Kelly arrives at UCLA, ready to chase titles
LOS ANGELES — Chip Kelly seemed a bit surprised by the standing ovation from hundreds of UCLA fans and boosters when he walked into the upscale club room at hallowed Pauley Pavilion to become the Bruins’ new head coach.
“Not a lot going on in LA today?” Kelly asked with a grin.
Kelly was the biggest show in Hollywood on Monday, and UCLA is betting big on the former Oregon coach’s ability to transform its up-and-down program into a must-see attraction.
The most coveted coach on the college football market formally accepted his new job with quiet confidence, declining to make any vows about winning Pac-12 championships or national titles. Instead, Kelly began his tenure by expressing respect for his predecessors at UCLA — and not just in the sport that he fundamentally changed with the Ducks only a half-decade ago.
“If you’re a coach, the unofficial mentor of probably all coaches is the great John Wooden,” Kelly said. “I think every coach that has ever put on some shoes and grabbed a whistle and got out and tried to educate young men and women has learned from his Pyramid of Success. And to be at the same campus where he affected so many people and still affects so many people is really, truly an honor.”
UCLA hasn’t won a conference title since 1998, but this sleeping giant of a football program is wide awake following a double jolt of excitement in the past few months.
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