UCLA Football: Judge Chip Kelly after one season, not one game

There has been a lot of undue criticism aimed at UCLA football head coach Chip Kelly after his underwhelming performance in his debut with the Bruins and it needs to stop.

Impatient (as defined by Merriam-Webster): 1. not patient, restless or short of temper especially under irritation, delay, or opposition, 2. prompted or marked by impatience, 3. eagerly desirous, anxious. Why did I just give you the definition of the word “impatient”? Because that is what is being displayed by a lot of UCLA football fans after the Bruins’ 26-17 loss to Cincinnati in their 2018 season opener.

The Bruins are 0-1 in the Chip Kelly era, but after the vitriol that has been spewed across social media in the last four days, one would think that Kelly went 0-12 in his first season in Westwood.

And even if Kelly did go 0-12 in his first season, UCLA football fans need to trust the process. Kelly is an offensive genius, but even the most talented coaches can only do so much when they rip a system apart and have to start over, especially with a lot of new players to the system.

“But Mike, you said the cupboard was not bare with this team!”

If Kelly is going to build an empire, it is going to start out small. Calling for his termination is premature. Usually, coaches are given three years to prove that they can win, not one game.

That is true. There is a lot of talent on this team and it showed, especially on defense which made marked improvements against Cincinnati. The offense, on the other hand, does have a ways to go, which I have stated several times since spring. That does not mean they do not have talent.

I will admit that I misjudged the youth of this team. Their inexperience was revealed several times in the season opener. Players dropping passes, missing assignments, players getting called for false starts… its a process and admittedly, UCLA has a longer way to go than previously anticipated.

Because of that, fans need to understand that the Kelly’s Bruins weren’t built in a day, kind of like a little town called Rome. If Kelly is going to build an empire, it is going to start out small. Calling for his termination is premature. Usually, coaches are given three years to prove that they can win, not one game.

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But some fans are not patient enough for that and are already requesting Kelly’s head on the chopping block.

If there is anything to be critical about, it would be in regards to a few coaching decisions. The “12 men on the field” penalty directly lead to Cincinnati’s game-winning touchdown, clearly a bad situation. Before that, Kelly called for a pass on 4th and 1 but it might have been a better call if it was a run.

And then there are those (myself included) that were critical about the pace. UCLA was a lot slower than expected. Not only were fans expecting Oregon 2.0, but all spring practice and fall camp we have been hearing about the tempo. We really did not see that until the final UCLA drive of the game when it was desperation time and the Bruins had to score to try and salvage a victory.

But when I looked back at the game, I did notice that the team was not exactly ready for that tempo in a game situation. With all the youth Kelly played, it was apparent that this team has to walk before they run.

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With that being said, fans need to be patient and watch how this unfolds, even if it is excruciatingly painful this first season. There will be progress and there will be reasons to cheer. Maybe not this weekend at Oklahoma, but it will come.