UCLA Bruins Football: A New Era Begins

The UCLA Bruins football program is undergoing a significant transformation. Following Chip Kelly's departure for the Ohio State offensive coordinator position, DeShaun Foster, a former UCLA star and NFL running back, was appointed as the new head coach. However, after an 0-3 start to the 2025 season, Foster was fired. The Bruins are now in the market for a new head coach.

The DeShaun Foster Era: A Brief Overview

DeShaun Foster's tenure as head coach was short-lived. Despite some initial excitement surrounding his hiring and the arrival of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the team struggled, leading to Foster's dismissal after barely a year. He ended his time with a 5-10 overall record.

The Challenges Facing UCLA Football

UCLA faces several challenges in establishing itself as a consistent contender in the Big Ten. These include:

Limited Resources: Compared to its Big Ten peers, UCLA lags in NIL resources and donor support.
Market Share: The Bruins are the sixth-biggest team in their Los Angeles market, making it difficult to gain traction even with success.
Financial Constraints: UCLA is not known for paying big money for a coaching staff, which is complicated by the high cost of living in Los Angeles.

Potential Head Coaching Candidates

Despite these challenges, the UCLA head coaching job remains attractive due to its Power 2 conference affiliation and access to local and national talent. Here are some potential candidates to replace Foster:

Tony White: White's name has gained steam in coaching searches, and he spoke with UCLA before the team hired Foster. He has since moved from Nebraska to Florida State, which opened the season with a massive win against Alabama and could challenge for the ACC title. White, 46, comes from the Rocky Long coaching tree and worked in Southern California as a San Diego State assistant from 2009 to 2017. He would be a first-time head coach, which could turn off UCLA, but he has the credentials to lead his own program.
Kalani Sitake: He's fairly established at his alma mater and would need some assurances -- beyond the Big Ten membership -- to leave a good situation in Provo. But Sitake also is in his 10th year at BYU and might want to restart his clock. The 49-year-old has spent most of his career at Utah but also worked at Oregon State and knows the West Coast and California recruiting scene. Sitake is 74-43 as an FBS coach and would bring an identity of physicality and toughness to Westwood.
Tommy Rees: He was born in Los Angeles and has ties to the UCLA program through his father, Bill, a Bruins assistant from 1979 to 1994 under Terry Donahue. Tommy Rees has quickly risen up the coaching ranks, earning offensive coordinator titles at Notre Dame, where he played quarterback, as well as Alabama and now the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Just 33, Rees was a strong candidate for North Carolina's head-coaching vacancy this past offseason and likely will be leading his own team in the near future.
Spencer Danielson: The 36-year-old grew up in Southern California and played college football at San Diego and Azusa Pacific before entering coaching. He has been at Boise State since 2017, he became the head coach late in the 2023 season and he led the Broncos to their first CFP appearance last year. Danielson, 36, is very connected to Boise State and has an easier playoff path there than at UCLA. But the school should certainly gauge his interest in returning to his home state and coaching in the Big Ten.
Tosh Lupoi: If UCLA wants to make a major personnel splash, like Syracuse did with Fran Brown, it could look at Lupoi, one of the more notable recruiters on the West Coast. The 44-year-old began his career at Cal, his alma mater, and then Washington before an extensive run with Nick Saban at Alabama and then in the NFL. He has returned to the college game at Oregon under Dan Lanning and last year helped the Ducks to a Big Ten title and a CFP appearance. UCLA has been too quiet for years, and Lupoi would definitely increase the volume in Westwood.
Deion Sanders: UCLA should make Sanders say no before even starting their coaching search. It doesn’t really matter what he would want in terms of control or money, they should make him say no first. There are still some question marks about some of his on-field coaching decisions, but Coach Prime’s star power and charisma would inject some much-needed life into the program in ways that no other person could. He would work well with a quarterback like Iamaleava. Sanders in L.A. would allow UCLA to get players it probably would not normally get.
Jonathan Smith: If Smith had waited just a few weeks before jumping from Oregon State to Michigan State two years ago, he probably already would have been the UCLA head coach. He’s a Pasadena, Calif., native who has won at every level up and down the West Coast and naturally knows the Big Ten well. It makes too much sense for both the Spartans and the Bruins for Smith to return home even if it’s a lateral move at best as a coach.
P.J. Fleck: Fleck has been in the mix for similar jobs in the past and would be the kind of coach and program-seller that UCLA could use. He’s won at an impressive clip at two different places that aren’t easy to win at (including a top 10 ranking at Minnesota and a BCS bowl at Western Michigan) and would be the type of energetic salesman that could break through in a market like L.A.
Jeff Monken: If UCLA wants to go against the grain in the Big Ten while still trying to shore up the foundations of the program, Monken is an easy choice. He’s not married to running the triple option, but could make the Bruins a tough out on everybody’s schedule each Saturday with the way he builds his teams. He captured a conference title in his first season in a league last year and has won a lot of games with an Army team that has zero NIL and an even more difficult path to getting players in the door than UCLA.
Bronco Mendenhall: There was a point several years ago when Mendenhall was at BYU that he came close to becoming the UCLA head coach before remaining in Provo, Utah. He’s a master at reviving programs from the dregs of a league and taking them to new heights and can point to the work he did at Virginia as a key selling point for skeptical Bruins. It will be tough for him to have two one-year stops in a row as a head coach, but he’d make an exception to get back into a job like this.
Dan Mullen: If you can’t beat him, hire him? Mullen is off to a 3-0 start in Las Vegas with a win over UCLA and remains one of the better play-calling head coaches on the offensive side of the ball. His tenures at Mississippi State (where he went 69-46) and Florida (34-15) look even better in retrospect given what some of his successors have done. The fact that you can separate player acquisition and coaching makes this a less risky hire than it probably was when he was still at ESPN.
Ryan Silverfield: Far from the flashiest of head coaches, Silverfield has quietly kept Memphis as a regular contender in the American and would be an excellent candidate for any number of jobs this cycle given the way he goes about his business. He’s got NFL experience, spent a season out west at Arizona State and would massively raise the floor in Westwood.
Tim DeRuyter: White will probably garner at least an interview this year for his excellent work turning around defenses the past few years. He’s able to be picky about his next stop, but it might be hard to pass up the chance to return to L.A. if it comes with some assurances about resources being put into the program.
D'Anton Lynn: Lynn probably should have been the pick over Foster once Chip Kelly departed two years ago, but he remained across town and has elevated the Trojans defense from awful to solid in short order. He knows the conference and local landscape and seems destined to be a head coach sooner rather than later.
Will Stein: Stein might be the hottest coordinator name this season with the way he’s continually kept the Ducks rolling despite numerous personnel changes since his arrival in Eugene, Ore. He’ll be picky when it comes to any head coaching openings he’s interested in. He’s a young coach who gets how to build a modern program in college football that UCLA could benefit from having in charge.

