UCLA chose not to fire Chip Kelly at the end of the 2023 college football season. Now, less than three months after the university chose to retain him, he is no longer the head football coach at UCLA.
Kelly informed his players of his decision to resign during a team meeting on Friday. He set to leave his role as a head coach to replace Bill O’Brien as the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State.
The 60-year-old will take a sizable pay cut for a demotion. There is simply no way that the Buckeyes can afford to pay him the $6.1 million salary that he was set to receive from the Bruins in 2024.
History played a big role in the move.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day played for Kelly at New Hampshire. They later coached together on three occasions, including in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
The modern landscape of college football was also a factor, with the transfer portal and NIL. An offensive coordinator can focus more on the Xs and Os. A head coach has to handle more of the other stuff.
Chip Kelly left UCLA in the dust.
Kelly’s six-year tenure with the Bruins brought mixed results. He went 3-9, 4-8, 3-4, 8-4, 9-4, and 8-5. It was one of the least successful runs in school history both in terms of on-field results and recruiting.
UCLA heavily considered cutting Kelly loose after a loss to Arizona State last season. Athletic director Martin Jarmond was kicking the tires on a dismissal but ultimately chose to give him another shot, despite the minimal signs of life within the program.
Even though there was no way to know, that now looks like a big mistake.
The Bruins missed out on the initial coaching carousel. Many of the top candidates across the country have either signed a new deal with their current team or already left for a new opportunity. They are now behind the eight ball with Chip Kelly off to Columbus. He left Jarmond with a red face by leaving.