UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Gets Honest About Possible Firing

Could this be the end of the Chip Kelly era in Westwood?

Will this Saturday be the last we see of UCLA head coach Chip Kelly as the guy at the helm? Maybe, but don't be surprised if he's canned, especially if they drop their third game in a row to their arch-rival, USC Trojans.

A report came out earlier this week that the Bruins will likely let go of Kelly after the USC game. This could be it for the 59-year-old coach, and reporters from Monday's press conference asked him if it crosses his mind at all — and here's what Kelly had to say. 

"No, not at all. My concern is playing USC, so that's what we always focus on. We always talk about being the most prepared and the least distracted so anything that is not the next upcoming opponent is just distracting us from what our job is and our job is to take care of what we got to do this week in terms of our preparation for a really good football team."

(per Chip Kelly via Bruin Report Online)

Kelly's tenure as the UCLA head man has been underwhelming, to say the least. In six seasons, he holds a 33-33 record, and the offensive minded coach has been good for the Bruins, at times, but not what UCLA expected with the pedigree Kelly has on that side of the ball. 

But if it's not one thing, it's another. In the early parts of his tenure, the offense has been the driving force while the defense has been atrocious, and this season, the defense has been the driving force while the offense hasn't played up to par.

Even if the Bruins beat their arch-rivals and regain the victory bell, reports suggest Kelly's firing is inevitable as he could be let go as late as the season finale against the Cal Golden Bears. 

This is something unforeseen if you were to just wake up from a coma from late 2018 when Kelly was first hired. But the fact of the matter is, Chip hasn't worked out, and it's only a matter of time of WHEN it happens rather than IF it happens.