Report: UCLA's Chip Kelly Targeted by NFL Teams for OC Job amid Coaching Rumors
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVJanuary 21, 2024
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly could make a return to the NFL in a coordinator capacity this offseason, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.
Jones reported Sunday the 60-year-old "has been mentioned as a possible offensive coordinator by multiple head-coaching candidates this cycle." Some prospective suitors have begun the process of vetting him.
The Bruins finished 8-5 in 2023 and capped off the year with a victory over Boise State in the LA Bowl.
Kelly has yet to deliver a 10-win season in his six years at UCLA and life is unlikely to get any easier for the program as it leaves the Pac-12 behind for the Big Ten. The coach could plausibly be on the hot seat depending on how 2024 unfolds.
But there isn't anything to indicate Kelly is in immediate danger of losing his job at such a relatively late stage of the college football coaching carousel. Leaving for the NFL would also mean taking a lesser title and presumably less money — he's earning nearly $6 million a year at UCLA.
Having said that, Kelly has been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the general direction of college athletics. In December, he advocated for schools to become independent in football along with the creation of a 64-team conference made up of Power Five programs.
Jay Tust @KTVBSportsGuyI think we can all agree that college football is flawed right now.<br><br>The game we love has become very complicated.<br><br>Well, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCLA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UCLA</a> head coach Chip Kelly has answers.<br><br>And I think the powers that be should listen to him.<br><br>🔊⬆️ <a href="https://t.co/h9BOqvTeg0">pic.twitter.com/h9BOqvTeg0</a>
In addition, recruiting has never been Kelly's forte, and now that's an even larger part of his duties thanks to the advent of NIL rules and the transfer portal.
It wouldn't be that shocking if Kelly ultimately preferred to take a position with fewer demands. If he harbors any aspirations of working as a head coach in the NFL again, being a coordinator is probably the only realistic path to that as well.
Kelly has a 28-35 record over four years in the pros, and he lasted just one season with the San Francisco 49ers after going 2-14 in 2016.
There's probably nothing he can do at UCLA or any other school to address the concerns that led to his NFL exile because his personality rather than his coaching was one thing that largely did him in.
If Kelly were to thrive as a coordinator, then he will have potentially shown he's more suited to coaching an NFL team this time around.