Dan Mullen calls out Lincoln Riley amid UCLA blowout vs USC

Entering Saturday’s matchup between USC and UCLA, much of the conversation centered on Bruins head coach Chip Kelly. A report surfaced earlier this week saying the program was “likely” to fire him after the game, and UCLA wound up taking a commanding 31-13 lead into the fourth quarter.

That’s why former Florida and Mississippi State coach-turned-ESPN analyst Dan Mullen wondered whether Kelly should be the one on the hot seat or if Lincoln Riley should.

“Are we sure that they have the right coach on the hot seat in LA,” Mullen tweeted.

UCLA ended up adding to its lead in the fourth quarter, extending the advantage to 38-13 before eventually getting the 38-20 victory. It marked Kelly’s 37th as UCLA’s head coach, but reporting suggested the program was considering a change entering the rivalry matchup.

Kelly currently has a 34-33 record since coming in ahead of the 2018 season. There were moments of success in 2023 under Kelly, including getting to the No. 18 ranking in the AP Poll back in October. As it stands, Kelly is 79-40 as a head coach with Oregon and UCLA.

Sources told Tracy Pierson UCLA will likely fire Chip Kelly after this weekend. But if the Bruins win against cross-town rival USC, Kelly could remain through the end of the regular season.

Things were coming up roses for Kelly earlier in the season. After UCLA clinched bowl eligibility with a win over Colorado, the Bruins improved to 6-2.

With that, Kelly received a nice contract bonus by getting UCLA to the postseason. Kelly had to rebuild a Bruins program down in the dumps and finally turned it around in 2021.

As for Riley, it’s been an interesting year, to say the least. His time at USC started out strong with a 10-3 record, but this season hasn’t been the same. The Trojans finished the regular season 7-5 after losing to UCLA, including four losses in Pac-12 play.

The story of the year has been USC’s defense, which entered Saturday’s matchup as the third-worst total defense in the Pac-12 only ahead of Stanford and Colorado. Riley made a change prior to last week’s game, firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

After allowing 40 or more points in five of six games, USC clamped down to keep both Oregon and UCLA under that number. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Trojans ended the year with five losses in their final six matchups.

Nick Kosko contributed to this report.