Tag: Chip Kelly

UCLA Bruins make offer to a pair of offensive tackles

DeShaun Foster is wasting no time handing out offers to recruits.

Since hiring new head coach DeShaun Foster, the Bruins have wasted no time making offers to potential players. 

This week, UCLA extended offers to a pair of offensive tackles, Josh Petty and Garrison Blank. Given the importance of the run game for the Bruins, adding potential run blockers along the offensive line could be big for the program down the line. 

Blank, a three-star recruit from Rocklin, California, measures in at 6′ 7″ and just over 300 lbs. Blank’s tape shows him as a mauling run blocker with an ability to get upfield and continue making way for his tailbacks. 

On the other hand, Petty, from Roswell, Georgia, stands at 6′ 5″ and 265 lbs. A bit smaller, though not small by any means, than Blank, Petty is a more agile all-around athlete. Also, playing along the defensive line, Petty resembles a former Bruin, Atonio Mafi, who started his career on defense before transitioning to the offensive line. 

While recruiting has not been kind to the Bruins under Chip Kelly, perhaps the new excitement surrounding the Bruins under Foster changes that.

With the Bruins always looking to bolster their offensive line, adding Blank and Petty could be the perfect way to end their recruiting woes and build for the future.

Report: Oregon to hire Darren Uscher back from UCLA in personnel and recruiting role

The Oregon Ducks are reportedly hiring former UCLA general manager Darren Uscher, who left Eugene earlier this year to join the Bruins.

College sports are starting to look more and more like professional sports every year.

Just a month ago, Darren Uscher left Oregon to become the general manager of the UCLA football program.

He’s back.

According to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Uscher is returning to Eugene as a member of the personnel and recruiting department after a lot of change for the Bruins over the last 30 days. Former head coach Chip Kelly recently announced that he was leaving to become the new offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, leaving UCLA to hire DeShaun Foster as the new coach.

Uscher decided the grass was greener in Eugene.

Ever since Dan Lanning took over the Duck program, building a front office has been a priority and so far, no one can argue with the results on and off the field. With Marshall Malchow leading things as the Chief of Staff, the off-field produce is just as strong as the on-field produce for Oregon, and adding Uscher back to the mix doesn’t change that.

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UCLA QB Ethan Garbers speaks on former HC Chip Kelly

Ethan Garbers had some interesting comments on the Chip Kelly era.

The dust is still settling in Westwood after Chip Kelly departed from UCLA. Now, his former players are starting to speak out.

Ethan Garbers, the projected starter for the Bruins in the upcoming 2024 season, posted strong numbers last season while splitting time with now-Oregon transfer Dante Moore.

Passing for 1,136 yards and tossing 11 touchdowns in 2023, Garbers looks to be the best option for the Bruins going forward as the team resets under new head coach DeShaun Foster.

In an interview with UCLA Rivals writer Tracy McDannald, Garbers said of his time under Chip Kelly:

“Not like under coach (Chip) Kelly that we didn’t have fun, but it was more of a job than playing football. Coach (DeShaun) Foster wants to get back to playing football and having fun while you’re doing it.”

Though not the harshest criticism of Kelly that has been said over the last week, Garbers’ comments shed light on the perception of Kelly in the locker room and the change that the team looks forward to.

But all signs point to the fact that a new leaf has been turned in Westwood under Foster. And perhaps that momentum can carry over into the season to make their first in the BIG 10 a memorable one.

UCLA fans want UNLV OC Brennan Marion calling plays in 2024

UNLV OC Brennan Marion is drawing a ton of buzz from UCLA fans for the open OC job.

The offensive coordinator search for the UCLA Bruins is on. After the departure of Chip Kelly, the Bruins seek a new signal-caller for their offense under new head coach DeShaun Foster.

With a flurry of names coming into the fold, one name seems to have Bruins fans excited: Brennan Marion.

Currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the UNLV Rebels, Marion touts an extensive background as a coach. After serving as the passing game coordinator and receivers coach under Steve Sarkisian at Texas, Marion, as the offensive coordinator at UNLV, helped the Rebels rank 42nd in the nation in total offense.

