DeShaun Foster rushes back to UCLA — and this time to replace Chip Kelly as coach

Three days after Chip Kelly decided to head to the Big Ten Conference, just not as UCLA’s coach, the Bruins announced Monday that DeShaun Foster is taking over the program.

With Foster, the Bruins get someone who understands the program. He starred as a running back at UCLA and coached at the school.

Foster had been the Bruins’ running backs coach for the last seven seasons until he was hired earlier this month by the Las Vegas Raiders to coach the same position.

But the 44-year-old is back in Westwood, where he enjoyed success during his UCLA playing days.

Foster helped the Bruins reach the Rose Bowl game after the 1998 regular season, the last time the school played in it. As a senior, he was a Heisman Trophy hopeful, rushing for 1,109 yards and 12 touchdowns before his 2001 season was cut short by an NCAA violation.

The Bruins acted quickly on hiring Foster after Kelly agreed on Friday to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. In six seasons, Kelly went 35-34 overall and 26-26 in the Pac-12 Conference with UCLA, winning one bowl game, the L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium in December.

Kelly is reuniting with Buckeyes coach Ryan Day. Kelly was New Hampshire’s offensive coordinator when Day was the school’s quarterback from 1998 to 2001. The two also worked together as coaches at New Hampshire and with the San Francisco 49ers.

Kelly, 60, moved on after UCLA’s athletic administration supported him, even though he was on the hot seat after the Bruins played dismally in a 17-7 loss to Arizona State on Nov. 11. A week later, he saved his job with an inspiring 38-20 victory over crosstown rival USC despite UCLA being dominated by Cal 33-7 a week later to finish the regular season 7-5.

Previously in major coaching moves, Jimbo Fisher got a jumbo buyout. Brady Hoke got an attaboy. Andy Avalos got bucked from the Broncos. Zach Arnett barely got a “how do you do.”

Then Nick Saban went out abruptly and was replaced just as abruptly. Alabama needed only two days to hire Kalen DeBoer away from Washington, where he went 25-3 in two seasons. Washington needed only two days to hire Jedd Fisch away from Arizona, where he turned around the program in three years and posted 10 wins in 2023, and Arizona needed only two days to hire Brent Brennan away from San José State.

And Jim Harbaugh left Michigan, where he won a national championship with his alma mater in January, to coach in the NFL again.

This time he will lead the Chargers. Harbaugh says the goal is winning “multiple championships” in Los Angeles. The Wolverines promoted offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to coach.

Those coaches are among the many who exited their jobs, creating openings in a market that can resemble musical chairs. More coaches are expected to retire (as Hoke did, from San Diego State) or be fired.

It’s safe to say that no other canned coach will emerge with anywhere near the buyout Fisher got from Texas A&M: $77.5 million, nearly four times what any other coach has received. Fisher is due nearly $19.4 million within 60 days and nearly $7.3 million every year through 2031.

A couple of weeks after the buyout, the Aggies named Mike Elko their coach. The former Texas A&M defensive coordinator returns to College Station after two seasons in charge of Duke, going a combined 16-9.

Let’s keep track of who jumps off and who jumps on the coaching carousel. This story will be updated with coaching changes throughout the year.

DeShaun Foster, UCLA: The Bruins are giving Foster, a former Tustin High standout and NFL running back, his first head coaching job. There weren’t many options to choose from when Kelly exited as most programs already had their coaches in place for the 2024 season. Foster’s familiarity with the Bruins can only bode well for UCLA, which enters the Big Ten next season with a difficult schedule that features games at Louisiana State, Penn State and Washington and home games against Oregon and USC.

Sherrone Moore, Michigan: The 38-year-old offensive coordinator is the Wolverines’ first Black head coach. In 2023, Moore filled in for Harbaugh four times when Harbaugh was serving two suspensions involving alleged recruiting violations and a sign-stealing scheme, and Michigan won all four games.

Ken Niumatalolo, San José State: UCLA lost a decorated coach when Niumatalolo left Westwood to replace Brent Brennan, who replaced Jedd Fisch at Arizona. Niumatalolo is the winningest coach in Navy history, going 109-83 in 15 seasons before being fired after the 2022 game against Army. He served as UCLA’s director of leadership last season and was promoted to tight ends coach a few weeks ago.

