Well, again Joe. They will lose way more than $9m keeping this guy on. But this all just confirms they will follow the Donut Dan's financial mismanagement philosophy and culture of the Athletic Dept. And with this mismanagement, no, rosy days are NOT AHEAD. Losing teams with red ink everywhere you look. So, if they retain Kelly, they will never be in the black, at least the football program won't be and they will never win anything, that is a 100% guarantee. 4-8 at best next season and the following season will be worse. In addition, my guess is attendance will continue to fall until Mater Dei/St John Bosco crowds will exceed what UCLA gets at the Rose Bowl. What's that, about 6,000-7,000 tops!
Dan Guerrero hailed from San Antonio. To my knowledge, he is living his retirement life few of his peers could because afford of the prohibitively handsome package UC systems gave him. Whatever little skills he possesses, he has managed to parlay them from little known Cal State Dominguez Hills to UC Irvine and, ultimately, his alma mater into a jaw dropping retirement package doing a Division I athletic director's job scarcely better than my administrative secretary could.
Life was good for him at Westwood, so was the gourmet appetizers, catered culinary items at the annual dinner receptions for the regents honoring big time donors. Every time I saw him, I could see his waistline increasing and presumably his bad cholesterol, glucose level in his system tripling. LOL !!!!!!!!
UCLA is setting an example for the mediocre, the underachieved and the cunning sets. If you play your cards well, you would be rewarded even better than if you still espouse the old school ethics of working hard and living an honest life. Not anymore, folks, not when Guerrero and Kelly have any say in it.
Okay, I got it wrong because when he was about to retire when another coaching search happened. Much like the previous time when Kelly was hired, a few influential individuals, keenly aware of his ineptitude by then, were also busy assisting him. That was when I thought I heard he was from San Antonio and planned to retire there soon.
In fairness to him for my mix up, I guess it does not matter a single bit. He was incompetent and he was indecisive and it does not matter where he came from. Knowing what I know from other season ticket holders, his prolonged agony over the realistic need to dismiss Steve Alford approached legendary proportion, believe it or not. The way I was told, you would think he was about to be asked to become an executioner when in fact, only a failing basketball coach's job was on the line, not that someone's head was about to be chopped off.
you guys claimed that Howland was a problem because the seats were "empty" even though they were winning and that it was his style of basketball for why the seats were empty. Then Cronin comes in and is winning and the seats are still "empty". so what's your excuse now?
Nooooo .... mister. Seats are not still empty. You're wrong. I am season ticket holders and have attended all three exhibition games. Except for the first one, the other two were pretty packed far as I could see except for a scattered few.
I don't believe this is accurate, but I would anticipate a lot of you Chipster (OG) apologists and excuse makers showing up the defend The Chipster (OG). The Chipster (OG) is a bad coach and there is nothing anyone can argue differently. Math doesn't lie. The product being produced by this fake (The Chipster (OG)) doesn't lie either.
Oh, I see. So, I'm off a couple of games and that's it! LOL. You have zero credibility. You didn't predict anything because you don't know anything. I at least predicted losses to Arizona, Utah & Oregon St, which did occur and wasn't too hard to predict I might add. I was off on Wash St, SUC & San Diego St. (thought Brady Hoke was a better coach). So, I wasn't too far off, and Kelly's team is lousy as I also stated. And will be lousy next year as well. So, take your Chipster (OG) apologist tour over to the SUC blogs, they'd appreciate it more.
Why would he not be happy, gleeful to lead the UCLA athletic director by his nose, and have the entire administration wrapped around his finger tip ?!?? This is cunning at its very best and most brilliant moment. To all the up and coming NCAA coaches, you would do well if you can study the Kelly book hard and emulate him as much as possible. I am impressed. I truly am.
What's the simple math putting 15-20,000 extra butts in seats for 6 games at an average $100 per ticket and another 25-50% for concessions and parking? For at least the past 3 years I've questioned UCLA's head-count at games. Realize the entertainment/sports world has changed, but I remember when the Bowl was filled with a legitimate 70-75,000 for good PAC 12 games and 75-85,000 for big intersectionals with Nebraska, Oklahoma, Notre Dame... to say nothing about games with the ketchup and mustard guys.
Jarmond is seemingly not the leader I had hoped he would be.
The loss in ticket $$$ is tangible and so are the losses we will likely incur in the portal and recruiting. This is a sad state of affairs and overshadows the victory against suc.
I would like to know how Texas A&M can afford a $76 million buyout, and how UCLA can be so blind to the millions that will be lost in ticket sales.
Joe that was an excellent job of journalism researching the facts. I am afraid our administration has back roomed a deal with Chip's extension that is too lucrative for UCLA to back out. Professionally I would not be spooked with Chip's buyout. Price of doing business. Move on. Nothing has changed from the last two losses to the Arizona's. Nothing has changed with poor attendance. Nothing has changed with poor recruiting. Cluster. I am not impressed with smiling Jarmond. In my business we have much higher expectations regarding goals.
