UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Weighs In On DeShaun Foster Hire
Former UCLA football head coach Chip Kelly left the Bruins on what appeared to be shaky terms, but he has only good things to say about his successor, DeShaun Foster.
With Kelly leaving late in the offseason, UCLA pivoted and made Foster their next head coach. Prior to becoming the Bruins' next head coach, Foster worked under Kelly as UCLA's running backs coach throughout Kelly's entire tenure with UCLA from 2018-2023.
During his press conference after Ohio State's first Spring practice, Kelly spoke highly of Foster while speaking to reporters.
“I think the world of him and I think he’s special, and the fact that they gave him the opportunity to take over there, it worked out. I didn’t have any say in that decision ... You know, I was gone. But I always thought that DeShaun would be a great head coach, and I’m really proud of him and that he got the opportunity to take that job."
— Chip Kelly, via Ohio State football on Youtube.
It's not surprising to see Kelly is a fan of Foster. Though the relationship between Kelly and UCLA seemed far from positive by the time he left, Kelly did keep Foster on staff after he was hired, even though Foster was hired by a previous coaching regime. Kelly also kept Foster on his staff for six seasons, and Foster's run offense produced.
In 2023, UCLA ranked 17th in the FBS in rushing yards per game, averaging 197.9 yards weekly. In each of Kelly and Foster's six seasons together, UCLA has averaged over 150 yards per game. In their last four seasons, Foster's run offense ranked in the top-20, and even ranked as high as sixth in the FBS in 2022, averaging 238.2 yards per game.
More than that, Kelly believes Foster would make a strong head coach. While Kelly's opinion wasn't taken into consideration in UCLA's hiring process, it's still good to hear a strong endorsement from someone who worked with Foster closely as he developed as a coach.
