Tag: Chip Kelly

UCLA DC Ikaika Malloe visits three-star recruit

Ikaika Malloe on the road.

This week, UCLA’s new defensive coordinator, Ikaika Malloe, visited the Aloha State to meet up with one of the Bruins’ future targets. 

Malloe, who was hired in January of this year after serving as the team’s special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach, met with three-star recruit edge defender Lebron Williams. 

Williams, who at 6′ 2″ and 250 pounds, has one more season of football at Kahuku High School in Hawaii. Receiving offers from Washington State, the University of Hawaii, and UCLA, the Bruins are currently the best option. As a BIG 10 program, UCLA dwarfs Washington State and Hawaii in the conference strength and nationwide visibility. 

Despite the critiques of the Bruins recruiting, in large part due to the mismanagement of Chip Kelly, UCLA’s coaching staff has done their due diligence and gone the extra mile to make their recruits feel at home and appreciated. 

If the Bruins see some success in 2024, their efforts in recruiting high-end prospects could pay off with some big commitments soon.

Buckeyes Wire floats idea of Bruno Fina-Chip Kelly reunion

Could Fina and Kelly reunite?

The UCLA Bruins saw offensive lineman Bruno Fina enter the transfer portal recently. Not only is it a significant loss to the offensive line, but he could end up staying in the Big Ten Conference.

Michael Chen of Buckeyes Wire floated the idea of Fina reuniting with Chip Kelly, this time at Ohio State.

One of those players is now former UCLA starting offensive tackle, Bruno Fina, who made the announcement of his transfer on Tuesday. He started on the left side last year for now Buckeye offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, and could be a potential fit.

Ohio State has been looking for a portal addition on the offensive line, and Fina’s familiarity with Kelly’s offense should at least make him a target for the Buckeyes.

Chip Kelly shocking decided to leave UCLA and become the offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes, which made DeShaun Foster the new UCLA head coach.

So, Fina and Kelly working together again would be quite something. We will have to see what Fina’s market looks like.

LeBron James says Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks helped Miami reach new heights

LeBron James. Chip Kelly. Erik Spoelstra. How the three combined to create an NBA Championship offense.

Chip Kelly and the NBA is like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit.

But Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was able to put a round peg in a square hole as LeBron James said.

According to the NBA legend and future Hall of Famer, Spoelstra, a Portland native and Jesuit High School graduate, took a page out of Chip Kelly’s book when he was with the Oregon Ducks, and used philosophies in Kelly’s spread offense to help unlock a new level with the Heat at the start of their title run.

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James said in a recent interview that Spoelstra came back to his home state and studied Kelly’s spread offense that changed the landscape of college football back in 2011.

“Spo is the reason why we were a better team, and our team was assembled more properly,” James told J.J. Reddick on a recent episode of Uninterrupted. “That summer, he went to Oregon and hung out with Chip Kelly, and learned the spread offense.”

Miami lost to Dallas in the previous season and James said Spoelstra’s goal was to study the Ducks’ spread offense and translate that to the professional basketball game. At this point in time Oregon was having great success on the field, having just made it to the national championship game against Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers, and Kelly’s offense was changing the landscape of college football.

Spoelstra hoped to glean some of the tricks from that, and translate them to the basketball court.

“I don’t know the super conversations that he and Chip had,” LeBron said. “But when he came back to us, he knew that in order for us to reach our potential, for one, I had to be *expletive* ten times better than I was in that previous June Finals. But Chris Bosh had to go to the 5, and had to start working on his corner three.”

Moving Bosh out of the paint allowed James to drive more to the hoop for easy buckets, get fouled, or both. This spread the floor in a way that allowed playmakers space to move and cut without the ball, much like Kelly’s offense opened up running lanes for the likes of LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, and De’Andthony Thomas.

The strategy also worked for Miami, as they went on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder for the championship the following season, and repeated the next year against the San Antonio Spurs.

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247Sports list Chip Kelly to Ohio State as best coordinator hire of the cycle

Chip Kelly to Ohio State as OC is quite the hire.

Chip Kelly leaving UCLA as the head coach to become the offensive coordinator for Ohio State was quite a surprise.

It has been a while since DeShaun Foster was named the head coach, so the dust has settled quite a bit.

Still, Kelly leaving UCLA to go to Ohio State is a surprise, although a smart move that could pay off for Kelly for a number of reasons.

Cody Nagel of 247Sports ranked the 10 best coordinator hires, and Chip Kelly leaving UCLA to become the new OC at Ohio State is at the top of the list:

Chip Kelly made one of the biggest moves of the entire 2023-24 coaching cycle when he left his position at head coach at UCLA to become the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State. Kelly spent 14 of the past 15 years as a head coach at either the college level or the NFL with one season off the sidelines and in the studio at ESPN. He reunites with his protégé in Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who both played and coached alongside Kelly at New Hampshire. The Buckeyes need to rejuvenate their offense after their worst scoring output in a dozen seasons. Kelly is more than capable of orchestrating that as one of the best offensive minds in the sport.

Kelly gets back to calling plays and gets to do so without the pressure of being a head coach, so it makes sense from that regard. It will be interesting to see what the Buckeyes offense looks like next year.

Ohio State offers its first quarterback with Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator

The Buckeyes make their first QB offer with Kelly as OC

It was a big question when Ohio State football hired [autotag]Chip Kelly[/autotag] as its offensive coordinator; how well would he recruit?

His former school, UCLA, ranked as the No. 89 overall class in 2024, No. 37 in 2023, and No. 61 in 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Safe to say, those aren’t up to Buckeye standards.

