With Chip Kelly eying an exit from UCLA, the Bruins made a mistake not firing their head coach last November

Chip Kelly wants out of Westwood. 

UCLA’s head coach has been reportedly eying an exit in recent weeks, showing interest in multiple NFL offensive coordinator openings as well Iowa’s now-filled OC vacancy. 

NFL.com reported that Kelly interviewed twice with the Las Vegas Raiders before Antonio Pierce opted to hire former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury, while Kelly remains a candidate to be the coordinator on Dan Quinn’s Washington Commanders’ staff. 

It’s no surprise that Kelly is looking for a career reset — particularly back in the NFL. He was on the hot seat just last season and has never been shy about his disdain for recruiting or opining on the ills within the sport. The current hellscape for college coaches will continue to push those who can find a home in the pros to the league, and Kelly is a two-time NFL head coach. 

Still, an early February departure would be disastrous for UCLA, and not because Kelly has been some home run hire for the Bruins. 

In six seasons, Kelly is 35-34 and just 26-26 in Pac-12 play. He went 8-5 in 2023, capping the season with a rout over crosstown rival USC and a victory in the LA Bowl over Boise State — the program’s first bowl win in nearly a decade. 

The blowout over the Trojans seemed to save Kelly’s job, as reports leaked in mid-November that UCLA was eyeing a coaching change. 

Hindsight and all, the Bruins’ brass clearly should’ve made the move, and not let a single 60 minutes dictate the future of their program. 

Why UCLA should’ve fired Chip Kelly in November

This has not been a great offseason for UCLA as it prepares to make the transition to the Big Ten — and it looks like it’s about to get worse. 

The Bruins signed the nation’s 68th class — down 39 spots from the prior cycle and good for 17th in the Big Ten. They saw 5-star quarterback Dante Moore transfer to rival Oregon after a shaky freshman season. They lost ballyhooed defensive coordinator D’anton Lynn to USC. Two of their top returning defensive players — safety Kamari Ramsey and corner John Humphrey — transferred to play for the Trojans, too. 

Kelly flirting with the idea of leaving this late in the calendar has left UCLA in an impossible situation: Continue a broken marriage with a coach who clearly wants out, or pull the plug months too late and deal with repercussions that could setback the program for several seasons. 

It’s a lose-lose. 

The Bruins are already lagging in the NIL space. If Kelly does leave (or is fired), the roster would be open to the 30-day transfer portal window, with whatever remaining talent is in Westwood likely to explore options elsewhere. 

UCLA’s top two coaching targets to replace Kelly — Jedd Fisch and Jonathan Smith — have already changed jobs this season and are no longer available candidates.  

The Bruins are in a bad spot right now, and they did this to themselves by not firing Kelly at the end of the 2023 season.