Where Does UCLA Go After Embarrassing Chip Kelly Decision?
For a program that considers itself one of the country's premier football institutions, Friday was a monumentally embarrassing day for the UCLA Bruins.
Head coach Chip Kelly is leaving UCLA to take an offensive coordinator job for Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Does it get more embarrassing than this for a Power 5 school? It's hard to imagine how.
Kelly's decision is virtually unprecedented; college head coaches at major programs leaving for coordinator roles in the NFL is one thing. But to leave for a demotion at another college? Potentially losing out on a significant buyout if UCLA decides to move on? It's hard to believe.
And it raises some major questions about the future of the UCLA program, as well as the difficulty mid-level teams face moving forward in the NIL era.
Head coach Chip Kelly of the UCLA Bruins walks on the field against the Oregon State Beavers during the first half at Reser Stadium on October 14 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
UCLA Might Have Trouble Attracting Coaching Talent After Chip Kelly Departure
Since the transfer portal and NIL recruiting has taken off in the past few years, coaches have spoken out about the new difficulties they face. Recruiting no longer ends with high school kids, collectives now require attention, and the portal means weighing a balance of putting the best current team on the field against keeping young players on the roster happy.
For coaches who notoriously dislike recruiting anyway, like Kelly, it's clear that this new paradigm is making head coaching jobs much less desirable. It also may mean that mid-tier major conference programs like UCLA are set to fall even further behind the elite schools.
Kelly clearly believes there's no real pathway for UCLA to be competitive moving forward. Even with the advantages of playing home games at the Rose Bowl, enjoying a beautiful campus location, and the new financial benefits of being in the Big Ten Conference. And if you're UCLA, that has to be an extremely tough pill to swallow.
How do you convince an elite coach that you as an institution have the resources and dedication to match up against the USC's of the world? Let alone Ohio State or Alabama. Where do you go from here?
The obvious answer is hiring an "up-and-coming" young, energetic coach willing to sign up for a lengthy rebuilding process. And if big schools like UCLA need that kind of rehabilitation, it's hard to see how similarly-sized programs attract or retain coaching talent.
College football has always been a "haves" and "have-nots" type sport. Kelly's choice indicates that the gap between the two has never been bigger. And it may even still be growing.