SMQB: UCLA Is Finally Bowl Eligible Under Chip Kelly

But is it too little, too late for Chip?

While the Bruins are finally bowl eligible, is it too little, too late for Chip Kelly? (Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports via uclabruins.com)

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Welcome to another edition of TMB’s Sunday Morning Quarterback. Before we get started, there is some important news this morning.

Next week’s game against Southern Cal will kickoff at 1 pm at the Coliseum and, for those of you like me who refuse to give any money to the school across town, the game will be broadcast on Fox.

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I’m going to refer to next week’s game as the Luke Fickell Bowl. I’m not sure whether the winner or the loser gets Fickell, but if Martin Jarmond finds the money to move on from Chip Kelly, I’m confident that both schools will be trying to lure Fickell to Los Angeles.

Why? Well, Southern Cal AD Mike Bonn hired Fickell at Cincinnati and Jarmond worked as an assistant AD at Ohio State when Fickell was an assistant coach. Jarmond’s secret weapon could end up being Bruin basketball coach Mick Cronin who was the Bearcats’ basketball coach when Fickell was hired at Cincinnati.

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Speaking of bowl games, UCLA is bowl eligible for the first time in Chip Kelly’s tenure. Where will the Bruins end up playing?

Well, even with two games left in the season, there’s a lot of football to be played. The best case scenario for UCLA would be if the Bruins win both games and Oregon heads to the College Football Playoff. That would seem to result in the Bruins (or Oregon State) heading to the Las Vegas Bowl on Thursday, December 30th.

If UCLA loses both games, they will likely drop to either the Holiday Bowl, the Sun Bowl or the new Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl which will be played at Sofi Stadium on Saturday, December 18th.

But, does it matter what bowl the Bruins play in?

Sure, after a three-year bowl drought, it will be nice to have the Bruins playing in December. At the same time, UCLA should never have a bowl drought.

Even more importantly, UCLA shouldn’t be playing in second or third tier bowl games.

The expectation, set by Chip Kelly during his introductory press conference, was to get UCLA playing for the national championship. Four years in, the Bruins are nowhere close to that goal.

Why aren’t they closer? Well, I think most realistic Bruin fans have a good idea. You might find some Rose Bowl-colored glasses-wearing idiots in one of a host of Facebook groups who will try to paint last night’s win against Colorado as a “great win” or something similar, but realistically, Colorado is probably the second worst team in the conference this season. A win over the second worst team in the conference should be expected, not celebrated.

Of course, the answer as to why UCLA isn’t anywhere closer to the goal of winning a national championship, ultimately, is Chip Kelly. But, much of it has to do with Kelly’s blind loyalty to his friend Jerry Azzinaro. It’s unfathomable that the defensive coordinator of a Pac-12 team wouldn’t speak with the media once in a season, much less four seasons.

He has to go and, if Chip refuses to make a change, then Martin Jarmond should immediately accept Chip’s resignation and move on without having to pay Kelly another dime. This is actually the best case scenario for UCLA. Not only would the players get a better defensive coordinator, but they would also replace Kelly who has clearly not given Bruin fans their money worth.

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Of course, replacing a coach means finding a replacement. So, let’s briefly discuss who UCLA could hire if Kelly does depart any time soon.

Fickell should be at the top of the list for the reasons listed above. I especially like the idea of using Mick Cronin to help land Fickell.

But having contingencies is important in case the top pick isn’t available. I’ve always been a fan of Dave Aranda. Not only was Aranda a heck of a defensive coordinator, but he falls into the category of up-and-coming coach. He also now has two years of head coaching experience. His first year was rough. Baylor went just 2-7 last year, but last year was crazy due to COVID. This year, he has the Bears back near the top of the Big 12 standings with an 8-2 mark.

It bears remembering that Aranda grew up in California and played his college football at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks. His wife is also from California. I think that he would be open to coming back home.

Another potential choice could be former Texas head coach Tom Herman. While he wasn’t able to keep up with the expectations in Austin, he led the team to a 32-18 mark and never finished under .500. He’s currently serving as an offensive analyst for the Chicago Bears and the Bears could be looking at a head coaching change after the season anyway due to their current 3-6 record.

Those would be my top three choices if Martin Jarmond asked me who he should hire to replace Chip Kelly. In my mind, it’s only a matter of time before he will be looking for Kelly’s replacement if he isn’t already.


Go Bruins!!!

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