Chip Kelly has worn many hats during his long career as a college and NFL coach, and he added another while touring the new Ryan Field ahead of his first season as Northwestern Wildcats offensive coordinator.
On Tuesday, Kelly, head coach David Braun, defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle and media members received an inside look at the stadium set for a grand opening when Northwestern opens its Big Ten home schedule against Penn State Nittany Lions on Oct. 2.
With the stadium in the final stages of construction, those in attendance were given vests and hard hats, resulting in an instantly viral moment for Kelly.
Behold, the first great photo of the 2026 college football season:
Chip Kelly, Northwestern entering pivotal first season at new Ryan Field
Kelly in a hard hat and safety vest is the image we didn’t know we needed. Seriously, why destroy the planet with A.I. when the real world offers these kind of pleasures?
So much is great about it, from undoubtedly being the way many discovered Kelly, the former Oregon Ducks and Philadelphia Eagles head coach, is at Northwestern to the construction crew cosplay. It’s the perfect photo to illustrate the state of college football. Anything is possible, and little of it makes sense.
It may also be a strong metaphor for the Wildcats offense, likely still under construction heading into Kelly’s first season. His hiring was one of the most surprising in the Big Ten this offseason, with an anonymous Big Ten coach recently telling Athlon Sports, “I was super interested in the … move… I just imagine their personnel department was like, ‘What the f— do we do now?’
“Everything they’ve built with that team is like this ground-and-pound, man-zone running scheme that you have some play-action of it,” the coach added.
Kelly’s ability to resurrect an offense that has long struggled will be key to preventing the program’s first year in the new Ryan Field, which the university first shared mockups of in September 2022, from ending in disappointment.
Originally estimated at $800M, the final cost of construction ran $862M, making it the most expensive stadium in college football history.
A website for new Ryan Field boldly claims Northwestern, which went 7-6 in 2025, is “A program already constructed to compete in the Big Ten and pursue College Football Playoff contention.”
Depending on if and how quickly Kelly can get the offense in a rhythm, Northwestern could exceed expectations. The Wildcats finished No. 19 in scoring defense last season but were No. 98 in scoring offense, which was actually an improvement after four consecutive seasons ranking outside the top 100 in FBS.
This offseason, Northwestern landed former Michigan State Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles via the transfer portal. Last season, the rising senior appeared in nine games and completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,392 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 227 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
The Wildcats will be tested early, beginning conference play at the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers and also playing on the road at both Oregon and Ohio State Buckeyes.
This era has given rise to the belief any power conference program, given the proper resources, can compete for a national title. In that regard, Northwestern’s impressive new stadium sets it apart. But even so, it’s difficult to imagine the Wildcats making a run for a Big Ten or CFP title this season.
Then again, if you would have told us last July that in one year Kelly would be wearing a Northwestern-branded hard hat, we wouldn’t have believed that, either.
