Chip Kelly’s foray into NFL coaching ended badly, but his return to college coaching is off to an even worse start.
Kelly, now the coach at UCLA after being fired by the 49ers and Eagles, is off to an 0-3 start after a 38-14 loss at home to Fresno State. And Kelly is taking criticism from all corners, including from the father of his starting quarterback.
Michael Robinson, the father of Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, blasted Kelly on Twitter for “lousy coaching and play calling,” and said any success Kelly previously had at Oregon was “a fluke.”
Kelly said today that he wouldn’t respond.
“I have no response,” Kelly said. “I mean, everybody’s entitled to their opinion; that’s what’s the great thing about sports. When you win, people say good things and when you don’t win, people don’t say good things. That’s life, you know? But we all have to play better here. On the offensive side of the ball, we didn’t do a very good job on Saturday, so we have to call better plays, we have to execute better and we’re all in this together.”
UCLA fired Jim Mora last year late in a 6-7 season. But this season appears headed toward a record far worse than 6-7. The Bruins are likely to be underdogs in eight of their remaining nine games. UCLA has never lost more than nine games in the history of its program, but Kelly may be poised to give the Bruins their first ever 10-loss season.