Key Players to Retain

With a coaching change, it's crucial for UCLA to retain key players who can contribute to the program's success. These include:

QB Nico Iamaleava: The Tennessee transfer was expected to bring attention and success to the program. The next coach will have to decide whether he's worth the high price tag, unless Iamaleava's camp makes that decision for UCLA by putting him back on the open market.
RB Anthony Woods: Woods has been a bright spot for the team, showcasing his talent as a runner and receiver. He's putting enough on tape to warrant some interest with one season of eligibility remaining.
CB Rodrick Pleasant: Pleasant is one of the fastest players in college football and has the potential to be a valuable asset in the secondary.

Key Recruits to Keep

UCLA also needs to focus on retaining key recruits who can shape the future of the program. These include:

OT Micah Smith: Smith is a highly-rated offensive tackle prospect who is close with Bruins offensive line coach Andy Kwon.
DE Carter Gooden: Gooden is a high-upside edge defender from Massachusetts who chose UCLA over several other top programs.
DT David Schwerzel: Schwerzel is a talented defensive tackle from Washington who picked UCLA over Stanford and Washington.

A Look Back: UCLA Football History

The UCLA Bruins have a rich football history, marked by periods of success and notable figures.

Early Years

The first UCLA football team took the field in 1919, coached by Fred Cozens. In 1920, UCLA began playing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

The Red Sanders Era (1949-1958)

Red Sanders led the Bruins to their first major period of success. His teams were always given a speech before the game against their cross-town rivals that always ended with "Beat SC!" In 1954, Sanders led the Bruins to the Coaches' Poll national championship, three conference championships, and an overall record of 66-19-1 in nine years. The 1954 Bruins compiled a 9-0 record and climbed to the top of the Coaches' Poll, sharing the national championship with Ohio State, winner of the AP Poll's title.

The Terry Donahue Era (1976-1995)

In the 1980s and 1990s, during the tenure of Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 151-74-8 record, including 13 bowl games and an NCAA record eight straight bowl wins.

Read also: Navigating Tech Breadth at UCLA

Other Notable Coaches

Edwin C. Horrell: His 1942 UCLA Bruins team lost to Georgia in the 1943 Rose Bowl.
William F. Barnes: He guided his teams to a 31-34-3 (.478) record.
Tommy Prothro: In the 1965 football season, the Bruins lost their season opening game 13-3 at Michigan State, who then rose to become the top-ranked team in the country.

Recent Seasons

Recent success has evaded the Bruins, though, landing them with a 16-19 overall bowl game record. The Bruins were twice the Pac-12 Conference South Division champions, earning the right to play in Pac-12 Football Championship Games in both 2011 and 2012.

Read also: Understanding UCLA Counselors

tags: #ucla #football #coaching #staff #directory