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Rece Davis scratched his head over Chip Kelly stepping down as UCLA’s head coach to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
Discussing the decision with Pete Thamel on the College GameDay Podcast, Davis acknowledged that Kelly may prefer to call plays without dealing with the extra recruiting pressures of a head coach. Yet he still considered it a strange career move.
“To walk away from the UCLA job to take a coordinator job, even at a great place like Ohio State, strikes me as one of the more peculiar moves,” Davis said (h/t On3). “I know there was some pressure, and maybe the leash wasn’t as long as some might have anticipated. But I don’t think this fits the quintessential ‘I’m beating the posse out the door’ move. This seems more like a choice that he’s made based on what he wants to do, and I think it’s really unusual.”
Thamel called it “pretty clear” that Kelly would leave UCLA. The ESPN reporter added that Kelly explored NFL coordinating opportunities before going to Ohio State.
Thamel claimed Kelly didn’t love the off-field responsibilities of head coaching even before the introduction of NIL. Kelly also has “a really good relationship” with Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day.
Kelly went 35-34 during six seasons at UCLA. The Bruins ended an 8-5 campaign with the first bowl victory of his tenure.
Rather than lead UCLA into the Big Ten, Kelly joins a new conference foe. Ohio State’s offensive coordinator position opened when Bill O’Brien, hired last month, took Boston College’s head coaching vacancy.
Kelly inherits an offense that welcomes Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins via the transfer portal, with draft-eligible stars TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka returning for another year. There’s immense pressure on Ohio State to win the Big Ten and make a national title run in 2024.