No, Jarmond is not, as you said. He was with Ohio State once. I guess the Buckeyes' unflinching passion to win, come hell or high water, never rubbed it off him.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I've always felt the Bruins "papered" a fair number of seats to groups. If right, I'm not sure to what degree these are included in the reported admissions, if at all.
I do remember a few yeara back they had the high school band and cheer section in the end zone that participated in the half time show - but now those seats have been clothed in 'handsome' tarps.
Half to 2/3 empty tarp draped Rose Bowls are the norm for the t-shirt draped Chipster.
On a brighter note...
When we play the BIG name BIG schools, the Rose Bowl will fill up with their fans and we will play the vast majority of our 'home' games as 'away' games.
Bingo! Next year, for example, we play crummy Indiana and Minnesota at the Rose Bowl. My hunch is there will be a ton of mid westerners attending these games. They won't be rooting for the Bruins. Chip will be making comments about the great attendance when in actuality he being "coach" will have nothing to do with it.
Maybe. In perspective UCLA had an unchallenged schedule this year. No wins over ranked opponents. Not having to play Washington or Oregon. My guess is Chip would find games like our game against Arizona State to lose with DTR playing. With Chip, history does repeat itself!
I think BRO's reporting is strong projection as Pierson has hated Kelly for a very long time. You can't always will things into effect no matter how often you report it.
strange strategy. pretty arrogant if you think about it. Even if he were a real reporter which he is not, a reporter is not going to influence a coach firing at a program like UCLA.
Joe, thank you for your very concise detailed description of Kelly's buyout. If you had previously covered it in a prior published article, I missed it. All I had found previously was Ben Bolch's terribly vague writeup of Kelly's buyout terms in the LA Times back in March 2023.
Out of curiosity, do you have a complete copy of his contract? Is it available for public consumption? I'd love to read the fine print to see the actual payout terms as it applies to the dispersal of funds. What are the conditions and the terms? Is the payout reduced if and when Chip obtains specific employment elsewhere? If so, are types of jobs are included in the pre-conditions? Is the buyout paid in a lump-sum or over time? There could be things that help mitigate the financial impact of giving Chip his walking papers.
But in the broader scheme of things, there's very likely no urgency within the university to give Kelly the heave-ho. UCLA can simply maintain the status quo while continuing to straddle the line between good football and bad football, with the primary focus on fixing the balance sheet before addressing other concerns.
There's no doubt that no matter what the state of UCLA football might be in 2024, the Rose Bowl will be packed every game next season for a new set of conference opponents, especially the historically great programs. Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, even bottom feeders like Indiana and Northwestern will likely fill the stands for at least 2 seasons. But at some point in time, the buzz will wear off and it probably lines up with the expiration of Kelly's contract.
The Make Bruin Football Great Again movement will have to wait.
Nah, I hadn't covered this year's extension before now. Usually, I request a copy as soon as the ink is dry and the contract is announced. This time, I didn't request it until after the Arizona loss.
I have links in the article which will take you to copies of his original contract as well as both the 2022 & 2023 extensions on my Scribd account.
Joe, I see the link for the 2017 original contract, but nothing for the 2022 and 2023 extensions. I also checked your Scribd account, but found only the 2017 contract.
So, here's the 2024 schedule with the (so far) 2023 W/L. Who's for doping the 2024 season out over the next several months and see how close we can come to firm prediction? I'll bet if we keep this gong through the end of Spring FD next year, we'll have a decent idea how well or badly the Chipmeister will do.
Wow. That's a rough stretch from 9/21 to 10/5 and again from 11/9 thru the Fresno State game.
Win first two. Drop next three. Beat Minnesota and Rutgers. Lose to Nebraska, Iowa, Washington. Beat SC. Lose to Fresno. Final record 5-7. And Kelly is fired.
..why not fire him now and avoid the rush? Kidding, of course.
Am interested to to continue fleshing out this "analysis" and if anyone wants to help and they get in touch with you, you are welcome to pass along my email address so they can get in touch with me.
Doesn't matter, Huskies are playing at home and The Chipster (OG) is the opposing coach, that's enough. Bo Nix won't be at Oregon either, but the Chipster (OG) can never beat Oregon, no matter where they play.
Hmm ....... Just one thing. I don't believe we can beat USC twice in a row. Riots might erupt. Trojan fanatics could even invade Westwood campus. LOL !!!!!
what are you smoking? UCLA beat $UC 8 years in a row in the 90s. UCLA never lost to them when I attended. If you were a student in the early Mora years, you feasted on wins against the Trogans... the game last year could have easily been UCLA's win, resulting in 3 straight wins against the $C.
Some expensive, exotic Cuban cigars worth more than your entire paycheck. Relax now, I'm kiddin' you. I was merely referring to this time next year, were we to square off against them again. The past is the past although Terry Donahue did beat them good.
I hear you. I hear you. The rest of the (bruin ) world hears you. And the people, the people who still support Kelly will hear from all of us pretty soon - paraphrasing former President George W Bush. LOL !!!!!
