Chip Kelly steps down as UCLA head coach to become OC at Ohio State

Chip Kelly is leaving his job as a Big Ten head coach to become the offensive coordinator of a different Big Ten program. Kelly went 35-34 over six seasons at UCLA, which is leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten this summer, but will now be working under Ryan Day at Ohio State.

After a slow start, Kelly went 25-13 with three bowl appearances in the last three years. But he never got close to the success he had at Oregon, where he went 46-7 in four years and finished ranked in the top 5 three times. He left Eugene in 2013 to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, going to the Playoffs in year one before getting let go before the end of his third season with a 26-21 overall record. He also spent one year as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, going just 2-14, before returning to the college game in 2018.

Once considered the most innovative offensive mind in college football, Kelly is tasked with leading a Buckeye unit that regressed in 2023 after spending the previous seven seasons as the Big Ten’s top scoring offense (OSU ranked 3rd in 2023). The job first went to Bill O’Brien last month, but he was officially announced on Friday as the new head coach at Boston College.

Kelly’s last season as an OC was at Oregon in 2008, but he also spent eight years as the OC at his alma mater New Hampshire (FCS). One of the quarterbacks he mentored at UNH was Ryan Day, who set a number of passing records during his time with the program (1998-2001). Day later worked as Kelly’s QB coach for one season each with the Eagles (2015) and 49ers (2016) before arriving at Ohio State in 2017.

credit to Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports for the photo