Analysis: Four sorely needed fixes for UCLA football heading into the 2023 season

Pittsburgh wide receiver Konata Mumpfield scores a two-point conversion against UCLA defensive back Mo Osling during the first half of the Sun Bowl.

(Andres Leighton / Associated Press)

This one is obvious. Kelly needs to understand that his responsibilities don’t end with running a top-notch offense; the entire team is under his purview.

Sometimes it seems like he forgets this. Nick Aliotti, Kelly’s former defensive coordinator at Oregon, once said he never heard Kelly over the headsets when it came to having input on the defensive side of the ball, and maybe that needs to change.

Kelly certainly knows about defenses because he’s designed elite offenses to befuddle them going back to his days at New Hampshire. So why doesn’t he tell his coaches to stop the losing tactics like three-man rushes (see Pittsburgh, Sun Bowl) or unnecessarily large cushions (see Fresno State, 2021) on late defensive stands?

There’s also the matter of players constantly being out of position, running to nowhere and failing to make tackles, issues that haven’t been resolved after five seasons. How long will it take? Perhaps more important, how long will Kelly be given to continue ignoring this problem?

Change the staff, change the personnel, change the scheme — whatever it takes to end this eyesore.