It was two weeks ago when a jubilant Martin Jarmond posted a video to his Instagram account of himself and UCLA players pulling the Victory Bell out of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 38-20 win over rival USC, though, didn’t stop Bruins fans from flooding the athletic director’s comments with messages to fire head coach Chip Kelly, who one week earlier had few answers in a 17-7 home loss to a last-place Arizona State team that had to experiment at quarterback.
Jarmond fired back at one particular commenter: “Read the room.”
This week, and following another lifeless 33-7 home loss to California in the regular-season finale, it was clear Kelly was set to return for a seventh season in 2024 despite the public pressure. So, on Tuesday, another disgruntled UCLA supporter decided to have a plane fly over the Wasserman Football Center with a banner that read: “Read the room — Fire Chip Kelly.”
It was a week that included five Bruins players — all part of the struggling, inconsistent offense — deciding to enter the transfer portal, including former five-star recruit and freshman quarterback Dante Moore’s backbreaking announcement Thursday.
Later that same day, word began to spread that UCLA quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson, an Oregon State alum and former quarterback for the program, was a top target and expected to be lured back to Corvallis for the Beavers’ vacant offensive coordinator job. No official announcement has yet to be made.
Then came perhaps the most crushing of all blows Friday night. That same rival UCLA’s defense limited to just 3 yards rushing came calling for defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, looking to make up for two forgettable seasons under previous coordinator Alex Grinch. An offer to double his salary to $2 million per season and a three-year deal, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, was enough to pour salt in the Bruins’ very public wounds. USC confirmed the hire in a matter of hours.
It turns out Jarmond completely misread the situation.
Early Friday morning, in an interview with Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke, Jarmond broke his week-long silence and cited a need for “continuity” for the program heading into its first season in the Big Ten while addressing the fan backlash.