Very optimistic Joe, I will take it step further and be more realistic. If Kelly is retained (huge mistake), here is their W-L, attendance and predicted score of each game.
8/31/2024 @ Hawaii W 31-10 Attendance: 38,500 (Above avg for Hawaii)
9/14/2024 Indiana W 17-6 Attendance: 61,700 (First Big-10 league game)
9/21/2024 @ LSU L 20-10 Attendance: 82,500 (a little below LSU avg)
9/28/2024 Oregon L 27-14 Attendance: 72,750 (It's Oregon!)
10/05/2024 @Penn St L 34-14 Attendance: 86,250 (Penn St avg attendance)
10/12/2024 Minnesota L 24-6 Attendance: 42,500 (The Chipster (OG) always has one home game meltdown per year)
10/19/2024 @Rutgers L 18-12 Attendance: 28,500 (Below Rutgers avg)
11/02/2024 @Nebraska L 36-17 Attendance: 87,700 (It's Nebraska, nothing else to do and Nebraska will be much improved)
11/09/2024 Iowa L 20-14 Attendance: 62,500 (Iowa will attract more fans, good team)
11/16/2024 @Washington L 34-28 (OT) Attendance: 61,500 (about avg for Huskies)
11/23/2024 USC W 12-9 Attendance: 43,500 (both teams stink! scoring was ALL short field goals)
11/30/2024 Fresno St L 31-17 Attendance: 32,750 (No one wants to see a 3-8 team, Oops, I meant 3-9 team!)
3-9 and they will keep Kelly, if they keep him this year, there is no reason to jettison him the next year. Kelly will just tell Jarmond and the new Chancellor "It's a rebuilding year and the BIG -10 is a tougher conference" and they are both dumb enough to buy off and believe it and give The Chipster another extension. Jarmond is already proving how stupid he is by swallowing the Chipster's (OG) current BS. BANK IT!
..not to sound like a broken record but here goes: wonder what Kellster added to the AD debt with his gastronomic catering service to for the FB team in his early years? This was for the FB team ONLY and not for the other sports. The costs were obscene and this bloated anal pore stuck it to the AD budget and, I am sure, cost the minor and women's sports a great deal in terms of foregone opportunities and possible NCAA championships.
While I am proud of the kids whomping the daylights out of the Toe Jams Saturday, I am sure the warm fuzzy glow will wear off when some of our boys hit the transport portal out and D'Anton Lynn lands a luscious gig in the pro ranks or at another college. There's a yawning crevasses just crying out to be filled over on Figueroa Blvd and them boys ain't shy about shelling out the Benjamins!
My friend, the catering deal is indeed another sore point. Has it made a damn bit of difference in performance on the field ? If anything, perhaps the fresh fiber embedded within the cuisine have made the players frequent men's bathroom more often than they normally did. But then again, players with constipated bowels don't run nor tackle well. You never know.
What is the point in firing Chip now? Seriously, what is the point? Are we going to replace him with someone better? No, we are not. We cannot afford to. He could be 0-12 and it would make more sense to wait until we get money from the Big 10 deal.
If they don't fire him this year, they won't fire him next year either. The money will be the excuse this year. Yet a different excuse will be next year. The point is, the University is making a statement by keeping this loser, just as they make a statement by firing him. If they fire him, they are saying (like Texas A&M said), we are tired of a mediocre football program, we need to change and we need to win more. If they keep him, they are saying, "we don't care how crappy the football team is or how badly the football program is managed, we simply don't care" So if the school administration and Athletic dept don't care, then why should alums, fans, supporters, donors, etc.
The Kelly apologist is totally quiet, no response whatsoever. But then what could he say anyway, consider all these forceful, potent argument against retaining kelly.
Jarmond put us in a position (twice with two extensions) where we really can’t get rid of Chip. So, how much does it cost us to get rid of Jarmond? Maybe that’s the better deal now!
Bingo ! I never thought of it. But be careful of what you said. The Kelly apologists are already rearing their ugly heads, creeping up here and there . To get rid of the guy sheltering the guy we want dismissed ?!? It may be too much for them.
No way they get rid of Jarmond. That will never happen. These people at that level are protected. And UCLA is an academic school first and foremost, hence Jarmond stays for as long as he wants no matter how badly he mangles the Athletic Dept and he's doing a pretty good Donut Dan impression right now! And his annual salary compared to The Chipster's (OG) is peanuts, I think it's like $1.5m a year, Joe may check me on this.
Appreciate the harsh dose of fiscal reality but don't buy it. If Chip were let go and we promoted from within the impact financially could be muted. Lynn would be the HC with only a modest increase to his current salary. After what he's done with the same guys on D, he's earned it and we can not under any circumstances afford him to get picked up by another program. Without him, UCLA wins only maybe 3 games this year. With Chip's 6-23 record against winning teams, he should be toast despite Bruin tradition that if you beat SC all is forgiven. I think once more cards come out of the deck and we lose to Cal and/or in the bowl game, we will clearly see that change needs to happen. However, if Chip wins both in Lavinesque style, all bets are off.
