No Thanks, Chip Kelly… We’ll Be Just Fine With Jim Mora at UCLA

On December 29, 2015, Charles Edward “Chip” Kelly was fired from the Philadelphia Eagles. Two nanoseconds later, he was linked to UCLA Football, but unfortuantely, the Bruins already have a solid coach in Jim Mora.

Yesterday, Chip Kelly was fired from the Philadelphia Eagles, presumably because they sunk into “mediocrity”, as USA Today puts it. The Eagles went 6-9 this season and will miss the playoffs, which gave the organization enough to release Kelly from his head coaching duties.

Now that Kelly does not have a job, several news outlets have started linking him with other possible coaching spots… the one nearest and dearest to your hearts, Bruin fans, is with UCLA Football.

One of those outlets is a UCLA blog (you know which one) that goes so far to suggest the Athletic Director Dan Guerrero hire Chip Kelly and then fire current Head Coach “Jim Mora and his entire coaching staff.” Search for it if you want to read it, but I am not going to link to it.

Related Story: Jim Mora To The NFL Talk Is Starting Up Again

So wait a minute… is this site really suggesting that UCLA fire one of the most successful Bruin football coaches and replace him with a coach that just got fired? Apparently, but why?

UCLA Bruins

There is no doubt that the Bruins had a down season in 2015. Weird how an 8-5 record can be considered a “down season”, where at most schools, football programs would kill for a record as such. In addition, if 8-5 is a down year, than the Bruins clearly have had “up years”, which by coincidence were the last three when UCLA Football went 9-5, 10-3 and 10-3. Let me repeat that… UCLA FOOTBALL WENT 9-5, 10-3 AND 10-3.

So UCLA is to just toss aside a coach that is avergaing 9.25 wins per season and has given the program one of the best four-year runs in school history (per that site) for a coach that underacheived in his last job which got him terminated? Oh dear.

Now look, Kelly may or may not have been suited for the NFL where he did not have complete control, and if there is anything that we know about Kelly in his time with the Oregon Ducks, it is that he was all about control. There was no owner or General Manager breathing down his neck in Eugene. He did whatever he wanted at Oregon, which lead him to four straight BCS bowls, one of which was the National Championship Game. Although he lost that game, as well as a second bowl to go 2-2 in the post-season at Oregon.

So UCLA is to just toss aside a coach that is avergaing 9.25 wins per season and has given the program one of the best four-year runs in school history?

Kelly then thought it best for himself to move on to the pros where the Philadelphia Eagles offerred him a position 2013. Kelly decided to stay at Oregon… but then re-thought his position and in fact did accept the offer from the Eagles after all.

Kelly even did well in his first two years, with an NFC Wild Card appearance in his first season (which he lost).

But now Kelly is jobless because of performance and now certain folks want him in Westwood? I just do not see the logic here, especially if it means Kelly coming in and gutting the program to make it his own.

NEWS FLASH! UCLA Football already has a head coach and his name is Jim Mora and like me, there are several Bruin fans that do not want Mora going anywhere. Now, we do have to address the fact that Mora has fallen short of several expecations, like beating Stanford, winning the Pac-12 Conference and capturing a national championship (a lofty goal, but if you aim for anything less, what are you doing in this business?).

Oct 18, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora Jr. stands on the field before the start of the game against the California Golden Bears at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

But we also have to remeber that Mora has also meet several goals in the process. He has beaten USC three out of four times, won two bowl games, had three-straight 9-win seasons, back-to-back 10-win seasons, as well as Top 25 recruiting classes. He has even sent multiple players to the NFL where they are doing quite well, i.e.: Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks, just for starters.

Now after the 2011 season when the Bruins went 6-8, lost 20-14 to Illinois in the Fight Hunger Bowl and terminated Rick Neuheisel, if I would have told you the information in the above paragraph, I am sure you would all be for keeping Mora.

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I understand this is a “what have you done for me lately” culture, but it is also a culture that likes to build on a solid foundation that can hopefully have success in the future. Now there are other things in play with UCLA Football which has lead to the “down season”, but just know that Mora is working to correct that. Whether it is game, player or personnel changes, Mora will get these Bruins back to where they were… a year ago.

UCLA Football does not need Chip Kelly, who is not gauranteed to make the Bruins better. They Jim Mora, and I for one am glad they aready have him.