Amid growing frustrations, UCLA has fired head football coach DeShaun Foster following the team’s rocky 0-3 start to the season. The former Bruin and NFL veteran coached the team to a 5-7 record last season and has been on UCLA’s coaching staff for the last 10 years.
UCLA lost to the University of New Mexico 35-10 at home last Saturday in what was said to be the final straw for Foster’s time at the school. This move comes right before UCLA’s Big 10 season opener at Northwestern University next weekend.
Tim Skipper, Foster’s previous special assistant, will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season, while Athletic Director Martin Jarmond begins his “immediate” search for a new head coach, according to their press release.
USC students, like Alex Feinstein, a sophomore public relations major, were not surprised by the decision. “[UCLA] clearly didn’t want to waste any more time and didn’t see Foster as the long-term solution to bring the program back to their standards,” Feinstein said.
USC alum and host of the Behind the Caution Tape podcast, Crash “CrashLit” Collier, had a similar reaction to the news. “As an SC fan, it’s always fun to see UCLA struggle, although part of me does feel bad for Foster because you could tell he was really passionate about UCLA,” Collier said.
Discussing how this move may affect USC and UCLA’s rivalry game in November, Feinstein said, “Sometimes a firing can bring a team together and gain some momentum, but with USC already having the more complete roster and stability at the head coaching position, it definitely tilts the rivalry even more in favor of USC this season.”
Collier was already excited for USC’s season, saying, “USC was the better team coming into this year and it’s now becoming more apparent, especially with the way USC started, whereas UCLA has struggled.”
Though Foster lost the crosstown showdown against USC last year, the team won four of its last six games, giving fans hope that the momentum would carry into this season. Adding to fans’ higher expectations for this season, UCLA acquired former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava from the transfer portal during the offseason.
Speaking about his dismissal in a press release, Foster said, “Serving as the head coach at UCLA, my beloved alma mater, has been the honor of a lifetime. While I am deeply disappointed that we were unable to achieve the success that our players, fans, and university deserve, I am grateful for the opportunity to have led this program.”
Benjamin Royer, a sports writer for the L.A. Times, said that UCLA fans’ reactions to the firing have been overwhelmingly positive.
“That’s not to say that they don’t like DeShaun Foster as a guy,” Royer said. “I think after the 0-3 start… fans were ready to see some change.”
As for what’s next for UCLA football, the school said in its press release that Jarmond and Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Erin Adkins will be putting together a “committee composed of accomplished sports and business executives and UCLA greats” to aid them in their search for a new head coach.