UCLA Football: Martin Jarmond Finally Explains the Decision to Keep Chip Kelly

Martin Jarmond finally explains why he is keeping Chip Kelly around.

Chip Kelly is sticking around for at least one more season, which is a decision many UCLA Bruins fans and pundits have questioned. It's not that Kelly has been ultimately unsuccessful, as his last three seasons were all above the .500 mark. What he has failed to do is to make the Bruins into a championship-caliber team. 

The Bruins were College Playoff hopefuls, but back-to-back losses left them on the outside looking in. Many have questioned why Kelly has been allowed to retain control of this team when they have only managed one bowl game. 

That decision has fallen squarely on the shoulders of UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jamond, who finally revealed why Kelly will be sticking around. 

“We want to compete at the highest level and graduate student athletes at the highest level, recruit and develop young people that are great representatives of UCLA, that’s the goal,” said Jarmond. “If you look at our football program, we have great young men in our program, Chip has created a strong and phenomenal culture, it shows when we have so many guys that return and want to go for their masters degrees … the culture is very strong and the young men that come out of UCLA, out of this program, are great representatives, that’s important.”

Via 

Bill Plaschke, The LA Times

Though that is a well-thought-out answer, it sort of feels as though Jarmond is not addressing the elephant in the room, which is how Kelly has performed while coaching the Bruins. Some might say three losing seasons and one loss in a bowl game is more than enough to allow someone else a chance to take the Bruins farther. 

The UCLA campus has been riddled with "Fire Chip Kelly" posters, and someone even took time to fly a banner on a plane above the campus as well. The consensus seems to be that Kelly should be let go, but that is not happening. 

Hopefully, the UCLA Bruins can rebound next year, and the football team can shock everyone by making a far deeper stand in the CFP. 

Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Bruins!