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Sam Settles It: Chip Kelly, Dorian Thompson-Robinson deserve their moment after years of doubt

Redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and coach Chip Kelly meet on the field after UCLA football’s win over USC in 2021. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By Sam Settleman

Oct. 9, 2022 7:03 p.m.

This post was updated Oct. 9 at 11:39 p.m.

Chip Kelly has heard it all.

Not the same coach anymore, can’t build a program, consistently inconsistent.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson has heard it all, too.

Not an NFL quarterback, doesn’t show up in big games, can’t lead a winning team.

“I don’t think any of us are governed by the fear of what other people say. It’s a tough society nowadays,” Kelly said. “Just go play football.”

And play football they did.

Through all the noise, the coach and his redshirt senior quarterback are proving each and every doubter wrong as UCLA football has raced to a 6-0 start – its best since 2005 – and the No. 11 spot in the latest AP poll.

Every poor play call, every bad throw and every losing season – Kelly and Thompson-Robinson shouldered every ounce of blame poured on by Bruin fans. Now, the coach-quarterback tandem deserves to bask in all the glory.

3-9 in 2018, 4-8 in 2019, 3-4 in 2020. Kelly and Thompson-Robinson had been written off, and 2022 marked one last chance to make it work. But make no mistake, this ascension has been years in the making.

Year after year, Kelly’s team got better – more complete, more disciplined and more confident. And year after year, Thompson-Robinson did just the same – smarter decision-making, increased accuracy and an indomitable spirit.

When everyone else gave up on them, Kelly and Thompson-Robinson doubled down. But even if no one else does, Kelly remembers when his quarterback went 30-for-36 against USC in 2020 and when he put up six touchdowns against the Trojans in 2021.

“I think some of us have selective memory when it comes to Dorian, but I don’t,” Kelly said.

Now the rest of the country is starting to wake up to what Kelly and Thompson-Robinson had long been brewing in Westwood.

Nine straight wins mark the second-longest active winning streak in the nation and the longest string of victories for the Bruins since 1998. The schedule excuse doesn’t fly anymore. This team is officially on a roll.

In back-to-back weeks, UCLA has put some of the best teams in the country to sleep with relative ease.

The questions about Kelly’s contract extension have been answered. The questions about Thompson-Robinson’s ability to lead a winning program have all but disappeared. Kelly looks like the captivating college coach who was promised, and Thompson-Robinson looks like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.

UCLA’s quarterback is showing that maybe it’s not Caleb Williams – USC’s preseason Heisman frontrunner – who is the best quarterback in the conference. Maybe it’s not Cameron Rising – the reigning Pac-12 champion in Utah – or Michael Penix Jr. – Washington’s breakout star.

Maybe it’s the quarterback who has been counted out time and again. The same quarterback that had fans clamoring for a replacement at times during his Bruin career. The same quarterback who was told he would never be drafted.

Six weeks into the season, Thompson-Robinson ranks among the top in the country in quarterback rating. He’s been deadly with his arm, dangerous with his legs and limited in his mistakes.

Above all, he acts the part. The same passion and energy that once drew criticism for being a facade have become Thompson-Robinson’s identity. With every flashy play and boisterous celebration, confidence mounts. As Thompson-Robinson goes, the Bruins go.

But don’t forget about Kelly, either – college football’s darling turned disappointment. Few coaches in the country have absorbed as much criticism as Oregon’s former offensive mastermind.

Quietly, though, Kelly had already turned UCLA’s offense into a juggernaut. Defensive disasters overshadowed a team primed for a breakout. And break out the Bruins did.

After years of constant complaints and illogical impatience, it’s time for fans to embrace Kelly and Thompson-Robinson as the duo that led UCLA back to relevance.

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Sam Settleman | Sports editor
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
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