UCLA’s recruiting class is ranked dead last in the Big Ten and 87th nationally, just above Georgia Southern, in the closely tracked 247Sports database.
You know what’s even worse than the Bruins’ recruiting? Their timing.
Chip Kelly’s public flirtations with other opportunities morphed into an outright divorce Friday when he left a Big Ten head coaching position in Westwood for a Big Ten offensive coordinator position in Columbus.
Kelly’s departure for Ohio State has forced UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond to conduct a coaching search in the middle of February, long after three coaches on the wish list committed to other schools.
- Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith, who grew up in Pasadena, relocated to Michigan State.
- Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, who spent one season as UCLA’s offensive coordinator (under Jim Mora), accepted Washington’s offer last month.
- San Jose State’s Brent Brennan, a UCLA alumnus, has already moved over to Arizona.
With Smith, Fisch and Brennan off the market, Jarmond is without an obvious candidate — a proven winner with ties to UCLA (or the area) who would have satisfied donors and fans and viewed the position, for all its challenges, as an upward move.
So Jarmond must get creative.
There are two options: Identify a permanent head coach to lead the program into the Big Ten next season; or appoint an interim coach for 2024.
Why even consider the interim route?
Because chancellor Gene Block is retiring this summer, and his yet-to-be-named replacement might be willing to spend the cash required to lure an established coach, resulting in a more attractive candidate pool.
(Block’s indifferent approach to athletics is one of the reasons the Bruins haven’t won a conference title during his 17-year tenure.)
Also, an interim coach likely would have a chance to keep the staff and roster intact.
The downside to that approach, of course, is the lack of permanence, boldness, commitment — all the qualities that an…
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