UCLA feels the loss of D'Anton Lynn more than the departure of Chip Kelly

The UCLA athletic department was in a bit of a pickle when Chip Kelly left the Bruins. Now, it's not uncommon for a head coach to take a leave of absence, but Kelly left for Ohio State to take the offensive coordinator position.

The officials were let down, but they also had to replace another important coaching position within the football program, namely the defensive coordinator.

D'Anton Lynn transformed the Bruins' defense into one of the best in the country. If Kelly could have replicated Oregon's offensive success, UCLA would have contended for a conference title or perhaps more.

Not only did Lynn leave, he also moved to the cross-town rival USC Trojans, which made matters worse. UCLA replaced Kelly and Lynn with DeShaun Foster, a first-time head coach, and Ikaika Malloe, respectively. Until now. The yields were very low.

According to Matt Wadleigh of UCLAWire.com, losing Lynn was a much bigger blow than losing Kelly.

“It was clear that Chip Kelly was leaving and there were rumors that he wanted to go back to being a playcaller, so that wasn't too surprising,” Wadleigh said. “But Lynn's move to a division rival in the same city with the sales position was a shock by any standard.

“Ultimately there were money negotiations and Lynn must have sensed that change was coming and instead moved on to a top 25 program without a rebuild. All in all, a smart move.”

UCLA will be hard-pressed to get two or even three wins in the remaining schedule, and it's not letting up, starting with Oregon on Saturday night.