Sunday Morning Quarterback: Chip Kelly Has UCLA Bruins Off to Another Bad Start

So, San Diego State beat UCLA for the first time in 23 tries yesterday.

UCLA Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was...better than last week against Cincinnati. He still wasn’t very good, but he wasn’t as bad as he was last week.

That still doesn’t make him a serviceable quarterback. He just wasn’t as bad as last week.

The good news, if there was any for the Bruins, is that the run defense remained solid. The Bruins only allowed 80 yards rushing to a team which relies on the run for the bulk of their offense.

That may have been the only bright spot for UCLA. That and special teams.

The rest of the is awful. The pass defense was terrible. The entire offense was atrocious. The offensive line gave up three sacks. The running backs managed just 81 yards on 25 carries. DTR lost 19 yards on seven rush attempts including three sacks. Receivers were dropping balls. Overall, the Bruin offense managed just six plays which gained more than 10 yards and two of those plays were gains of 12 yards and 10 yards by Joshua Kelley. He managed just 31 yards on his other 13 carries. Demetric Felton, the only other UCLA running back to carry the ball, wasn’t any better.

At this point, the sad state of the UCLA football team is on Chip Kelly and the rest of the coaching staff.

I don’t want to hear any more excuses from Chip Kelly about “how young” the team is either because the roster belongs to Kelly at this point. When Kelly arrived he had a roster that was loaded with talent. But, since his arrival, a downright ridiculous number of players have left the program. So, the youth of UCLA is a creation of Chip Kelly’s program.

At this point, Chip Kelly has to be considered the worst head coach in UCLA history and Bruin fans are growing impatient.

Yesterday’s attendance, which included a sizeable contingent from San Diego State was a measly 36,951. If this team doesn’t improve soon, UCLA might be able to fit the attendance for a home football game inside Pauley Pavilion soon.

Earlier this week, UCLA informed football program alums that they are being invited to be on the field to interact with recruits prior to the start of each home game in an attempt to boost the team’s recruiting efforts.

I’m sure there are many Bruin fans who may already be done with Chip Kelly and may want to move on to someone who can rebuild the program. Heavens knows, I’m getting pretty close.

At the same time, Kelly’s contract has a $9M buyout until January 16, 2022. The amount of the buyout never gets smaller before then. That said, Kelly stands to earn $13.5M if he remains the Bruins’ head coach for the remainder of his contract which expires on January 16, 2023. So, there may be a point coming where it may be seen that spending the money on the buyout may be worth it compared to the cost involved in keeping him.

Realistically, that will probably fall to the next Athletic Director. Dan Guerrero’s contract is still set to expire on December 31st. While Guerrero has indicated that an extension may be in the works, December 31st will loom large until one is announced. I certainly wouldn’t expect Guerrero to consider pulling the plug on Kelly after just two seasons.

All of this means one thing.

Don’t expect much to change any time soon.


Go Bruins.