UCLA Football: Does Chip Kelly deserve to be on hot seat in 2020?

Entering his third year with UCLA football, Chip Kelly’s job got a lot harder after the Pac-12 went to a conference-only schedule. Should he still be on a hot seat?

In a normal season, Chip Kelly would be firmly planted on the hot seat as he entered his third year at UCLA.

Over his first two years manning the sidelines at the Rose Bowl, Kelly’s Bruins squads have gone a combined 7-17. Once lauded as an offensive genius during his time at Oregon, Kelly’s inability to light up the scoreboard in Pasadena would be a death sentence for a coach of his stature. One-win improvements year over year aren’t enough to save even the most reputable coaches, and the shine has definitely started to wane for Kelly.

After the Pac-12 announced it would go to a conference-only schedule for 2020, though, expectations were flipped on their head. A manageable non-conference schedule without any Power Five opponents offered a real chance to break through and compete for bowl eligibility. With that prime opportunity out the window, Bruins fans and the athletic department might also need to reset their expectations on what to expect of Kelly’s squad this season.

That said, there are plenty of parts and pieces that could contribute to a Bruins renaissance in 2020. Whether or not they can put everything together in a way that translates into wins is another question, especially with no slack in a schedule that could add a 10th Pac-12 game along the way.

In a normal year, Chip Kelly’s third season in Los Angeles would be a make-or-break year for the coach. There is nothing normal about the 2020 season, however, and it almost feels like most coaches will be playing with house money.

That said, let’s dive in to look at the offense and defense at UCLA before breaking down what remains of the Bruins schedule and making some predictions on how the next campaign will play out.