Nov 25, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly watches from the sidelines in the fourth quarter against the California Golden Bears at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Chip Kelly departs UCLA after 6 seasons

UCLA’s debut in the Big Ten Conference next season also will come with a new head coach after Chip Kelly informed Bruins players Friday that he is leaving the program and the university later announced his departure.

Reports also indicate that Kelly is leaving UCLA after six seasons to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State under head coach Ryan Day, a longtime friend. Kelly was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire when Day was the quarterback there from 1998-2001.

“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,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a news release Friday.

Unlike Kelly’s time as the head coach at Oregon, when he went 46-7 from 2009-12, Kelly’s tenure at UCLA was far less impressive. Kelly’s Bruins teams went 35-34 and the team played in just two bowl games, winning the LA Bowl in December, 35-22 over Boise State.

While Kelly was on the hot seat over his mediocre results, the UCLA athletic department gave the coach a vote of confidence just after Thanksgiving, complimenting Kelly’s strong culture.

Kelly also has NFL experience, leaving Oregon to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-15 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. Day was Kelly’s quarterbacks coach at San Francisco.

UCLA is not scheduled to face Ohio State in its inaugural run next season in the Big Ten, but the teams are set to face each other in 2025 at Columbus, Ohio.

UCLA is moving to the Big Ten along with rival Southern California. Pac-12 powers Washington and Oregon also are leaving for the Big Ten.

–Field Level Media

Dec 3, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien talks with quarterback Bailey Zappe (4) as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Bill O’Brien heading to Boston College as head coach

Former Houston Texans and Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien and Boston College reportedly are putting the finishing touches on a deal to make him the Eagles’ next football coach.

O’Brien, a Massachusetts native, most recently was the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. He accepted the same position at Ohio State last month.

The 54-year-old O’Brien was hired at Ohio State to take over the play-calling duties from head coach Ryan Day. Presuming O’Brien seals the deal with Boston College, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly reportedly will be named the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator.

O’Brien’s family is rooted in the Boston area and planned to remain there while O’Brien was in Columbus, ESPN reported.

O’Brien will replace Jeff Hafley, who recently was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers.

The Eagles finished 7-6 in 2023 and are getting a coach with a blue-chip pedigree.

O’Brien worked on Bill Belichick’s staff with the Patriots from 2007-11 and was quarterbacks coach to Tom Brady. He left to take over at Penn State in 2012 and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year.

From 2014-20, he led the Texans to the playoffs four times.

As for Ohio State, Kelly and Day have a longstanding relationship that began when Kelly was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire with Day as his quarterback there from 1999-2001.

Kelly, 60, led Oregon to three Pac-12 championships as the Ducks head coach from 2009-12 and compiled an 46-7 record. He headed to the NFL in 2013, spending three seasons as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and one at the helm of the San Francisco 49ers with a 28-35 overall record.

He became UCLA’s head coach in 2018 and has a 35-34 record with the Bruins.

–Field Level Media

Nov 19, 2022; Orlando, Florida, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo looks on during the second quarter against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Ex-Navy HC Ken Niumatalolo joins UCLA in advisory role

Ken Niumatalolo, who served as head coach at Navy for the past 15 seasons, was hired by UCLA as the football program’s “director of leadership” on Friday.

Niumatalolo is Navy’s all-time winningest head coach, with a 109-83 record, and is the winningest head coach in the Army-Navy series with 10 victories. He was the first head coach in the history of the service academies’ rivalry to win eight straight installments.

Navy fired Niumatalolo, 57, after December’s loss in the Army-Navy Game. The Midshipmen went 4-8 in 2022 and 11-23 over the past three seasons.

In his position with UCLA, Niumatalolo will fill an advisory role to both student-athletes and the coaching staff.

He told ESPN in an interview that he was excited to work with UCLA coach Chip Kelly. The Bruins went 9-4 last season and will join the Big Ten in 2024.

“He’s an established coach, he’s not threatened by me or anything, he’s not worried about somebody looking over his shoulder,” Niumatalolo told ESPN. “That’s how Chip looks at it — anything I can add. They’re not far off, whatever I can bring, but it just felt right.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 5, 2022; Tempe, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half at Sun Devil Stadium.

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Syndication Arizona Republic

UCLA’s Chip Kelly gets extension through ’27 season

UCLA football coach Chip Kelly signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the Bruins through the 2027 season.

Athletic director Martin Jarmond announced the extension Friday but did not disclose the financial terms.

In January 2022, Kelly and UCLA agreed on an extension through the 2025 season. The Los Angeles Times reported that Kelly would earn an average of $4.7 million per season.

UCLA leadership rewarded Kelly for guiding the Bruins to a No. 21 season-ending ranking and a 9-4 (6-3 Pac-12) mark. UCLA was in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 2014.

Kelly was hired at UCLA before the 2018 season, and the Bruins finished a disappointing 3-9 (3-6 Pac-12). After back-to-back winning seasons, Kelly now has a 27-29 record in Westwood. His teams were 46-7 in four seasons at Oregon (2009-12).