Even if the Chipster (OG) wins out in "Lavinesque style", he should not be retained. It's the body of work, not one or two games in a season. This guy didn't defeat one quality team this year, not one. Look at previous years, same track record. He beats teams he should beat, loses to teams he should lose to and then has one or two "gimme" games where he tanks the game! This year it was ASU at home, last year it was Arizona at home, the year before that it was Fresno St at home! You can't even state you have a winning program with these inconsistent and yes, poor results. Most people here are just looking for consistent winning teams, that's 8-9 wins a year. Not 6 or 7 and playing 3 patsies at the beginning of the season to pad your W-L record, making it look better. It's bullsh**.
Indeed, if you were the highest paid state employee in California and simply did just enough to retain your job status for 6 years (and still counting, apparently), you'd be the happiest man (or woman) in the world too. Coach Wooden set a high standard for excellence with the basketball program at UCLA, so now mediocrity is totally unacceptable. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the football program. Only 1 national championship (1954) and 1 Heismann winner (Gary Beban,1967) throughout its entire history. No elite pedigree like at U$C, so mediocrity has been allowed to flourish by the UCLA administration until they're forced by others to act. Next season should be interesting.
If not now, when? Is the following acceptable measure: Only 7 wins against teams finishing with winning records against 21 losses? Only 4 power 5 wins this year? Only once in the end zone in three of the last four games, including against ASU and Cal team at HOME that have horrible defenses? Lack of even incremental progress in Dante Moore's development from a supposed QB and offensive guru? Worst red-zone production in the power 5? Lack of recruiting, glaringly the worst two kickers in the power 5? Dwindling attendance and enthusiasm? What more does one need?
If there is more, it's just that Chip's judgment is also suspect. He said we had depth at every position this year. He said that we had three or four QBs who could be starters- that in his judgment, our QB room was the most talented in the country. It was also Chip who said when he came in that he would build an offensive line---now, he's built what is one of the worst pass blocking lines in power 5 football.
Not looking for a home run hire, just a marked improvement. Someone we can all get behind. Now that Jonathan Smith is gone, don't tell me we can't get AZ head coach Jedd Fisch. He's done an amazing job and I think would provide an upgrade and one that win or lose, we'd know he'd give us his all and can both recruit and motivate. He's not the shiny hire that we need to steer clear from, but clearly a substantial upgrade and one the Bruin family, alums and fans could get behind. Of course, that's if Fisch would even come back after being essentially let go.
We need a fresh start. If all else fails, I have no problem with promoting Lynn to HC and letting him decide who he wants to hire as an OC.
Well, again Joe. They will lose way more than $9m keeping this guy on. But this all just confirms they will follow the Donut Dan's financial mismanagement philosophy and culture of the Athletic Dept. And with this mismanagement, no, rosy days are NOT AHEAD. Losing teams with red ink everywhere you look. So, if they retain Kelly, they will never be in the black, at least the football program won't be and they will never win anything, that is a 100% guarantee. 4-8 at best next season and the following season will be worse. In addition, my guess is attendance will continue to fall until Mater Dei/St John Bosco crowds will exceed what UCLA gets at the Rose Bowl. What's that, about 6,000-7,000 tops!
Dan Guerrero hailed from San Antonio. To my knowledge, he is living his retirement life few of his peers could because afford of the prohibitively handsome package UC systems gave him. Whatever little skills he possesses, he has managed to parlay them from little known Cal State Dominguez Hills to UC Irvine and, ultimately, his alma mater into a jaw dropping retirement package doing a Division I athletic director's job scarcely better than my administrative secretary could.
Life was good for him at Westwood, so was the gourmet appetizers, catered culinary items at the annual dinner receptions for the regents honoring big time donors. Every time I saw him, I could see his waistline increasing and presumably his bad cholesterol, glucose level in his system tripling. LOL !!!!!!!!
UCLA is setting an example for the mediocre, the underachieved and the cunning sets. If you play your cards well, you would be rewarded even better than if you still espouse the old school ethics of working hard and living an honest life. Not anymore, folks, not when Guerrero and Kelly have any say in it.
In fairness to Dan, he did not hail from San Antonio. He grew up in Wilmington.
Okay, I got it wrong because when he was about to retire when another coaching search happened. Much like the previous time when Kelly was hired, a few influential individuals, keenly aware of his ineptitude by then, were also busy assisting him. That was when I thought I heard he was from San Antonio and planned to retire there soon.
In fairness to him for my mix up, I guess it does not matter a single bit. He was incompetent and he was indecisive and it does not matter where he came from. Knowing what I know from other season ticket holders, his prolonged agony over the realistic need to dismiss Steve Alford approached legendary proportion, believe it or not. The way I was told, you would think he was about to be asked to become an executioner when in fact, only a failing basketball coach's job was on the line, not that someone's head was about to be chopped off.
you guys claimed that Howland was a problem because the seats were "empty" even though they were winning and that it was his style of basketball for why the seats were empty. Then Cronin comes in and is winning and the seats are still "empty". so what's your excuse now?
