UCLA Football: Breaking-Chip Kelly announced as next head coach

It has been announced that Chip Kelly will officially accept the vacant UCLA Football head coaching position. How will he impact the Bruins on and off the field?

It seems it didn’t take nearly as long to find a new head coach this time around. It has been announced that Chip Kelly will accept the head coaching position for the UCLA Football Bruins. He of course replaces Jim Mora who was fired following the Bruins’ loss to crosstown rival the USC Trojans.

Most UCLA Football fans will remember Kelly as the head coach of the dominant Oregon Ducks from 2009-2013 where the Ducks posted a 46-7 record with him at the helm. Jeremiah Masoli, Dennis Dixon, LaMichael James, Darron Thomas and Marcus Mariota all struck fear into the hearts of opponents running the run-based spread attack that Kelly employs especially since his running attack often allowed for the passing game to attack defenses in chunks.

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A proven, high flying offense with an emphasis on the ground is a welcome change of pace and one that the Bruin faithful have been clamoring for. Over the past two seasons the Bruin run game has been declared DOA 2016 and was only partially revived this season under new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch. In Kelly’s first year as head coach the Ducks averaged 231 yards a game which would end up being the worst in the Kelly era.

To put that in perspective the Bruins’ run game was much stronger this year and still only averaged 125 yards a game. A welcome improvement over 2016’s 84 yards a game. Oh and by the way during Kelly’s tenure the run game only got stronger and by the time he left after the 2012 season the run game was averaging 315 yards a game. The passing game wasn’t ineffective either so imagine how potent of an attack that could be with the talent in the UCLA Football program.

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While it doesn’t seem likely that UCLA QB Josh Rosen will stay in school for his senior season the Bruins are in line for high profile QB recruit Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s services in the 2018 season.

He’s improving as a passer and will only continue to get better but right now he’s probably somewhere between Masoli and 2014 Mariota as a player. His legs make him a legitimate threat to scramble and make plays downfield early as he adjusts to the speed of the game. If DTR doesn’t win the job the Bruins still have Devon Modster and Matt Lynch capable of running this offense.

The skill positions are also well stocked for this type of offense and the open field attack will ease the burden on the offensive line as it is rebuilt through recruiting.

With Chip Kelly at the helm of this UCLA Football team the Bruins are immediately expected to begin challenging the PAC-12 for supremacy and are at least the favorites to win the PAC-12 South.

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As unexpected and gutsy as the firing of Jim Mora was it laid the precedent for a slam dunk and gutsy hire. Kelly gives the Bruins a legitimacy they’ve been lacking in the past few seasons and a major name recognition in a city that all of sudden is crowded with football teams. It would appear the Bruins are in line for a major boost in wins and could finally make a return to the Rose Bowl in the postseason. After all, Kelly has one under his belt already.