Los Angeles Dodgers manager and UCLA alumnus Dave Roberts provided some input in the Bruins’ search for a new head football coach after the football program parted ways with DeShaun Foster during the season.
Roberts takes great pride in his alma mater and wants to see it and its football program succeed after years of mediocre to poor results. UCLA’s football team has had five head coaches, when including interims, during Roberts’ tenure in L.A.
The Dodgers’ skipper has confidence that new head coach Bob Chesney, who led James Madison University (JMU) to a 12-1 season and berth in the College Football Playoff, will be the one to right the ship, via Ben Bolch of the L.A. Times:
“I just see him as a guy that failure’s not an option,” Roberts told The Times of the coach who has agreed to a five-year, $33.75-million contract. “He’s gonna win. I think I have a pretty good gut and read on people and I couldn’t have more conviction in coach Chesney.”
During the interview process, Roberts gauged Chesney’s drive to confront the array of challenges plaguing UCLA’s football program and received a satisfying answer:
“I also challenged him on, ‘Does he have the bandwidth to not only recruit to get his players to perform at a high level but also reintroduce the student body and the alumni back into and get us all excited about UCLA football?’” said Roberts, alluding to sagging attendance at home games. “And he didn’t bat an eye. … He was really adamant that he has enough energy and motivation to do that and understands the value of all of that together.”
While JMU had been a relatively successful program before Chesney took over in 2024, he led the football team to its first bowl victory in school history and its first College Football Playoff appearance in his first two seasons.
Recent UCLA football history
UCLA has not made the College Football Playoff since it was first introduced in 2014. During the BCS era, winning the national championship game or participating in a New Year’s Six bowl game was an indicator of a successful program.
The last time UCLA appeared in a New Year’s Six game was in 1999, when they lost to Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Their last major bowl win was against Texas A&M in the 1998 Cotton Bowl.
UCLA has finished the season ranked in the Top 25 once in the past 10 seasons, ranked No. 21 in 2022.
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