UCLA’s decision to retain Chip Kelly confirms, once again, that UCLA really is a great basketball school.
And why not retain him? After six seasons, his record stands at a gaudy 34-34. Sure, the Rose Bowl has suffered through three of the lowest attendance years in its history since the Bruins began calling it home. But, hey, what can you expect when you only pay your head football coach $6.2 million per year. That comes to a little more than a million dollars per victory.
I say give him a raise to $10 million per year. Doing the math, the Bruins might just reach that 10-win pinnacle.
Steve Kaye
Oro Valley, Ariz.
UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond clearly went out on a limb by defying Times columnist Bill Plaschke’s edict to fire football coach Chip Kelly. Plaschke believes that Kelly should be evaluated exclusively by wins and losses. Ironic, considering Plaschke’s past demand for the immediate removal of the coach of an “out of control” college football program. Anyone recall Pete Carroll?
Rob Fleishman
Placentia
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Cal 33, UCLA 7. I can’t imagine a better and more apt end to UCLA’s season: a humiliating loss to Cal. UCLA and USC destroyed the Pac-12 out of excessive self-regard and hubris and greed. UC Berkeley and UCLA played each other for 90 straight years as the two major campuses in the UC system, but UCLA wanted more — to play with the big boys in the Midwest at the cost of that long tradition at home. Good riddance!
Henry A. Hespenheide
Hermosa Beach
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The status of Chip Kelly was a huge undertaking for Martin Jarmond. He should have taken this decision off his shoulders and settled it democratically. Let all football season-ticket holders vote for or against retaining Kelly. The result will not surprise you.
Jerry Brockett
Long Beach
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My wife and I braved the long drive, the frigid Pasadena evening, the $35 parking charge and the $100 ticket price for each to witness Saturday’s Cal-UCLA game. The best part of the event was spending time with some long time friends and fellow alums, whose collective memories of attending games in the Arroyo deserved better than what was served up against Cal.
Chip Kelly is at .500 after six seasons. It may not be exclusively Kelly’s fault that attendance is awful, but he’s made a habit out of fielding a team that does not and cannot meet even modest expectations. Mr. Jarmond, there was no compelling reason for keeping Kelly next year, unless yours is a secret desire to justify discontinuing football in Westwood in the near future.
Blaise Jackson
Escondido
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As a longtime Bruins fan of more than 50 years, I can’t tell you how reassuring it is to see that Chip Kelly will be returning for 2024. It’s never too early to make those lower-tier bowl game plans!
Jack Wolf
Westwood
