UCLA hires Bob Chesney as football coach, aiming to revive struggling program

LOS ANGELES — UCLA hired Bob Chesney from James Madison as football coach on Saturday, hoping he can turn around a program that has struggled for years, including in its first two seasons in the Big Ten.

Chesney takes over from interim coach Tim Skipper, who guided the Bruins (3-9, 3-6) after athletic director Martin Jarmond fired DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14. Foster went 5-10 after taking over the program from Chip Kelly in February 2024. Skipper was hired as coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Wednesday.

Chesney becomes the 20th head coach in UCLA football history and the first sitting coach to be hired since Pepper Rodgers in 1971.

Chesney led No. 19 James Madison to a 12-1 record this season, with the Dukes making their case for a berth in the College Football Playoff after winning the Sun Belt Conference title game in his farewell on Friday. The Dukes hired Billy Napier as their new coach on Saturday, but the school said Chesney would coach the team if it is selected to the CFP. Napier was fired by Florida in mid-October.

“Bob Chesney has built programs into consistent winners at every stop in his career, and he’s ready to do it at UCLA,” Jarmond said in a statement.

Chesney, 48, will be introduced at a campus news conference on Tuesday.

He has been a head coach for 16 years, all on the East Coast, with a career record of 132-51. He comes to Westwood off two seasons at James Madison, where he was 21-5. The Dukes went 8-0 in league play. Chesney was named league coach of the year.

Prior to James Madison, Chesney spent six years at Holy Cross with a record of 44-21, including five straight Patriot League championships.

“From his detail-oriented approach to running a program, to his ability to connect, Bob impressed our search committee every step of the way,” Jarmond said. “He’s a leader, a consensus builder and a developer of young men.”

UCLA’s search committee was comprised of Jarmond, UCLA alumni Casey Wasserman, Bob Myers, Eric Kendricks and Adam Peters, who is general manager of the Washington Commanders, as well as Erin Adkins, the school’s executive senior associate athletic director.

At UCLA, Chesney will try to revive a program that hasn’t been a factor since joining the Big Ten last year.

“Through our many conversations, it became abundantly clear to me that UCLA is willing to do what it takes to build a championship-level program,” Chesney said in a statement. “This is a program that can and will win at the highest level.”