College Football Coach Hire Grades: UCLA

UCLA Bruins: DeShaun Foster

Why the job was open: UCLA has been lost in the wilderness for some time. Occasionally they have a good year here or there but it’s been a long time since they’ve been a true contender. Jim Mora Jr found occasional success, spent some time in the rankings and made a Pac-12 championship but eventually things fell off. UCLA swung big with Chip Kelly who once dominated the Pac-12 before. It took a few years to get started but once they did he got them decent success but never to the level they thought they were getting. It really became apparent that Chip is an X’s and O’s guy who doesn’t care to recruit, and his scheme only works at the college level. Oregon worked great for him because it essentially recruits itself, when some recruiting effort was involved Chip eventually got sick of it. He won too much to get fired but eventually he found a way out via the Ohio State OC job.

Coach Profile: This is a rare profile where a coach’s playing career is more notable than what they’ve done coaching. DeShaun Foster was a star RB at UCLA and was a starter in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. Injuries often prevented him from completing a full season but it was his performances in the playoffs that made him a household name, both during the run to the Super Bowl his rookie year and in a playoff win 2 years later. As is the case with many Running backs his career came to an end after 6 years. His college coaching career has been primarily coaching running backs, he’s been doing that for UCLA since 2017.

Why he will succeed: UCLA’s program needs a new energy in the worst way, as a UCLA alum and a younger coach Foster will absolutely bring that to the table. Alums have a very fond memory of him which could allow him to ignite their NIL program and get things going on the recruiting trail. He’s already been making ground here and getting the community more engaged.

What obstacles are in the way of success: There are many. UCLA is already struggling to find an identity with their football program and now they’re completely out of place in the Big Ten’s utterly ridiculous conference alignment. Outside of their former Pac-12 foes every road game is now a long trip for UCLA and oh by the way the last decade or so UCLA has been the least successful program of the 4 misfit West coast programs. Foster is also inexperienced, he’s never been more than a RB coach in college and hasn’t been a head coach at any level, jumping right to coaching a Big Ten team is quite the leap.

Grade: C- – This was a wild move to say the least, I was very surprised to see it happen. I have a tough time giving this a good grade, Foster is well known but very inexperienced. There’s a chance he rallies the program and gets things on the right track, but it’s also just as likely that he’s in over his head. UCLA has B1G money now so it was surprising they try for a more proven candidate.