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UCLA football: Top 5 head coaching candidates who could replace Chip Kelly

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 16, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith looks onto the field during the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith looks onto the field during the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch watches game action against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch watches game action against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Jedd Fisch, Arizona head coach

Jedd Fisch has bounced around quite a bit throughout his coaching career and he’s had success at basically every stop. He’s been in multiple positions at the college level and has bounced back and forth between college and the NFL.

Now, he’s at Arizona where he’s led the program out of the gutter.

Before Fisch took over in Arizona, the program was essentially dead. Kevin Sumlin was leading the way and many hoped he would be the answer, but he wasn’t. Before that, it was Rich Rodriguez who flamed out. The Wildcats had a long uphill battle in front of them if they ever wanted to be relevant again in the Pac-12.

Well, all it took was hiring Fisch.

Since taking over, Fisch is just 13-21, but he was in the middle of a massive turnaround over his first two seasons, going from 1-11 in 2021 to 5-7 in 2022 and now the Wildcats are 7-3 to begin the 2023 season and they’re ranked in the playoff poll. He’s a winner (obviously).

Oh, and he’s coached at UCLA before, taking over as interim coach for Jim L. Mora back in 2017 when he was fired and went 1-1 before he went back to the NFL.

This hire would make a ton of sense.

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