Chip Kelly jokes about Big Ten travel, NFL experience

Once the decision came in from UCLA and USC to join the Big Ten, the immediate question was about travel. It’s not exactly a short trip from Los Angeles to Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, after all.

Chip Kelly knew just how long of a trip it will be, though.

“2,765 miles,” he told reporters without missing a beat in his Pac-12 Media Day press conference Friday. “It’s a four and a half hour flight, a little longer on the way back. … You hope you win so you don’t care how long the flight back is.”

He also rattled off the distance to Lincoln, Nebraska — home of future conference foe Nebraska — and Seattle, where Washington plays. If you’re wondering, they’re 1,149 miles and 1,135 miles away from Brentwood, respectively.

It was quite a display, but those are still long distances, especially to play conference games. Kelly traveled long distances when he coached in the NFL, and immediately joked about the players he had then vs. now.

“If I had those players, it would help a lot,” Kelly said. “I don’t know. I mean, again, we’re talking things two years out. Again, it’s an awkward situation for everybody. I’ve had a great experience in this league. I owe my life to the Pac-12. I appreciate what this league has done.”

Shortly after Kelly’s response on the distance to Piscataway, a reporter from Quebec asked a question. Before he could even get the question out, Kelly had a quip about where he came from.

“We’re expanding, but we’re not going to Quebec,” he joked before answering the question.

UCLA and USC’s moves to the Big Ten were major topics of conversation at Pac-12 Media Day as the two schools prepare to join the conference by 2024. But Kelly made it clear he wanted to keep his focus on the 2022 season, which gets underway in September with a Week 1 matchup against Bowling Green on Sept. 3.