Kelly steps down as UCLA coach
Leaving Bruins for Ohio State coordinator job
UCLA coach Chip Kelly stepped down Friday after six seasons leading the Bruins, and a person involved in the decision confirmed to the Associated Press he was leaving to join Ohio State as offensive coordinator.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Ohio State was still finalizing the deal ahead of an official announcement.
Last month, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day hired former Texans coach Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator, but O’Brien is now heading to Boston College to be the Eagles’ head coach. Day played quarterback for in college for Kelly when he was offensive coordinator at New Hampshire.
The move leaves UCLA scrambling to fill a vacancy at the top of the program with spring practice about a month away from cranking up around the country.
“Timing is a challenge,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said, adding he told the team the plan was to have a new coach in place within four days.
Jarmond said he was not caught off when Kelly called him earlier Friday to inform him he was leaving. Kelly had interviewed for multiple NFL offensive coordinator jobs over the last two weeks.
Kelly was under contract until 2027. Jarmond said UCLA will enforce a $1.5 million buyout.
Jarmond said he met with the team to inform them of the change. He said he was not sure if Kelly met with or personally informed the players.
“This is something as an athletic director and program, you have to be ready for in case you’re in a middle of a search,” Jarmond said. “We were ready, and we’re prepared.”
Kelly had a 35-34 record with the Bruins, but the program was showing signs of stagnating ahead of a move to the Big Ten from the Pac-12 next season. There was speculation late in the 2023 season UCLA might move on from Kelly, but the school stood pat after finishing 8-5.
Instead, it was Kelly who started looking for other options, finally making the unorthodox move of giving up a Power Five head coaching job to become coordinator at another Power Five school.
Kelly signed a two-year contract extension in March. He made $6.1 million this past season. He would have been due $8.5 million as part of the buyout of his contract had UCLA fired him.
Kelly is one of the godfathers of the up-tempo, spread offense that dominated college football in the early 2010s. He became Oregon’s coach in 2009 and went 46-7 over four years before jumping to the NFL. He went 26-21 in a little less than three full seasons (2013-15) as the Philadelphia Eagles coach and then spent one season as coach of the San Francisco 49ers, going 2-14.
Kelly took over at UCLA after Jim Mora Jr. was fired in 2017.