England Patriots in a very classy way.  He took out a full-page in the Boston Globe and thanked the fans for their passion and support.

“You gave your precious time, resources and energy to our team,” he wrote.  “We appreciated it. I loved coaching here and together we experienced some amazing moments.”

The 71-year old won’t be coaching in the NFL in 2024.  He wasn’t offered any of the available jobs but, no doubt, the New England faithful understands what they had and what they’ve lost.

How much do other football fan bases understand that and vice versa?

Remember when Chip Kelly was the hot name in college football because of his success at Oregon? From 2009 through 2012, Kelly led the Ducks to a 46-7 record; 33-3 in conference action; four first place finishes in the PAC 12; four BCS bowl games and a national title game., losing to Auburn in 2010.

Kelly was a king in college football’s kingdom, but it wasn’t enough. He jumped to the NFL and was named the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.  He spent three years in Philly, then a season in San Francisco.  Combined, he went 28-35 and was then looking for work.

He landed at UCLA and has been there for six years, struggling to stay above five hundred (35-34) and he’s never finished better than 6-3 in conference play. 

Now, Kelly is putting out “feelers” for an NFL offensive coordinator position.  Oh, how quickly his star has fallen.

Jim Harbaugh spent nine years coaching at his alma mater: the University of Michigan. He survived early turmoil when the Board of Regents wanted him gone and fans were screaming for his job.  He rallied with three straight Big Ten titles; three straight CFP games and this year, led his school to its first national title since 1997.

He was offered to be one of the highest paid coaches in college football.  He was so popular he could have run for governor in the state of Michigan. The lure of the NFL was too much and he left Ann Arbor for Los Angeles to take over a Chargers team that plays second fiddle in the city to the Rams.

Boston College sideline boss Jeff Hafley left his post after four years, posting seven wins this season -- the most since 2018 -- to take the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator gig. 

I understand there are opportunities that are enticing.  Who can blame the 44-year-old Hafley for jumping back into the pro game? (he was Tampa’s defensive backs coach before B.C.).

But Kelly and Harbaugh were on top of the college football world when they chose to leave.

One is now close to being irrelevant and the other is taking over a team that barely registers a blip on its local media radar and is $54.2 million over the salary cap.

I’m guessing fans in Eugene, Oregon had a great appreciation for what Kelly built with the Ducks, but it’s fair to understand why they’ve also moved on so easily following the success of Mario Cristobal and Dan Lanning (57-18 combined).

It’ll be different for the UM fan base.  Harbaugh was one of their own, starring there as a player for four years, being named 1986 Big Ten Player of the Year and finishing third in the Heisman Trophy vote.  He could have stayed and perhaps had a statue next to Bo Schembechler when he retired, but instead chose to leave for what he thinks will be greener pastures. 

He could have remained at Michigan and been mentioned in the same admiring tones as Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney.  Instead, he now runs the risk of falling into a category with Steve Spurrier, Dennis Erickson, Urban Meyer, and Lou Holtz: men who won at the highest level of college only to leave and fail in the NFL.

Granted, Harbaugh was very successful with the 49ers before going back “home,” but this time is different than leaving Stanford for the league.  This time his legacy is on the line and it won’t be easy.

Matt Shepard is a writer for Sports News Highlights.

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