New UCLA coach Bob Chesney has a career record of 131-51 in his time as a head coach. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
James Madison coach Bob Chesney is moving across the country.
After spending the entirety of his coaching career on the East Coast, Chesney is expected to be the next coach at UCLA, sources tell Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The 48-year-old led James Madison to an 11-1 regular season record as the Dukes will play Troy for the Sun Belt title on Friday night.
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Chesney has worked his way up through the college football ranks over the past 16 seasons and is 20-5 in two seasons at James Madison. Before he was at JMU, Chesney was the head coach at Holy Cross for six seasons as the Crusaders made the FCS playoffs four times. Prior to his time at Holy Cross, Chesney was 44-16 at Division II Assumption and had a 23-9 record at Division III Salve Regina.
UCLA got a head start on the coaching market when it fired DeShaun Foster following an 0-3 start. The Bruins won three straight games in October — including an upset of then-No. 7 Penn State — but ended the season on a five-game losing streak to finish 3-9 under interim coach Tim Skipper.
The Bruins are just 8-16 in their two seasons in the Big Ten as they’ve been, by far, the worst team to join the conference from the Pac-12. As Oregon, Washington and USC have each posted an eight-win season, UCLA is still looking for direction as it navigates the new college football world.
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Foster was hired to succeed Chip Kelly after Kelly left the program to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2024. UCLA had won 25 games over Kelly’s last three seasons for back-to-back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since Jim Mora was in charge in the early 2010s.
Hiring a coach with a track record like Chesney’s may be exactly what UCLA needs to become a contender in the Big Ten.