“I am excited about our football program under the leadership of Coach Kelly and his talented staff,” Jarmond said in a news release. “The football program is on an upward trajectory, both on the field and in the classroom. Coach Kelly and his staff have done a tremendous job developing young men as demonstrated by their academic excellence.”

The 2022 Bruins averaged 503.6 yards per game in 2022 and became the first team in program history to average more than 500 yards of total offense per game.

Kelly, 59, was 28-35 as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers from 2013-16.

–Field Level Media

Nov 20, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly in the first half against the Southern California Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA extends Chip Kelly through 2025

UCLA rewarded coach Chip Kelly with a four-year extension through the 2025 season on Friday, the program announced.

Kelly, 58, is coming off his first winning season with the Bruins in four years as their coach. UCLA went 8-4 in 2021. The team was set to play in the Holiday Bowl against NC State before COVID-19 complications forced the cancellation of the game.

Kelly is 18-25 in four seasons at UCLA after stints with Oregon (2009-12), the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and the San Francisco 49ers (2016).

“We are extremely appreciative of the entire UCLA administration for their support of our football program,” Kelly said in a statement. “We have a tremendous amount of gratitude for our players and staff. Their tireless work and commitment to our vision has built a great foundation. We are excited to continue to build this program into something that makes the UCLA fan base proud.”

ESPN and the Los Angeles Times reported that Kelly’s new contract will pay him $4.7 million per year.

Kelly was linked to Oregon’s vacant coaching job earlier this winter, but the Ducks instead hired Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning.

“This new contract represents the commitment, stability and investment needed to continue the upward trajectory of our football program,” Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a statement. “Since joining UCLA, our football team’s winning percentage has increased every year, including increased momentum in recruiting and strategic use of the transfer portal.”

–Field Level Media

Head Coach Chip Kelly, center, and the team take the field for the first Pac-12 Championship game at Autzen in 2011.

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Report: Oregon requests permission to speak to Chip Kelly

Oregon has requested permission to speak with former coach Chip Kelly about its coaching vacancy, the Oregonian reported Thursday.

Kelly currently coaches UCLA and his buyout is reportedly $9 million.

The Bruins are 8-4 this season but only 18-25 overall in Kelly’s four seasons at the school. UCLA is set to play in the Holiday Bowl against North Carolina State on Dec. 28.

Oregon is in the market for a coach after Mario Cristobal departed to become coach at Miami, his alma mater.

Kelly went 46-7 with the Ducks from 2009-12. Oregon reached the national championship game in 2010 but lost 22-19 to Cam Newton-led Auburn.

Kelly departed to the NFL to become coach of the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and was fired after three seasons. He then was hired by the San Francisco 49ers (2016) and dismissed after one season.

He went 28-35 as an NFL head coach and made one playoff appearance (a loss in 2013 with the Eagles).

Former Oregon coach and athletic director Mike Bellotti expressed mixed feelings about the 58-year-old Kelly possibly returning to Eugene on Sirius XM Pac-12 radio earlier this week.

“Chip did a tremendous job when he was there, both for me as an offensive coordinator and then for me when I was the AD, as the head coach,” Bellotti said. “And the reality is, I don’t know if it’s possible to recreate lightning in a bottle.

“At that time, we were the most innovative program in the nation and Chip did a tremendous job. He’s had not as much success since he left Oregon. I don’t know if he would be interested in coming back and I don’t know if there’s true interest. I think from a fan perspective, you always say, ‘well, let’s put the old band together.’ That group of coaches is no longer available. Many of them have retired, would not come back, some are coaching elsewhere.

“But I think that in this day and age, anything could happen. You’re never surprised by anything. When you start looking at it, (Lincoln) Riley going to USC and (Brian) Kelly going to LSU … it’s an interesting world. And I think if there was the belief that Chip could replicate, both in his mind and in the minds of the boosters and administrators, the kind of success he had here previously, then there’d be no question he’d be certainly one of the first people they call. I don’t know if that’s happening.”

BYU coach Kalani Sitake is also reportedly a candidate for the opening.

–Field Level Media

Oct 16, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly reacts following a touchdown against the Washington Huskies during the second quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA questions call on missed FG after 34-31 loss

Two days after UCLA lost by three points to Oregon, Bruins head coach Chip Kelly said video replays appear to show the three points his team was looking for.

Kelly contended at practice Monday that a second-quarter field-goal attempt by kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira appeared to be within the uprights, an opinion at odds with what officials ruled at the time.

A made field goal on Barr-Mira’s 35-yard attempt in the second quarter would have given UCLA a 17-7 lead. Instead, the Ducks finished off a 34-31 comeback victory after initially trailing by 14 points.

“Nick still thinks it was good, but it was ruled differently,” Kelly said Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

And what does Kelly think?

“I agree with Nick,” Kelly said.

The Bruins will not appeal the loss or ask for an apology from the Pac-12 Conference, Kelly said. They did not request a replay at the time the kick was ruled wide left because coaches in the booth did not see one before Oregon ran the next play.

UCLA fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12 South, behind both Utah and Arizona State, who are both 3-1. Arizona State defeated UCLA 42-23 on Oct. 2, and the Bruins play at Utah on Saturday.

–Field Level Media