Here is what Bruins fans are saying on social media.

With Chip Kelly gone at UCLA, Bruins face QB questions

D’Anton Lynn should be able to figure out a way to contain UCLA’s offense in 2024.

With Chip Kelly bolting for the Ohio State offensive coordinator job, will Ethan Garbers still be the starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and newly named head coach Deshaun Foster next season?

Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times has reported that “UCLA signed freshmen quarterbacks Karson Gordon from Bellaire (Texas) Episcopal and Henry Hasselbeck from Westwood (Mass.) Xaverian Brothers and also will return Collin Schlee, Justyn Martin and Luke Duncan. Garbers should enter camp as the presumptive favorite, but the quarterback room will be crowded.” The L.A. Times report offers more details on UCLA’s situation.

Garbers, a native of Newport Beach, California, had this to say about adversity: “I would just say my entire football career has been resilient and that’s life.”

Garbers transferred to UCLA in 2021 after beginning his career at Washington.

Under Chip Kelly, UCLA (8-5) won a bowl game for the first time during Kelly’s six-year tenure and secured its third consecutive eight-win season, only the second such streak at UCLA since Terry Donahue in 1988.

UCLA’s 2024 recruiting class ranks 83rd in the country. Its overall class of newcomers (including transfers) ranks 69th. The Bruins will also face one of the toughest schedules in the country in their first season in the Big Ten. UCLA plays LSU and Fresno State in its three nonconference games. It draws Oregon, Penn State, Iowa and USC among its Big Ten opponents.

USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn should be able to defend Garbers this year. USC’s defense should be greatly improved, but more than that, Lynn studied Garbers when he was on the UCLA coaching staff last year.

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This Ohio State coaching hire named by 247Sports at top of offseason

The Buckeyes hit a home run with this coordinator hire. #GoBucks

This offseason has seen Ohio State football taking it personally. Multiple high-profile transfers, coaching changes and the signing of a top-five class highlighted by the No. 1 player in the country, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

One of those coaching hires Ryan Day made was at offensive coordinator with Bill O’Brien. The Boston native didn’t stay long as the ultimately took the head coaching position at Boston College.

Day had a backup plan and quickly moved on, hiring UCLA head coach [autotag]Chip Kelly[/autotag] to replace O’Brien. That move topped 247Sports list of coordinator hires of the offseason, as Cody Nagle described him as “one of the best offensive minds in the sport.”

The hiring of Kelly was universally praised and this just adds onto that. Day deserves a lot of credit by not having a long search and making an extremely quick decision to hire his former offensive coordinator when he was the quarterback at New Hampshire.

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UCLA AD Martin Jarmond skirts Chip Kelly question at DeShaun Foster presser

Martin Jarmond refused to answer a question about Chip Kelly at DeShaun Foster’s press conference. Well done.

To say Chip Kelly’s tenure ended poorly in Westwood with UCLA would be an understatement.

After six seasons with the Bruins, posting a 35-34 record, Kelly left UCLA for the Ohio State offensive coordinator position. Returning to the college game after a stint in the NFL, many believed Kelly would be able to turn the program around. And while the Bruins did see steady improvement in the wins and losses column as he continued coaching the Bruins, recruiting, and success in the Pac-12 never amounted to that of what Kelly enjoyed at Oregon.

At new head coach DeShaun Forest’s press conference, UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond skirted questions surrounding Kelly’s exit.

Leaving it simply at, “Today is about DeShaun and moving forward,” Jarmond’s comments revealed that Kelly’s departure was anything but pleasant.

But Jarmond had a point. The future of UCLA football begins by letting go of the past. Playing in the newly loaded BIG 10, it will be an uphill climb for the Bruins to find their foothold in the conference.

And the best way to keep moving forward is often not to look back.

Dwindling NFL opportunities likely led to Chip Kelly going to Ohio State

Chip Kelly’s NFL options dwindled. Instead, he went to Ohio State. Maybe he will return to the NFL one day.

Former USC Trojans’ offensive analyst and Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has found a home again in the NFL.

