UCLA fires HC DeShaun Foster

(News4usOnline) – The UCLA football team was outscored 108-43 through its first three games this season. In two of those three defeats, the Bruins lost to Mountain West Conference teams UNLV and New Mexico.  

Before falling to the Rebels and Lobos, UCLA received a 43-10 spanking at the Rose Bowl in its season-opening game against Utah. The Bruins’ 35-10 defeat to New Mexico was hard to swallow, but quarterback Nico Iamaleava voiced his confidence in Foster to lead the team in the right direction. 

“I totally believe in Coach Foster,” Iamaleava said. “He gives me so much belief to get in the building and go to work. He gives me that ‘want’ to go out there and practice, and practice hard. We’re doing him a disservice by not performing for him. He’s telling us everything we need to hear, he’s telling us everything we need to do, and we’re not executing as players. It all falls back on the players. Coach Foster’s done a great job, Coach Tino [Sunseri], and Coach Ikaika [Malloe] have all put us in great positions to win a game and we haven’t done that successfully.”

The day after Iamaleava spoke, the school announced it was moving in a different direction. After a 5-7 rookie season in his first year as the head football coach at UCLA, and seeing the Bruins get pummeled in two of their first three games, the honchos at UCLA had seen enough to move on from Foster.

The stunning announcement of the firing of Foster came down Sunday morning, the day after the Bruins had gotten manhandled on their home turf by the Lobos. 

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to DeShaun for his contributions to UCLA Football over the course of many years, first as a Hall of Fame student-athlete, then as an assistant coach and finally as head coach,” said Martin Jarmond, The Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. 

“He was named to this role at a challenging time of year, on the cusp of a move to a new conference, and he embraced it, putting his heart into moving the program forward. His legacy and love for this university are firmly established. He is a Bruin for life, and we wish him, his wife, Charity, and their family the best,” Jarmond added. 

This was not the closeout Jarmond and the UCLA family had anticipated when they hired Foster in February of 2024 to replace Chip Kelly as the head football coach. Foster’s tenure as UCLA’s head football coach lasted just 15 games. He finished his stint at UCLA with a 5-10 mark. 

Perhaps the saddest part of this breakup is that Foster is a lifetime Bruin. Foster played and starred as a running back at the school with All-American status. He would later become UCLA’s running backs coach from 2017 to 2023.  

“Serving as the head coach at UCLA, my beloved alma mater, has been the honor of a lifetime,” Foster said. “While I am deeply disappointed that we were unable to achieve the success that our players, fans, and university deserve, I am grateful for the opportunity to have led this program.” 

Jarmond and UCLA will conduct a national search for their next head football coach. Tim Skipper will serve as interim head coach for the rest of this season. Foster had some parting words to the student-athletes he coached and mentored.  

“You have been the heart of this program. Your dedication, resilience, and character – both on the field and in the classroom – have been inspiring,” Foster said. “Even in our most challenging moments, you stayed united and gave everything you had for your teammates and this university. You embody what it means to be a Bruin, and I am proud to have coached each of you.” 

Featured Image: PASADENA, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: UCLA Bruins running back coach DeShaun Foster during the college football game between the Alabama State Hornets and the UCLA Bruins on September 10, 2022, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)