UCLA fires football coach DeShaun Foster just 3 games into the season

UCLA fired head football coach DeShaun Foster on Sunday, just three games into what has been a disastrous 2025 season for the Bruins.

The team (0-3) confirmed the dismissal in a news release Sunday morning. It comes two days after the team lost 35-10 to New Mexico at home in the Rose Bowl on Friday, following a 43-10 beatdown at the hands of Utah to start the season and a 30-23 loss to UNLV in Week 2.

"I want to extend my sincere appreciation to DeShaun for his contributions to UCLA Football over the course of many years, first as a Hall of Fame student-athlete, then as an assistant coach and finally as head coach," said Jarmond. "He was named to this role at a challenging time of year, on the cusp of a move to a new conference, and he embraced it, putting his heart into moving the program forward. His legacy and love for this university are firmly established. He is a Bruin for life, and we wish him, his wife, Charity, and their family the best."  

Foster, 45, played running back at UCLA from 1998 to 2001 before a six-year career in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. He coached just 15 games for the Bruins, compiling a 5-10 record.

"Serving as the head coach at UCLA, my beloved alma mater, has been the honor of a lifetime," Foster said in a statement. "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."

He was the UCLA running backs coach from 2017 until 2024, when he was elevated to head coach after the shock departure of former coach Chip Kelly, who left the Bruins for the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State in February of that year. Kelly went on to win a national championship with the Buckeyes, and he is now the OC for the Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL.

The financial remainder of Foster's contract will be honored by UCLA, the school announced.

Special Assistant to the Head Football Coach Tim Skipper will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Beginning immediately, the school will conduct a national search for the next full-time head coach.