PHILADELPHIA– Chip Kelly has left the head coaching job at UCLA to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.
He will replace Bill O’Brien, who had the job for three weeks before leaving for the head coaching job at Boston College in his hometown.
Kelly’s record was 35-34 since he arrived in Westwood six years ago, and just one bowl victory. He was 8-5 last season but
was the subject of numerous hot seat rumors before a late season victory over rival USC Nov. 18.
Kelly claimed at the time he wasn’t worried and was told by the administration his job was safe. A week later, the Bruins finished the Pac-12 regular season with a loss to Cal.
Kelly reported alienated big donors and signing four- and five-star talent was a problem. The Bruins recruiting class ranked 87th in the 247 Composite.
Having said that, UCLA AD Martin Jarmond defended his decision to keep Kelly, saying he liked the trajectory the program was on the rise after a third
consecutive winning season.
But Kelly had to be feeling the heat and was looking for an exit ramp all winter, interviewing with at several NFL franchises–Las Vegas and Washington among them– about offensive.
offensive coordinator’s vacancies there.
He apparently found a soft-landing strip in Columbus. He and Day and forged a strong relationship at University of New Hampshire
where Kelly was the offensive coordinator and Day was the starting quarterback. They later coached together when Kelly was head coach with the NFL San Francisco and the Philadelphia Eagles and Day was the quarterback coach.
Kelly was making $6 million at UCLA. Previous offensive coordinator Kirk Hartline was making $1.6 million. So, he could be taking a $4 million pay cut.
But new Ohio State AD Ross Bjork from Texas A & M has been willing to spend money in the past for a coach like Jimbo Fisher and Ohio State has a huge budget. He will
give the Buckeyes a coach who has a reputation as a gifted play caller who when he was at Oregon when the Ducks made a run at the national championship in 2012.
Kelly will have a lot of weapons at his disposal at Ohio State. the Buckeyes landed impact transfers from Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins and Kansas State quarterback Will Howard. Judkins forms a dynamic running back pair with senior TreVeyon Henderson. Howard has a more mobile skill set than last year’s starter Kyle McCord. Once again, Ohio State will be blessed with star caliber wide outs like Emeka Eguka, Carnell Tate, Brandon Innis and the No. 1 ranked recruit Jermiah Smith will look for fill the void left after junior Marvin Harrison Jr. declared for the NFL draft.
Kelly’s decision to leave Westwood speaks volumes about the state of UCLA football, as the Bruins prepare to enter the B1G. The Bruins haven’t been a goliath since the Terry Donahue era in the mid-1990s. The Rose Bowl, where they play home games, is 30 miles from campus. The athletic department is $80-$100 million in debt. There isn’t much NIL money relative to Ohio State and Michigan. Academics are difficult for average students and the idea of long- distance travel for conference road games is not easy, even with chartered flights.
Jarmond says he wants to get a new coach within four days.
There is heavy speculation he will target PJ Fleck of Minnesota.
Fleck has at Minnesota since 2017. He had forged a 50-34 record in the B1G and is 5-0 in bowl games. He led the Gophers to 11 wins in 2019– the program’s best record in the modern era. The B1G no longer has two divisions which means Minnesota’s chances of advancing to the conference title game by playing in the weaker West Division is over and even though Fleck has never coached on the West Coast, he may see UCLA as the better of two options.