Nooooo .... mister. Seats are not still empty. You're wrong. I am season ticket holders and have attended all three exhibition games. Except for the first one, the other two were pretty packed far as I could see except for a scattered few.
there were literally 17 people at the last game
Your literal saying is wrong too. But there you go again, just like last time.
17? LMAO. You may want to update your math skills.
I don't believe this is accurate, but I would anticipate a lot of you Chipster (OG) apologists and excuse makers showing up the defend The Chipster (OG). The Chipster (OG) is a bad coach and there is nothing anyone can argue differently. Math doesn't lie. The product being produced by this fake (The Chipster (OG)) doesn't lie either.
Yeap ! This is do or die time for them. They are indeed creeping up again now that it looks as if a one year reprieve could happen.
You predicted we'd go 6-7 this year: https://open.substack.com/pub/themightybruin/p/ucla-loses-to-pitt-37-35?utm_source=direct&r=31aypp&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true
I don't see why anyone should take your doom and gloom "predictions" seriously.
Oh, I see. So, I'm off a couple of games and that's it! LOL. You have zero credibility. You didn't predict anything because you don't know anything. I at least predicted losses to Arizona, Utah & Oregon St, which did occur and wasn't too hard to predict I might add. I was off on Wash St, SUC & San Diego St. (thought Brady Hoke was a better coach). So, I wasn't too far off, and Kelly's team is lousy as I also stated. And will be lousy next year as well. So, take your Chipster (OG) apologist tour over to the SUC blogs, they'd appreciate it more.
Why would he not be happy, gleeful to lead the UCLA athletic director by his nose, and have the entire administration wrapped around his finger tip ?!?? This is cunning at its very best and most brilliant moment. To all the up and coming NCAA coaches, you would do well if you can study the Kelly book hard and emulate him as much as possible. I am impressed. I truly am.
What's the simple math putting 15-20,000 extra butts in seats for 6 games at an average $100 per ticket and another 25-50% for concessions and parking? For at least the past 3 years I've questioned UCLA's head-count at games. Realize the entertainment/sports world has changed, but I remember when the Bowl was filled with a legitimate 70-75,000 for good PAC 12 games and 75-85,000 for big intersectionals with Nebraska, Oklahoma, Notre Dame... to say nothing about games with the ketchup and mustard guys.
Jarmond is seemingly not the leader I had hoped he would be.
The loss in ticket $$$ is tangible and so are the losses we will likely incur in the portal and recruiting. This is a sad state of affairs and overshadows the victory against suc.
I would like to know how Texas A&M can afford a $76 million buyout, and how UCLA can be so blind to the millions that will be lost in ticket sales.
Texas A&M likely isn't starting from a $100M hole in the budget created by Dan Guerrero and COVID.
Guerrero certainly left his legacy.
Joe that was an excellent job of journalism researching the facts. I am afraid our administration has back roomed a deal with Chip's extension that is too lucrative for UCLA to back out. Professionally I would not be spooked with Chip's buyout. Price of doing business. Move on. Nothing has changed from the last two losses to the Arizona's. Nothing has changed with poor attendance. Nothing has changed with poor recruiting. Cluster. I am not impressed with smiling Jarmond. In my business we have much higher expectations regarding goals.
Extremely well stated fruithi 💙💛
No, Jarmond is not, as you said. He was with Ohio State once. I guess the Buckeyes' unflinching passion to win, come hell or high water, never rubbed it off him.
UCLA makes no revenue from parking. That all goes straight to the Rose Bowl Operating Committee.
Here's what I got off Wiki for 2022 and 2023 attendance. I am sure these are rough and sorry for the crude presentation.
09/02/2023 Coastal Carolina Rose Bowl 43,705
09/09/2023 San Diego State San Diego 32,017
09/16/2023 NC Central Rose Bowl 38,343
09/23/2023 Utah Salt Lake City 52,919
10/07/2023 WSU Rose Bowl 35,437
10/14/2023 OSU Corvallis 37,600
10/21/2023 Stanford Stanford 30,225
10/28/2023 Colorado Rose Bowl 71,343
11/04/2023 Arizona Tucson 44,956
11/11/2023 ASU Rose Bowl 56,436
11/18/2023 USC Mausoleum 72,243
11/25/2023 California Rose Bowl
TOTAL 245,264 269,960
AVG 49,053 44,993
09/03/2022 Bowling Green Rose Bowl 27,143
09/10/2022 Alabama State Rose Bowl 33,647
09/17/2022 South Alabama Rose Bowl 29,344
09/24/2022 Colorado Boulder 42,848
09/30/2022 Washington Rose Bowl 41,343
10/08/2022 Utah Rose Bowl 42,038
10/22/2022 Oregon Eugene 59,962
10/19/2022 Stanford Rose Bowl 43,850
11/05/2022 ASU Tempe 51,265
11/12/2022 Arizona Rose Bowl 44,430
11/19/2022 USC Rose Bowl 70,865
11/25/2022 California Berkeley 36,221
TOTAL 332,660 190,296
AVG 41,583 47,574
The first number in the TOTAL and AVG lines are the Rose Bowl attendances while the second number are the away attendances.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I've always felt the Bruins "papered" a fair number of seats to groups. If right, I'm not sure to what degree these are included in the reported admissions, if at all.
