UCLA went with a familiar, beloved name in selecting the football coach to lead it into a new era. The Bruins hired DeShaun Foster.
The former star running back for the school who appeared in its last Rose Bowl game will replace Chip Kelly, the school announced Monday after completing a warp-speed search that lasted less than 72 hours and included 11 interviews and correspondence with more than 20 potential candidates.
While galvanizing a large swath of the fanbase, not to mention current players loyal to Foster as the team’s longtime running backs coach, the move comes with considerable risk. It will give UCLA the least experienced head coach in the Big Ten as it transitions into the conference in August and is reminiscent of the school’s hiring of Karl Dorrell more than two decades ago.
Like Dorrell, who was hired by UCLA in 2003 at a time when he was the Denver Broncos wide receivers coach, the 44-year-old Foster has worked only as a position coach and never called plays. Dorrell went on to coach for five largely uninspiring seasons before his dismissal.
UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond cited Foster’s integrity, energy, passion and ability to develop players in making a decision that will also save the Bruins money because it will allow them to largely keep their current coaching staff intact rather than pay buyouts as part of a complete overhaul. Foster also presumably came cheaper than some of the more established candidates UCLA considered, though terms of his contract were not immediately available.
Foster will need to hire an offensive coordinator in addition to a tight ends coach and running backs coach after Foster vacated the latter role to take the same post with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders before running a reverse back to his alma mater.
“This is a dream come true,” Foster said in a statement. “I always envisioned being a Bruin ever since I was young, and now being the head coach at my alma mater is such a surreal feeling, and I’m grateful for this opportunity. The foundation of this program will be built on discipline, respect and enthusiasm. These are phenomenal young men, and I’m excited to hit the ground running.”
Foster’s hiring will likely satisfy the UCLA players who backed his candidacy on social media and prevent a mass exodus among players whose 30-day clock to enter the transfer portal started ticking upon Kelly’s departure late last week. The Bruins could return almost every top offensive player, including quarterback Ethan Garbers, running back TJ Harden and wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant.
Known for a mellow, reserved personality, Foster will need to significantly energize the Bruins’ recruiting and name, image and likeness efforts that had sagged under his predecessor. UCLA’s most recent recruiting class — including transfers — is ranked No. 59 nationally by 247Sports.com, giving the Bruins their worst rating since the rise of recruiting services before the turn of the century.
Foster’s position had routinely been the best on the team over the last seven years as the Bruins cycled through several running backs who would go on to play in the NFL, including Zach Charbonnet, Josh Kelley and Demetric Felton Jr. The Bruins led the Pac-12 in rushing in each of the last two seasons, piling up 237.2 yards per game during a 2022 season in which Foster was nominated for the Broyles Award that goes to the nation’s top college assistant coach.
Born in Charlotte, N.C., Foster starred at Tustin High before signing with UCLA, where he scored three touchdowns in his first rivalry game against USC in 1998, a victory that marked the end of the Bruins’ school-record 20-game winning streak. He played in the Rose Bowl loss to Wisconsin at the end of that season and finished his career second on the school’s all-time list in touchdowns scored (44), third in rushing yards (3,194) and fifth in scoring (266 points).
His college career was not devoid of controversy. The summer before his junior season, Foster was issued a $250 ticket for possession of marijuana in Ventura County. A little more than a year later, with UCLA at 6-2 and still contending for a major bowl game, Foster was found to have been driving an SUV owned by actor-director Eric Laneuville. UCLA suspended the Heisman Trophy candidate for the season’s final three games for the violation of NCAA extra-benefits rules and the Bruins lost two of their final three games.
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