INDIANAPOLIS – Their head coach left them for a coordinator job at a new league rival, but UCLA’s athletic director and Bruins players at Big Ten media days said they hold no ill will toward Chip Kelly.
The new Ohio State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach was at UCLA for six years. But with a record of 35-34, Kelly didn’t come close to replicating the success that he had at Oregon before leaving for the NFL.
By the end of last season, Kelly and UCLA parted amicably. After pursuing NFL offensive coordinator jobs, Kelly was hired by Ohio State coach Ryan Day, his protege.
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“We were excited for him,” defensive lineman Jay Toia said. “We can’t really fault him for what he did. He did what he thought was best for him and his family, and we’re happy for him.”
Quarterback Ethan Garbers said he appreciated Kelly’s honesty in addressing the situation.
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“We were sad to see him leave, but we were happy for him to go to a new place,” he said. “He told us that this is what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a position coach, and we respected him for it.”
Garbers started six games for UCLA last season. Garber’s position coach left before UCLA’s bowl game, and Kelly took over coaching that unit. Kelly said after taking the OSU job that experience working closely with the quarterbacks spurred him into wanting to return to that role.
“He provided a lot of great insight to me,” Garbers said. “He’s a very intelligent man. He pretty much turned me into the quarterback that I am today.
“He had a very scientific approach to everything that we did, whether it was working out or just doing a simple drill. He liked to use a lot of data.”
Garbers said Kelly was adept at calling the right play against opposing defenses. There would be times, the quarterback said, that he knew a play would work before the ball was snapped.
“I think he has the ability to see a defense and create the perfect scheme for it,” he said.
To Garbers’ regret, UCLA does not play Ohio State this season. But he knows what kind of challenge that would have been for the Bruins, especially with Kelly running the Buckeyes’ offense.
“I feel like the sky’s unlimited for them,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of talent on that team, and they’re going to do a great job.”
UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond, who was an assistant AD at Ohio State, said Kelly called him in early February to tell him he was leaving. They haven’t spoken since. But like UCLA’s players, Jarmond spoke fondly of Kelly.
“I like Chip,” he said. “He’s a good person, and I wish him the best.”
Asked to judge Kelly’s performance as UCLA’s head coach, Jarmond said, “I think he did the best that he could. I think that’s for others to judge – how he did.
“We’re moving forward and he’s moving forward at his school. I’m just excited that the energy and the juice that we have coming into Big Ten is really palpable.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: UCLA football players speak on Chip Kelly leaving them for Ohio State
The Columbus Dispatch
