In a stunning development, a third straight ugly loss for the UCLA Bruins has cost Deshaun Foster his job as head coach early in his second season.
“Sources: UCLA has fired coach DeShaun Foster. He started his second season there 0-3,” ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel revealed on Sunday afternoon.
After serving as an assistant coach on Chip Kelly’s staff, in February of 2024 the Bruins promoted the NFL veteran to the top job after Kelly left to be the offensive coordinator for Ohio State. There was surely risk in the hire, because Foster has never held a notable head coaching job elsewhere. However, being a current assistant and an alum helped the program make the case for his hiring.
UCLA owes DeShaun Foster over $6 million after Sunday’s firing
Well, that decision proved to be a disaster. In his first season overseeing the football program, the former Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers player finished with a 5-7 record in the school’s first year in the Big Ten. Since it was his year-one and in one of the best conferences in the sport, Foster was given a pass for the program’s 2024 results.
However, it seemed like the team had shockingly regressed to start year two. They had their doors blown off 43-10 by Utah at home. A late comeback fell short against UNLV as they lost 30-23 in Week 2. Then they were again pushed around at home against an unranked New Mexico team by the score of 35-10.
- Deshaun Foster record: 5-10
Making matters worse, is expensive transfer Nico Iamaleava has not looked good in his first season with the team, when he was expected to help elevate them into being a top 25 contender this season. That matched with a pair of embarrassing losses has cost Foster his job just 15 games into his tenure.
UCLA will be on the hook for a $6.24 million buyout. They could have waited until Dec. 1, when it would have dropped from 70% of his remaining contract to 60%, but clearly, Bruins administrators did not want to wait until the end of the season.
