UCLA Football: Why UCLA will not start out as hot as Oregon under Kelly

Despite the excitement surrounding Chip Kelly taking over the UCLA football team, though he should be successful in Westwood, it probably will not come as quickly as it did at Oregon.

There is a lot to be excited about now that Chip Kelly is UCLA football‘s main man. With his proven track record and innovative ways, there is nothing but optimism emanating from Bruins fans.

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Buuuuut, fans need to tread lightly. Success should return to Westwood, but if you’re basing your timeline according to his start at Oregon, you might be in for a disappointment.

Kelly has talented players, he hired experienced coaches and has an innovative style of football, but he is starting from scratch at UCLA.

Before he took over at Oregon, Kelly was the offensive coordinator for two years (2006-2007) under Mike Bellotti. In that time, he had a chance to slowly develop and implement his uptempo style of play. The year before Kelly got to Oregon, the Ducks were 7-6. In the two years Kelly was OC, Oregon went 9-4, then 10-3.

What also helped the transition was his roster as he was able to work with players like Darron Thomas, Jeremiah Masoli and Legarette Blount (just to name a few), that helped bridge the gap from OC to HC.

When he took over the program in 2009, he already had his roots dug deep into the Oregon soil and simply had to continue his work. Kelly is experiencing nothing like that at UCLA.

Oregon’s Three-Year Win Trend Before Kelly Took Over

2007 – ★★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆
2007 – ★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
2006 – ★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

UCLA’s Three-Year Win Trend Before Kelly Took Over

2017 – ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
2016 – ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
2015 – ★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

The last time Kelly coached was in 2016. He was let go from the San Francisco 49ers after going 2-14. Though he has kept up with what has been happening in the world of football in that time, there were those two years when he was not on a sideline. Additionally, Kelly has not been on a college sideline for six years.

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Since then, football has evolved, mostly because of Kelly. With several teams adopting and expanding on his uptempo style, defenses have figured out ways to slow down the speedy offense, so now Kelly has this to worry about. But that is just a part of the issue.

Kelly is coming into Westwood blindly. At the begin of spring practice, he said that he has not seen any film from last year, primarily because he wants to observe the team on his own terms. Fair enough, but this could be a set back as it is taking time to thoroughly evaluate the roster.

Though he has had some time and is already making adjustments with recruiting and development, he is basically taking over Jim Mora’s mess and not the situation he built for himself in Oregon.

Think of it like this, at Oregon, Chip Kelly simply moved into his mansion. At UCLA, he’s building the mansion from scratch.

UCLA had two of their worst seasons after having four of their best during the Mora era. There is the argument that coaching was the reason for the Bruins failing to be successful, and not necessarily the talent. This is why fans believe Kelly could immediately start winning at UCLA.

Talent + proper coaching = a good time.

Next: UCLA Football: 10 bold predictions for the 2018 season

It is not a a stretch to say Kelly will be successful at UCLA, but it is a stretch to say he will be immediately successful from game 1. He needs time. But once he gets comfortable with what he has, that is when UCLA will start putting up “W” after “W”.