DeShaun Foster fired by UCLA 3 games into second season

DeShaun Foster was named UCLA‘s head coach after the 2023 season. After a 5-7 record in 2024 and a 0-3 start to 2025, his time on the Bruins’ sideline has come to an end.

On Sunday, after a 35-10 loss to New Mexico at the Rose Bowl, Foster was fired, UCLA announced. That made him the first Power 4 coach in the 2025 season to lose his job.

Foster served as the Bruins’ running backs coach from 2017 to 2023 before being hired to the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders in February 2024. But he returned to Westwood not long afterwards to replace Chip Kelly, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

The Bruins started 2024 with a 1-5 mark but recovered to finish the regular season 4-2. The 2025 season brought with it high expectations as quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred from Tennessee.

But UCLA’s struggles continued. It opened the season with a 43-10 loss to Utah before a 30-23 defeat at UNLV. Saturday’s loss to New Mexico, in front of a sparse crowd in Pasadena, sealed the fate of Foster. Iamaleava, for his part, has thrown for just 608 yards with 3 touchdowns versus 3 interceptions.

Tim Skipper, named a special assistant to the head coach ahead of the season, will lead the program on an interim basis.