UCLA fires head coach DeShaun Foster after 0-3 begin

UCLA fired DeShaun Foster following a 0-3 start to his second season as the head coach of the program.

Tim Skipper, the team’s special assistant to the head coach, will take over in an interim capacity for the Bruins.

UCLA has been outscored 108-43 following losses to Utah, UNLV and New Mexico.

Foster, 45, was named the 19th head coach in the program’s history on Feb. 12, 2024. He replaced Chip Kelly, who departed to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

Signed to a five-year, $15 million deal with UCLA in February 2024, Foster guided the Bruins to a 5-7 record (3-6 in the Big Ten) last season. He was the team’s running backs coach from 2017-23 and also played collegiately at UCLA.

Foster was set to leave the Bruins’ program after the 2023 season and become the running backs coach for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders but returned when he was offered the head coach position.

“Serving as the head coach at UCLA, my beloved alma mater, has been the honor of a lifetime,” Foster said in a statement. “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.”

Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond issued the following statement:

“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,” Jarmond said. “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.”

Foster played at UCLA from 1998-2001, rushing for 3,194 yards and 44 touchdowns and earning second-team All-American honors as a senior.

Drafted in the second round by Carolina in 2002, he rushed for 3,570 yards and 11 touchdowns in 79 games (42 starts) with the Panthers (2003-07) and San Francisco 49ers (2008).

–Field Level Media