UCLA hires Chip to be its next coach

LOS ANGELES — UCLA has hired former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, the Bruins’ top choice to replace Jim Mora.

School officials confirmed the move Saturday morning, announcing that Kelly had agreed to a five-year contract worth $23.3 million with a $9 million reciprocal buyout. Kelly will be introduced during a news conference on campus Monday afternoon.

The deal represents the most tantalizing hire in the history of UCLA’s football program, given that Kelly guided Oregon to the national championship game after the 2010 season as well as three conference titles in his four years at the school.

The Bruins have not won a conference title since 1998, which also was the last season they appeared in the Rose Bowl game.

Among the coaches Kelly could court as part of his new UCLA staff are former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich and California defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro. Helfrich and Azzinaro coached under Kelly at Oregon, with Helfrich succeeding Kelly as head coach of the Ducks in 2013 and Azzinaro following Kelly to the NFL that same year as part of Kelly’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles.