UCLA Football: Ethan Garbers Gets Brutally Honest About What It Was Like Playing For Chip Kelly

UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers shares his thoughts on his new and old coach in a recent interview.

All told, Chip Kelly led your UCLA Bruins to a 35-34 record during his six-season stint in Los Angeles. He took over for Jim Mora Jr., who for context led UCLA to a 46-30 record during his six-year stint with the Bruins. He also left UCLA a bit high-and-dry with the timing of his departure to now Big-10 rival Ohio State (weeks after losing their offensive coordinator to USC). Some of that is optics, and some of that is evidence, but Kelly nonetheless left a sour taste in the mouths of some. 

UCLA's (likely) starting quarterback in 2024, Ethan Garbers, may not be a part of that group, but in a recent interview posted by Rivals, he did get brutally honest about his football experience under Kelly.

"The biggest thing, he said it up there when he was talking, was about having fun," Garbers said. "Not like under coach Kelly that we didn't have fun, but it was more of a job than (just) playing football". 

The interview took place in the context of DeShaun Foster's recent hiring as UCLA's new head coach. 

"Coach Foster wants to get back to playing football and having fun while you're doing it," Garbers observed. 

Something that the UCLA fanbase (and now presumably the football players themselves) has been lacking is enthusiasm and joy. Based on Garbers' comments, it seems like Foster has brought with him an energy to which the team is rallying around. And if the team is having fun, the fans will likely follow. 

You can see that enthusiasm in the clip below, where Foster is introduced to the football team as their new head coach. 

The UCLA football team was HYPED to hear DeShaun Foster was named the new head coach🐻⚡️pic.twitter.com/C5pCDDwHd4

— On3 (@On3sports) February 12, 2024