The Chip Kelly era has concluded in Westwood.
After six seasons at the helm, Kelly is expected to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, according to multiple reports.
The veteran head coach was said to be emotional while talking with players during a meeting on Friday when talking about his decision to leave. An interim has not been named.
“I want to sincerely thank Chip for his service to UCLA Football and our student-athletes across the past six seasons and wish the best to him and his wife Jill moving forward,” athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a statement.
The program has started a national search for a new head coach. Several UCLA running backs, including starting running back TJ Harden, have shared posts on social media asking for DeShaun Foster to become the head coach.
Foster is a former player and running backs coach for the program, who took a job as the Las Vegas Raiders’ running backs coach earlier this month. He was promoted to associated head coach prior to the 2023 season by Kelly.
“It is imperative that we support our student-athletes and put them in the best position to succeed,” Jarmond said. “UCLA is a special place, and we are confident we will find a leader for our football program who develops young men on and off the field and embodies our True Bruin Values.”
Kelly’s decision to pursue an opportunity at Ohio State will reunite him with head coach Ryan Day and Justin Frye, the associate head coach for the offense.
Frye worked with Kelly as his offensive coordinator at UCLA prior to leaving for a job with Ohio State. Day played quarterback at New Hampshire with Kelly as his offensive coordinator from 1999 to 2001. Kelly went on to become the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and hired Day as his quarterbacks coach in 2015. Day also followed Kelly to San Francisco where both held the same positions for the 49ers.
Kelly has mentioned that he and Day were on a golf course together when they found out that the Bruins would be joining the Big Ten Conference on June 2022.
Kelly finishes his UCLA tenure with a 35-34 overall record (26-26 in Pac-12 play). The Bruins are 6-12 against teams ranked in the Top 25 with Kelly at the helm and recently became bowl-eligible for just the third time during his tenure.
The Bruins (7-5 overall, 4-5 Pac-12) finished the 2023 regular season losing three of their last four conference games, with the only victory coming in a rout of crosstown rival USC. In December, the Bruins used a strong third-quarter effort to beat Boise State in the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
Several reports over the past month had indicated that Kelly was exploring opportunities to return to the NFL.
He has a 28-35 NFL record after coaching the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-2015) and the San Francisco 49ers (2016) before he arrived in Westwood.
Kelly leaves UCLA as the program prepares for its first season in the Big Ten Conference. The coaching search adds an extra level of complication to the university’s search for a new chancellor. Gene Block has served as UCLA’s chancellor since 2007 but is set to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.
The roster could also take a significant hit with players now having a 30-day window to transfer out of the school and find another university to continue their careers. It would also place UCLA in a tough spot with limited options to fill its head coaching role permanently as most of the coaching movement starting to settle down in recent weeks.
The Bruins are expected to see several players return for the 2024 season including quarterback Ethan Garbers, receiver J.Michael Sturdivant and linebacker Kain Medrano among others.
