Paul Finebaum takes the temperature of the UCLA job after Chip Kelly's departure
Paul Finebaum believes Chip Kelly probably made the right decision to move to Ohio State as offensive coordinator, and leave UCLA.
“I frankly think Ohio State is better off with Chip Kelly than they were with Bill O’Brien,” Finebaum said Monday on WJOX and “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning.” “The fact that Chip Kelly took the job just shows you how little confidence he had in UCLA and he should have been fired a couple weeks ago, or a couple months ago. I have no Earthly idea why they retained him. He was right on the bubble. He did an OK job, but I remember the Chip Kelly from 13, 14 years ago who was one of the 2 or 3 best coaches in college football playing for national championships.”
Finebaum reiterated that this move further cements the idea that UCLA was a “little brother” going with USC to the Big Ten. Greg McElroy wondered about the direction for UCLA, which has been a “cash-strapped” university and that has come up in previous hires. Finebaum also mentioned the challenges of fighting for attention with the Lakers, Dodgers and USC receiving most of the media oxygen in the city.
“I think it’s a really challenging job,” Finebaum said. “… That is a tough town. I read an article this morning, ‘Is Jim Harbaugh a big enough name for L.A. That’s the kind of place it is. When you win a national championship in college football, and you’re trying to get attention. That’s really what UCLA football is. … You go in there with a middling coach, and you’ll get run over because the schedule is frightening. I would be very careful as a sitting head coach or someone who has a great future ahead, to take that job, because to me, it is a dead-end job.”