I do remember a few yeara back they had the high school band and cheer section in the end zone that participated in the half time show - but now those seats have been clothed in 'handsome' tarps.
Half to 2/3 empty tarp draped Rose Bowls are the norm for the t-shirt draped Chipster.
On a brighter note...
When we play the BIG name BIG schools, the Rose Bowl will fill up with their fans and we will play the vast majority of our 'home' games as 'away' games.
Bingo! Next year, for example, we play crummy Indiana and Minnesota at the Rose Bowl. My hunch is there will be a ton of mid westerners attending these games. They won't be rooting for the Bruins. Chip will be making comments about the great attendance when in actuality he being "coach" will have nothing to do with it.
DTR led a game winning drive for the Browns today against the Steelers
just think if he came back like Penix for year 6. We'd probably be undefeated and looking at the playoff.
Maybe. In perspective UCLA had an unchallenged schedule this year. No wins over ranked opponents. Not having to play Washington or Oregon. My guess is Chip would find games like our game against Arizona State to lose with DTR playing. With Chip, history does repeat itself!
Ha. Maybe we would be undefeated, but not in the top 4
I think BRO's reporting is strong projection as Pierson has hated Kelly for a very long time. You can't always will things into effect no matter how often you report it.
100%. He did the same thing in 2021 when he reported that Kelly was going back to Oregon.
strange strategy. pretty arrogant if you think about it. Even if he were a real reporter which he is not, a reporter is not going to influence a coach firing at a program like UCLA.
LMAO. Plaschke literally called for Kelly to be fired.
Joe, thank you for your very concise detailed description of Kelly's buyout. If you had previously covered it in a prior published article, I missed it. All I had found previously was Ben Bolch's terribly vague writeup of Kelly's buyout terms in the LA Times back in March 2023.
Out of curiosity, do you have a complete copy of his contract? Is it available for public consumption? I'd love to read the fine print to see the actual payout terms as it applies to the dispersal of funds. What are the conditions and the terms? Is the payout reduced if and when Chip obtains specific employment elsewhere? If so, are types of jobs are included in the pre-conditions? Is the buyout paid in a lump-sum or over time? There could be things that help mitigate the financial impact of giving Chip his walking papers.
But in the broader scheme of things, there's very likely no urgency within the university to give Kelly the heave-ho. UCLA can simply maintain the status quo while continuing to straddle the line between good football and bad football, with the primary focus on fixing the balance sheet before addressing other concerns.
There's no doubt that no matter what the state of UCLA football might be in 2024, the Rose Bowl will be packed every game next season for a new set of conference opponents, especially the historically great programs. Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, even bottom feeders like Indiana and Northwestern will likely fill the stands for at least 2 seasons. But at some point in time, the buzz will wear off and it probably lines up with the expiration of Kelly's contract.
The Make Bruin Football Great Again movement will have to wait.
Nah, I hadn't covered this year's extension before now. Usually, I request a copy as soon as the ink is dry and the contract is announced. This time, I didn't request it until after the Arizona loss.
I have links in the article which will take you to copies of his original contract as well as both the 2022 & 2023 extensions on my Scribd account.
Joe, I see the link for the 2017 original contract, but nothing for the 2022 and 2023 extensions. I also checked your Scribd account, but found only the 2017 contract.
Oops. I'm not sure why the link got omitted.
I added it twice to the main article now, but you can find it here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/685661653/Chip-Kelly-Contract-Extensions-2022-2023
So, here's the 2024 schedule with the (so far) 2023 W/L. Who's for doping the 2024 season out over the next several months and see how close we can come to firm prediction? I'll bet if we keep this gong through the end of Spring FD next year, we'll have a decent idea how well or badly the Chipmeister will do.
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION 2023
08/31/2024 Hawai'i Honolulu, HI 4-8
09/14/2024 Indiana Rose Bowl 3-8
09/21/2024 LSU Baton Rouge, LA 8-3
09/18/2024 Oregon Rose Bowl 10-1
10/05/2024 Penn State University Park, PA 9-2
10/12/2024 Minnesota Rose Bowl 5-6
10/19/2024 Rutgers Piscataway, NJ 6-5
11/02/2024 Nebraska Lincoln, NE 5-6
11/09/2024 Iowa Rose Bowl 9-2
11/16/2024 Washington Seattle, WA 11-0
11/23/2024 USC Rose Bowl 7-5
11/30/2024 Fresno State Rose Bowl 8-3
Wow. That's a rough stretch from 9/21 to 10/5 and again from 11/9 thru the Fresno State game.
