UCLA HC Chip Kelly finally breaks silence on job security after thrashing Caleb Williams' USC - "I'm the happiest man in world"

In the last few days, there has been a lot of chatter and reports about the UCLA Bruins planning on parting ways with coach Chip Kelly. The 59-year-old joined the Bruins in 2018 and is in his sixth season of college football.

According to 247 Sports' Tracy Pierson, the Bruins could fire Chip Kelly following this week. However, if he wins against Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans, the Bruins could consider having him for the rest of the season.

Kelly would go on to win the week 12 contest against the Trojans 38-20 as the UCLA Bruins improved to 7-4 on the season. Following the win, Kelly talked about the rumors surrounding his job security.

He said that he had conversations regarding the same with members of the UCLA athletic department, including Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond. Everyone came forward to reassure him of his status as the Bruins' coach.

"Josh came over that day and said, hey, there's a report about this, and Martin told me it was inaccurate, inappropriate. I don't pay attention to that stuff, I don't read that stuff. I never see that stuff. I talk about being emotionally prepared and least distracted, why would I let something distract me? And then, if that's the case, then I'm a fool because I'm not doing what I'm telling our players to do."

"You can see by the performance today; it didn't bother the team. I never talked to the team about it, never talked to our coaches about it. We're just fortunate. We're all blessed that we get to play this sport and everyday that we get to coach it. I'm the happiest man in the world", Kelly said.

For Chip Kelly, beating the USC Trojans in their home ground is a mark of his coaching prowess. Fans may be upset about last weekend's loss to Arizona State at home, but Chip Kelly redeemed himself against the highly touted Caleb Williams and the Trojans.

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Chip Kelly's UCLA coaching career

UCLA USC Football

After a year as a studio analyst for ESPN in 2017 following his one-season stint in the NFL with the 49ers, Chip Kelly joined the Bruins in 2018. Unfortunately, his debut hit a rough start, as UCLA went 0-5 to start the season before finishing 3-9.

The next two seasons were also not fruitful for Kelly. UCLA finished 4-8 and 3-4 in 2019 and 2020, before seeing their first winning season in 2021 with an 8-4 campaign. Last season, the Bruins finished 9-4 and also played in the Sun Bowl, which they lost to Pittsburgh.

This season, Kelly helped the Bruins to No.18 in the AP poll last month. Can the 59-year-old end the season on a positive note?