College Coaching Carousel: Will Chip Kelly be the savior at UCLA?

Despite coming off a 6-7 season, optimism reigns supreme around the UCLA Bruins football program.

That’s what happens when you hire Chip Kelly.

Kelly's star quickly faded in the NFL, but it still shines bright in the college game. From 2009-12, he led Oregon to a combined 46-7 record with two BCS bowl game victories and three top-five finishes. Most importantly, Kelly posted a 3-1 record against UCLA's most hated rival, USC.

Kelly was brought in to duplicate that kind of success with the Bruins. He turned Oregon into a national powerhouse, and now he'll be asked to make UCLA the best show in town.

Offensive philosophy

The calling card of any Kelly offense is the running game. His Oregon teams ranked in the top six in rushing yards per game every season while also finishing first in the Pac-12 each year. Furthermore, the Ducks averaged at least 42 carries per game during Kelly's tenure.

Kelly's rushing attack focuses on zone-blocking principles. He'll occasionally throw in some gap-style runs, but there will be a heavy emphasis on inside and split-zone reads and pin-and-pull sweeps:

The inside-zone read works because the quarterback is reading the back-side edge defender and the offense doesn’t have to allocate a blocker to him. That gives the offense an additional play-side blocker that it typically wouldn't have.

UCLA's two running backs from a year ago, Soso Jamabo and Bolu Olorunfunmi, are back for their senior seasons, and both should benefit from Kelly's run-heavy scheme if the offensive line can do its job.

The quarterback position is the biggest question mark. Sophomore Devon Modster, freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Michigan transfer Wilton Speight are involved in a fierce battle for the starting job - and the winner will greatly affect how the offense runs.

Speight is the most skilled passer of the trio but lacks the athleticism to get the most out of Kelly's game plan. For run-pass options and zone reads to work, defenses have to respect the quarterback's ability to run, but that likely wouldn't be the case with Speight. On the other hand, it wouldn't be a problem with Modster or Thompson-Robinson, as both bring dual-threat capabilities to the quarterback position.

The UCLA offense will rely on tempo, pre-snap movement, and space to create easy decisions for the quarterbacks and big lanes for the running backs.

If there's a black mark on Kelly's offensive resume, it's that he has a tendency to be stubborn and predictable as a play-caller, valuing speed and tempo over disguise.

Defensive philosophy

Kelly brought in his former defensive line coach, Jerry Azzinaro, to lead UCLA's defense, and Azzinaro will bring along his 3-4 scheme.

More specifically, the defense will run a two-gap base scheme, meaning each defensive lineman will be responsible for two gaps on any given play. This helps keep the linebackers clean at the second level so they can read and react to the play without being immediately inhibited by a blocker. The scheme should do wonders for UCLA's run defense, which allowed an FBS-worst 287.4 yards per game on the ground last season.

Here's a look at the two-gap scheme at Oregon under Kelly and Azzinaro:

UCLA's defense has been conservative in the past, but that won’t be the case under Azzinaro, who's been clear that he wants to field an aggressive unit that features a lot of blitzes.

In terms of the roster, losing linebacker Josh Woods for the season to a knee injury was a considerable blow to a defense that was already lacking in overall talent. However, sophomore rush linebacker Jaelan Phillips appears primed to stand out and should benefit from playing in Azzinaro's hybrid defensive end/linebacker spot. Safety Adarius Pickett is another returning starter who should make some noise this season.

Season outlook

After taking over a roster that went a combined 10-15 over the last two seasons, Kelly shouldn't be expected to turn water into wine. UCLA lacks talent, and it will take time for Kelly to recruit the kind of athletes to fully implement his plan.

The run game will be improved, but it may take time for the passing attack to catch up. Expect a lot of close games this season, as it may be tough for UCLA to blow out opponents without competent quarterback play. Thompson-Robinson's future looks great, but he's probably a year away from taking over under center.

Additionally, UCLA will face a tricky schedule this season, with five games against preseason top-25 teams. A midseason trip to Eugene to face Kelly's old team will certainly garner headlines, but the Nov. 17 matchup against hated rival USC will be the main attraction.

If Kelly can lead this roster to nine or more wins, enthusiasm around the Bruins will reach a fever pitch. Seven or eight victories might be more realistic, but Kelly's magic shouldn’t be underestimated.

Other entries in this series:

• Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee)
• Joe Moorhead (Mississippi State)
• Herm Edwards (Arizona State)
• Chad Morris (Arkansas)
• Willie Taggart (Florida State)
• Scott Frost (Nebraska)
• Dan Mullen (Florida)
• Kevin Sumlin (Arizona)

John Owning is a football writer at theScore. He has written for Bleacher Report and Football Insiders. He was also the lead NFL content editor at FanRag Sports. John provides analysis on the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News and edits for The Quant Edge. Find him on Twitter @JohnOwning.