UCLA Football: 3 biggest 2021 offseason questions facing Bruins

1. Can Chip Kelly do enough to return as head coach in 2022?

So far in his first couple of seasons as head coach of the Bruins, Chip Kelly has not done enough to have his team become a legitimate contender in the Pac-12.

In his four seasons with Oregon prior, Kelly accumulated a 46-7 overall record and a 33-3 mark in conference play. This includes a national title game appearance in which they lost to the Auburn Tigers 22-19. Kelly helped turned the Ducks into a premier college football program that consisted of competing for national titles.

Kelly was brought to the Bruins to breathe new life in the football program and the recruiting trail. This past season was the Bruins’ best in the three years under Kelly. The Bruins closed the 2021 recruiting cycle with the 30th-best class in the nation and the fourth-best in the Pac-12. They had the third-best recruiting class from the state of California behind the USC Trojans and the California Golden Bears.

The Bruins are slowly trending in the positive direction of a competitive program once again. One slip-up this 2021 season and it will prove that coach Kelly has not recovered from his disappointing three seasons in the NFL.

This 2021 season is the best chance for Kelly and the Bruins to make a serious case for Pac-12 South. Anything lower than fourth place in the South might not be enough to prove that the Bruins are ready to compete consistently with Kelly.