Kelly had issues in Los Angeles, but is looking to fix those in Columbus. As the offensive coordinator, along with head coach Ryan Day, they offered their first quarterback together, 2026 Floridian, [autotag]Dia Bell[/autotag].

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 195-pounder isn’t currently ranked by any major service, but that’s the norm for many in his class. However, looking at his offer list which consists of Florida, LSU, Penn State, Texas and others, Bell should be on many lists going forward.

It will be very interesting to track how involved Kelly is in recruiting for Ohio State, but it’s safe to say he’s right in the mix with Bell’s recruitment.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

Spring football dates announced for UCLA Bruins

Spring dates announced!

As the UCLA Bruins basketball season comes to a close, the football season is just getting underway.

On Thursday, the UCLA Bruins football X page posted the dates for spring football. From April 2nd to May 2nd, the Bruins will have 14 dates open to the public to watch the Bruins practice and play.

Two dates, in particular, are starred for specific events. On April 19th, the Bruins hold their “Friday Night Lights” day, and on April 27th, the Bruins host their “Spring Showcase.”

The practices will be the first opportunity for fans to get a good look at the DeShaun Foster era in Westwood and some familiar and unfamiliar faces in the true blue uniforms.

There is a lot to like about the Bruins going into 2024. Though Chip Kelly’s tenure was unsuccessful, the Bruins have been making progress in the recruiting game. With players eager and excited to commit to UCLA, in part due to new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the lead-up to the Bruins’ first season in the BIG 10 has been a pleasant surprise.

Will it amount to a change in the wins and losses collum? That remains to be seen. But for fans of the Bruins, April 2nd will be their first opportunity to see what changes have been made to the program in Westwood.

Chip Kelly speaks highly of new UCLA coach DeShaun Foster

Chip Kelly had terrific words to say about DeShaun Foster.

On Tuesday, new Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly spoke to reporters for the first time in Ohio State gear. After leaving UCLA for the Buckeyes OC job the UCLA Bruins hired DeShaun Foster as the new head coach.

While speaking to reporters, Kelly made sure to pay respect to the new UCLA head coach, per Tracy McDannald:

“I think the world of him and I think he’s special, and the fact that they gave him the opportunity to take over there, it worked out. I didn’t have any say in that decision. You know, I was gone. But I always thought that DeShaun would be a great head coach, and I’m really proud of him and that he got the opportunity to take that job.”

When Kelly’s departure was announced, Foster’s name immediately circulated as a favorite despite him leaving for a job with the Las Vegas Raiders. Days after, it became a reality, and players and fans were on board with the hire.

Even though Kelly left in a questionable way, he made sure to give DeShaun Foster his flowers as UCLA begins a new era.

WATCH: Chip Kelly explains why decided to leave UCLA for offensive coordinator at Ohio State instead of being a head coach

It all makes sense now that Kelly explained his rationale. #GoBucks

It was an interesting move for [autotag]Chip Kelly[/autotag] this offseason, as he left UCLA at its head coach and took the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State.

Typically, a coach who has the resume that Kelly does isn’t going to take a “position downgrade” at another program, but that is what ended up happening.

As the Buckeyes began spring practices on Tuesday, Kelly met with the media and was asked why he made the move. His answer was telling, as he seems to be excited to get back to coaching a positions. “To me the best part of football is football. And so you got to do football and not do some of the things that involve head coaching,” he explained.

Check out his full comments below.

It’s going to be an exciting season with Kelly calling the plays for the Ohio State offense, with plenty of weapons all over the field.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

UCLA Bruins set date for Spring Game at the Rose Bowl

Circle your calendars.

The UCLA Bruins football team has seen a lot of changes since their 35-22 victory in the LA Bowl over Boise State.

Following the departure of head coach Chip Kelly to the hires of new head coach DeShaun Foster and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and a flurry of transfers, eager fans await the final product of their busy off-season. Thankfully, the Bruins set their date for the Spring Game.

On April 27th, at 2:00 p.m., fans can get a glimpse of the new regime in action. Returning to the Rose Bowl for spring action, the Bruins will showcase some old and familiar faces in the program and unveil the new direction for the team.

Foster also made this announcement during the UCLA-USC basketball game. 

It is a new day in Westwood for UCLA. Though the road to the 2024 season has featured some bumps along the way, the Bruins have a new-found energy about them.

With players and coaches excited about the season and eager to get underway in the BIG 10, UCLA looks to be trending in the right direction.

Will it reflect the wins and losses column? Likely, no, but things continue to look up for the Bruins in 2024.

UCLA makes splash hire with addition of two-time Super Bowl winning OC

The UCLA Bruins made a big hire on Saturday with the addition of two-time Super Bowl champion OC Eric Bienemy.

The UCLA Bruins were seemingly put in a tough position earlier this offseason when head coach Chip Kelly announced late in the coaching cycle that he was leaving Pasadena to take over as the new offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Bruins seem to be making the best of their situation, though.

To replace Kelly, UCLA hired former RB DeShaun Foster as the new head coach, which seems to be a move that has inspired the fanbase and gotten some new blood into the program. Over the weekend, UCLA made another splash hire, landing former Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy as their new OC.

Bieniemy has been one of the hottest names on the coaching market over the past several years, having won two Super Bowls with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the past decade. Though he was never able to rise to the level of head coach in the NFL, many have thought that Bieniemy was among the brightest offensive minds in the sport.

Now he is going to Pasadena, where Bieniemy will look to help the Bruins transition into the Big Ten with a roster that could use some help when it comes to recruiting and talent acquisition. There is a long way to go before UCLA can become a power in the new conference, but Bieniemy is certainly someone who can help.

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