With Bruins’ head coach Chip Kelly potentially eying an NFL return, the Las Vegas Raiders presented the best last option for him to make the jump to the big leagues before this season begins. However, it was too late.

Nonetheless, Chip Kelly decided to join Ryan Day at Ohio State as the OC, moving from one Big Ten program (soon, at least) to another.

Prior to Kingsbury’s hire, Kelly’s name was floated as a potential fit in Washington and Las Vegas. But when Kingsbury wiggled out of his pending deal with Las Vegas, he opted for the other remaining vacancy with the Commanders, who hold the #2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Having interviewed twice with the Raiders so far, following Kingsbury’s departure, Kelly’s name likely re-entered the fold with the Seattle Seahawks as well, but he ultimately chose to go to Columbus. Or, maybe he got passed over for the Seahawks job.

 

Given the Bruins’ change in conference to the BIG 10 and a near-dead-even .500 record (35-34) since Kelly’s hire back in 2018, perhaps the time was now for a coaching change at UCLA.

His departure comes with all kinds of obstacles, and Bill Plaschke, Dan Wolken, and many others weren’t entirely thrilled at the timing of the move.

UCLA fills head coach vacancy

Big Ten coaching news:

UCLA is hiring running backs coach Deshaun Foster to be the school’s next head coach, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The school’s head coach job became vacant when Chip Kelly left to take the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State. The coaching carousel musical chairs are complicated. Kelly took Bill O’Brien’s position at Ohio State, which he held for three weeks before leaving for the Boston College vacancy. That vacancy at BC was open because former head coach Jeff Hafley took the defensive coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers.

Related: Win totals released for Wisconsin, every Big Ten team in 2024 football season

The chain of events are complicated, but they’ve led to Foster getting the UCLA job.

Foster was a second-round pick out of UCLA in the 2002 NFL draft. He played in the league for seven years, six with the Carolina Panthers (2002-2007) and one with the San Francisco 49ers (2008).

Related: Social media roasted a Wisconsin legend during the Super Bowl broadcast

The young coach began his coaching career at UCLA as a graduate assistant in 2014. He spent 2016 as running backs coach at Texas Tech before returning to UCLA, where he has been the running backs coach since 2017.

Kelly, meanwhile, was on thin ice throughout last season and had been seeking NFL coordinator jobs for weeks. His move to Ohio State shouldn’t have surprised anybody.

The Bruins will rely on Foster, someone with zero head coaching experience, to guide the program into the new era of the Big Ten.

Who is DeShaun Foster, the former UCLA running back just hired as the head coach of the Bruins?

DeShaun Foster played seven years in the NFL and is a longtime assistant coach.

After former head coach Chip Kelly left UCLA to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, the Bruins have already found his replacement.

The athletic department has hired DeShaun Foster, a former UCLA running back who attended the university between 1998 and 2001. He was selected in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft and played in the pros until 2008.

Here is more from UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond:

“While undergoing a comprehensive search for our new head coach, DeShaun resonated from the start and throughout the whole process,” said Jarmond. “We are looking for a coach with integrity, energy and passion; someone who is a great teacher, who develops young men, is a great recruiter and fully embraces the NIL landscape to help our student-athletes. DeShaun checks all of those boxes and then some. He is a leader of men and a true Bruin. I am excited to partner with him as we usher UCLA Football into an exciting new era.”

After playing for the Carolina Panthers and briefly the San Francisco 49ers, Foster eventually found his way into coaching. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at UCLA in 2013 and he then became a graduate assistant the following year. He served as the director of player development and high school relations in 2015.

Foster briefly left UCLA for Texas Tech (where he was the running backs coach in 2016) before he was offered the same position with the Bruins a year later in 2017.

He remained with the program (becoming associate head coach of the team under Kelly last season) until he briefly accepted a position as running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Even though the former UCLA star had just left the school for the NFL, we recently mentioned Foster as a potential candidate to replace Kelly. He was able to separate himself from a pool of 11 other candidates, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Foster was the “overwhelming choice of the current players” as the top pick to replace Kelly, according to Thamel.

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