Living in the moment may be just what UCLA’s Chip Kelly needs in his now-or-never season
LA TimesUCLA coach Chip Kelly looks on from the sideline as the Bruins play USC at the Coliseum on Nov. 23, 2019. All that matters when it comes to Kelly’s future, according to interviews with multiple people familiar with the UCLA football program, is what lies ahead, not the disappointments of 2018, 2019 and 2020. Let’s just kick our feet up and not work.’ We were process-driven then, so we’re always going to be a process-driven operation.” Kelly’s successes with the Ducks landed him a UCLA contract that might as well have been negotiated by a fairy godmother given that his $9-million buyout expires on Jan. 15, 2022 — long after the coaching carousel will have made its final turn. The defense that was giving up record chunks of yardage in Kelly’s first two seasons has been fortified thanks to the arrival of defensive backs coach Brian Norwood and his 4-2-5 scheme. “We’ve been talking about a rebuilding of the program, we’ve gotten through that rebuilding process and we’ve built up something special here.” Kelly’s future depends on it, an up-and-coming team arriving just in time.