Win first two. Drop next three. Beat Minnesota and Rutgers. Lose to Nebraska, Iowa, Washington. Beat SC. Lose to Fresno. Final record 5-7. And Kelly is fired.
Write it down. Heard it here first.
..why not fire him now and avoid the rush? Kidding, of course.
Am interested to to continue fleshing out this "analysis" and if anyone wants to help and they get in touch with you, you are welcome to pass along my email address so they can get in touch with me.
keep in mind Penix will be gone. They are going to be back to the usual UW, which is still pretty good, but not this year's team by any stretch.
Nothing really matters nor to keep in mind, if the following season will indeed be the Kelly swan song based om Joe's insightful article.
Unless the Husky coaching staff leaves we will lose this game. Chip will be schooled. Again. Where there is a well there is a way!
Doesn't matter, Huskies are playing at home and The Chipster (OG) is the opposing coach, that's enough. Bo Nix won't be at Oregon either, but the Chipster (OG) can never beat Oregon, no matter where they play.
Hmm ....... Just one thing. I don't believe we can beat USC twice in a row. Riots might erupt. Trojan fanatics could even invade Westwood campus. LOL !!!!!
Trogans won't have Williams and it will take SUC more than a year to fix that defense. UCLA wins, but barely.
what are you smoking? UCLA beat $UC 8 years in a row in the 90s. UCLA never lost to them when I attended. If you were a student in the early Mora years, you feasted on wins against the Trogans... the game last year could have easily been UCLA's win, resulting in 3 straight wins against the $C.
Some expensive, exotic Cuban cigars worth more than your entire paycheck. Relax now, I'm kiddin' you. I was merely referring to this time next year, were we to square off against them again. The past is the past although Terry Donahue did beat them good.
I hear you. I hear you. The rest of the (bruin ) world hears you. And the people, the people who still support Kelly will hear from all of us pretty soon - paraphrasing former President George W Bush. LOL !!!!!
Very optimistic Joe, I will take it step further and be more realistic. If Kelly is retained (huge mistake), here is their W-L, attendance and predicted score of each game.
8/31/2024 @ Hawaii W 31-10 Attendance: 38,500 (Above avg for Hawaii)
9/14/2024 Indiana W 17-6 Attendance: 61,700 (First Big-10 league game)
9/21/2024 @ LSU L 20-10 Attendance: 82,500 (a little below LSU avg)
9/28/2024 Oregon L 27-14 Attendance: 72,750 (It's Oregon!)
10/05/2024 @Penn St L 34-14 Attendance: 86,250 (Penn St avg attendance)
10/12/2024 Minnesota L 24-6 Attendance: 42,500 (The Chipster (OG) always has one home game meltdown per year)
10/19/2024 @Rutgers L 18-12 Attendance: 28,500 (Below Rutgers avg)
11/02/2024 @Nebraska L 36-17 Attendance: 87,700 (It's Nebraska, nothing else to do and Nebraska will be much improved)
11/09/2024 Iowa L 20-14 Attendance: 62,500 (Iowa will attract more fans, good team)
11/16/2024 @Washington L 34-28 (OT) Attendance: 61,500 (about avg for Huskies)
11/23/2024 USC W 12-9 Attendance: 43,500 (both teams stink! scoring was ALL short field goals)
11/30/2024 Fresno St L 31-17 Attendance: 32,750 (No one wants to see a 3-8 team, Oops, I meant 3-9 team!)
3-9 and they will keep Kelly, if they keep him this year, there is no reason to jettison him the next year. Kelly will just tell Jarmond and the new Chancellor "It's a rebuilding year and the BIG -10 is a tougher conference" and they are both dumb enough to buy off and believe it and give The Chipster another extension. Jarmond is already proving how stupid he is by swallowing the Chipster's (OG) current BS. BANK IT!
..not to sound like a broken record but here goes: wonder what Kellster added to the AD debt with his gastronomic catering service to for the FB team in his early years? This was for the FB team ONLY and not for the other sports. The costs were obscene and this bloated anal pore stuck it to the AD budget and, I am sure, cost the minor and women's sports a great deal in terms of foregone opportunities and possible NCAA championships.
While I am proud of the kids whomping the daylights out of the Toe Jams Saturday, I am sure the warm fuzzy glow will wear off when some of our boys hit the transport portal out and D'Anton Lynn lands a luscious gig in the pro ranks or at another college. There's a yawning crevasses just crying out to be filled over on Figueroa Blvd and them boys ain't shy about shelling out the Benjamins!
My friend, the catering deal is indeed another sore point. Has it made a damn bit of difference in performance on the field ? If anything, perhaps the fresh fiber embedded within the cuisine have made the players frequent men's bathroom more often than they normally did. But then again, players with constipated bowels don't run nor tackle well. You never know.
