Chip Kelly was a hot commodity on the coaching market and with good reason. After all, few have done a more impressive job in turning a program into a national power than Kelly executed at Oregon and, even with two relatively unsuccessful NFL stints, there is every reason to believe that he will be a quality option at the college level again.
In the end, Kelly chose to join the UCLA football program to replace Jim Mora, leaving interest from Florida on the table in the process. Now, we reportedly know why he made the decision to land in the Pac-12 for the foreseeable future.
Source tells me Chip Kelly really liked the #UF brass and was impressed by them and that made it hard but in the end he was more comfortable living on the West Coast than in Gainesville & with the opportunities at #UCLA.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 25, 2017
Kelly's success on the West Coast is well documented and it makes sense that he would be eyeing a return to that particular part of the country. In some ways, passing on Florida to take the UCLA job is jarring on the surface but, in the same breath, the Bruins seemingly fit Kelly's personality a bit better than a partnership in Gainesville would have.
The jury remains out on whether Kelly can overtake USC and aid in UCLA becoming a top-tier program in Los Angeles but, if he can't do it, there is every reason to believe that most could not.
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