Reports: UCLA plans to hire James Madison's Bob Chesney as its next football coach
James Madison head coach Bob Chesney returns to his bench after huddling up with his team during a timeout during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Harrisonburg, Va., Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. Credit: AP/Daniel Lin
LOS ANGELES — James Madison's Bob Chesney is expected to be hired as UCLA's new football coach, according to multiple reports Monday.
The Bruins have not yet announced a deal with Chesney, whose No. 19 Dukes are 11-1 heading into the Sun Belt Conference title game against Troy on Friday. With a win, James Madison has a chance to be in the College Football Playoff.
UCLA finished 3-9 this season under interim coach Tim Skipper, who replaced DeShaun Foster three games into the year. Foster went 5-10 as the stopgap replacement for Chip Kelly, who abruptly left the Bruins in February 2024, well after the year's coaching cycle had concluded.
The high-priced Kelly's underwhelming six-year tenure was the latest football disappointment for the Bruins, who have just three 10-win seasons and no conference titles in the 21st century. UCLA has had seven losing seasons in the last decade and is 6-12 in conference play in its first two seasons in the Big Ten.
The 48-year-old Chesney has stellar credentials after going 20-5 in two standout seasons at James Madison as the replacement for Curt Cignetti. Before that, the Pennsylvania native went 44-21 in six seasons at Holy Cross in the FCS.
His success made him one of the hottest candidates in the current coaching cycle, and UCLA quickly identified Chesney as a candidate to fix a program with significant potential beyond its recent achievements. Along with its attractive campus in talent-rich Los Angeles, the Bruins have solid training facilities in Westwood while playing their home games at the Rose Bowl ahead of a possible move to SoFi Stadium as soon as next season.
Foster was fired when UCLA got off to a dismal 0-3 start this season despite the arrival of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a Tennessee transfer.
James Madison head coach Bob Chesney claps after his team made a field goal against Coastal Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Conway, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. Credit: AP/Nell Redmond
Skipper, a well-liked veteran assistant coach, improbably led the Bruins to three consecutive wins over Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland before the Bruins lost their final five games.