Bottom line is our top brass is not passionate or committed to building a nationally relevant football program. JMO
You said it. They are just not into it.
Yep, and that means attendance, marketing et al will continue to fall.
What is the point in firing Chip now? Seriously, what is the point? Are we going to replace him with someone better? No, we are not. We cannot afford to. He could be 0-12 and it would make more sense to wait until we get money from the Big 10 deal.
If they don't fire him this year, they won't fire him next year either. The money will be the excuse this year. Yet a different excuse will be next year. The point is, the University is making a statement by keeping this loser, just as they make a statement by firing him. If they fire him, they are saying (like Texas A&M said), we are tired of a mediocre football program, we need to change and we need to win more. If they keep him, they are saying, "we don't care how crappy the football team is or how badly the football program is managed, we simply don't care" So if the school administration and Athletic dept don't care, then why should alums, fans, supporters, donors, etc.
The Kelly apologist is totally quiet, no response whatsoever. But then what could he say anyway, consider all these forceful, potent argument against retaining kelly.
You don't think that they could get someone better than someone who went 34-33 in 6 years? LOL
Jarmond put us in a position (twice with two extensions) where we really can’t get rid of Chip. So, how much does it cost us to get rid of Jarmond? Maybe that’s the better deal now!
Bingo ! I never thought of it. But be careful of what you said. The Kelly apologists are already rearing their ugly heads, creeping up here and there . To get rid of the guy sheltering the guy we want dismissed ?!? It may be too much for them.
No way they get rid of Jarmond. That will never happen. These people at that level are protected. And UCLA is an academic school first and foremost, hence Jarmond stays for as long as he wants no matter how badly he mangles the Athletic Dept and he's doing a pretty good Donut Dan impression right now! And his annual salary compared to The Chipster's (OG) is peanuts, I think it's like $1.5m a year, Joe may check me on this.
Appreciate the harsh dose of fiscal reality but don't buy it. If Chip were let go and we promoted from within the impact financially could be muted. Lynn would be the HC with only a modest increase to his current salary. After what he's done with the same guys on D, he's earned it and we can not under any circumstances afford him to get picked up by another program. Without him, UCLA wins only maybe 3 games this year. With Chip's 6-23 record against winning teams, he should be toast despite Bruin tradition that if you beat SC all is forgiven. I think once more cards come out of the deck and we lose to Cal and/or in the bowl game, we will clearly see that change needs to happen. However, if Chip wins both in Lavinesque style, all bets are off.
Even if the Chipster (OG) wins out in "Lavinesque style", he should not be retained. It's the body of work, not one or two games in a season. This guy didn't defeat one quality team this year, not one. Look at previous years, same track record. He beats teams he should beat, loses to teams he should lose to and then has one or two "gimme" games where he tanks the game! This year it was ASU at home, last year it was Arizona at home, the year before that it was Fresno St at home! You can't even state you have a winning program with these inconsistent and yes, poor results. Most people here are just looking for consistent winning teams, that's 8-9 wins a year. Not 6 or 7 and playing 3 patsies at the beginning of the season to pad your W-L record, making it look better. It's bullsh**.
Indeed, if you were the highest paid state employee in California and simply did just enough to retain your job status for 6 years (and still counting, apparently), you'd be the happiest man (or woman) in the world too. Coach Wooden set a high standard for excellence with the basketball program at UCLA, so now mediocrity is totally unacceptable. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the football program. Only 1 national championship (1954) and 1 Heismann winner (Gary Beban,1967) throughout its entire history. No elite pedigree like at U$C, so mediocrity has been allowed to flourish by the UCLA administration until they're forced by others to act. Next season should be interesting.
If not now, when? Is the following acceptable measure: Only 7 wins against teams finishing with winning records against 21 losses? Only 4 power 5 wins this year? Only once in the end zone in three of the last four games, including against ASU and Cal team at HOME that have horrible defenses? Lack of even incremental progress in Dante Moore's development from a supposed QB and offensive guru? Worst red-zone production in the power 5? Lack of recruiting, glaringly the worst two kickers in the power 5? Dwindling attendance and enthusiasm? What more does one need?
If there is more, it's just that Chip's judgment is also suspect. He said we had depth at every position this year. He said that we had three or four QBs who could be starters- that in his judgment, our QB room was the most talented in the country. It was also Chip who said when he came in that he would build an offensive line---now, he's built what is one of the worst pass blocking lines in power 5 football.
Not looking for a home run hire, just a marked improvement. Someone we can all get behind. Now that Jonathan Smith is gone, don't tell me we can't get AZ head coach Jedd Fisch. He's done an amazing job and I think would provide an upgrade and one that win or lose, we'd know he'd give us his all and can both recruit and motivate. He's not the shiny hire that we need to steer clear from, but clearly a substantial upgrade and one the Bruin family, alums and fans could get behind. Of course, that's if Fisch would even come back after being essentially let go.
We need a fresh start. If all else fails, I have no problem with promoting Lynn to HC and letting him decide who he wants to hire as an OC.