The UCLA Bruins have been searching for their next head coach since they fired DeShaun Foster three games into the season. LSU firing head coach Brian Kelly shouldn’t change that. It’s hard to think Kelly will make his way to UCLA. Other programs have a better chance of landing him and would make more sense, as College Sports Wire notes:
“Brian Kelly has experience winning at a Midwestern program which plays in cold weather and uses a grind-it-out style of football to win. The Midwest simply fits Kelly in a way the SEC does not. Do you think Kelly wouldn’t leap at the chance to go back to the Midwest and coach in the Big Ten?
“Brian Kelly’s LSU tenure is a mess, but Kelly made a BCS National Championship Game at Notre Dame and then two playoff appearances. That’s more than what James Franklin achieved at Penn State. Would this be a dramatic upgrade? Maybe not. Would it be an upgrade to some extent? Certainly.
“LSU might have lost to Vanderbilt, but Vanderbilt is at least a good team. Minnesota isn’t particularly good. The Golden Gophers struggled at home against Purdue and lost by double digits to Cal. Matt Rhule’s Nebraska got smoked by Minnesota, losing by 18. Penn State cannot settle for Matt Rhule. Brian Kelly might not be option No. 1 in Happy Valley, but he should be above Rhule on any Penn State hot board.”
Penn State and Michigan State make more sense for Brian Kelly than UCLA does. However, if Penn State and Michigan State go elsewhere, then this could get interesting from the Bruins’ point of view.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Should Brian Kelly’s firing affect UCLA’s head coaching search?
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