Brent Brennan, Arizona: Like falling dominoes, Saban’s retirement reached all the way to San José State when Brennan left to take the job at Arizona. Brennan agreed to a five-year deal with the Wildcats after seven seasons at San José State. Brennan, 50, led the Spartans to three bowl appearances in the last four years.

Jedd Fisch, Washington: The Huskies reeled in Fisch quickly after DeBoer exited for Alabama. Fisch rebuilt Arizona in three seasons — going from 1-11 in 2021 to 10-3 in 2023 — and the Wildcats ended this season with seven consecutive wins capped by a victory over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.

Kalen DeBoer, Alabama: With candidates Dan Lanning and Steve Sarkesian off the table, Alabama turned to DeBoer to replace Saban. What a meteoric rise for DeBoer, 49, who from 2005-09 was winning three NAIA titles at tiny Sioux Falls. After two seasons at Fresno State, he took the helm at Washington in 2022 and went 25-3, including 14-1 this season, losing in the College Football Playoff final to Michigan.

Jon Sumrall, Tulane: Sumrall, who led Troy to Sun Belt Conference titles the last two years, will come to New Orleans on a six-year contract. Sumrall replaces Willie Fritz, who was hired by Houston after leading Tulane to five bowl games in the last six seasons.

Willie Fritz, Houston: Fritz capitalized on a great run as coach at Tulane, signing a five-year, $22.5-million deal with Houston. Fritz, 63, led Tulane to a 23-4 record the last two seasons and to five bowl games the last six years.

Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee: Mason, 54, is coming home to an extent, having served as coach at Vanderbilt in nearby Nashville from 2014 to 2020. He is renowned as a defensive coach, having been the defensive coordinator at Stanford, Oklahoma State and Auburn as well as working in the NFL.

Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State: Sanchez, the coach at Nevada Las Vegas from 2015 to 2019, has moved from overseeing wide receivers at New Mexico State to coach. He replaces Jerry Kill, who unexpectedly stepped down after going 17-11 in two seasons, including 10-5 in 2023.

Gerad Parker, Troy State: Parker moves from Notre Dame offensive coordinator to take the reins at Troy State, which was 23-4 the last two seasons under Sumrall. Parker has served as Purdue’s interim coach and has been an assistant at Penn State, West Virginia and Duke.

Mickey Joseph, Grambling: Joseph, a former Grambling assistant and a Louisiana native, was interim coach at Nebraska for nine games in 2022 after Scott Frost was fired.

Manny Diaz, Duke: Most recently the Penn State defensive coordinator, Diaz posted a 21-15 record as the coach at Miami from 2019 to 2021 before being fired. Diaz also was defensive coordinator at Miami, one of six schools where he’s held that job, including Texas and Mississippi State.

Bob Chesney, James Madison: James Madison moved quickly after Curt Cignetti left to take the job at Indiana, hiring Chesney away from Holy Cross. Chesney, who agreed to a five-year deal, led Holy Cross to four FCS playoff bids in six seasons as coach, including winning four Patriot League titles in a row.

Curt Cignetti, Indiana: Cignetti was a highly successful coach at James Madison the last five seasons, posting a 52-9 record. He also was coach at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania for six years and FCS Elon for two years. He boasts a record of 119-35 and has never had a losing season.

Sean Lewis, San Diego State: The Aztecs went from a defensive specialist in Brady Hoke to Lewis, the offensive coordinator at Colorado under Deion Sanders. Lewis, 37, called plays for eight games before former NFL coach Pat Shurmur took over in the final month. Lewis was the coach at Kent State from 2018 to 2022 and enjoyed success as an offensive coordinator at Syracuse, Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois.

Trent Bray, Oregon State: Bray, 41, was promoted from defensive coordinator to coach to replace Jonathan Smith, who left for Michigan State. Bray has deep roots with the Beavers. His father, Craig, was an Oregon State defensive coordinator and Bray was recruited by Dennis Erickson and played for Mike Riley in Corvallis. He takes over an 8-4 program that was nationally ranked most of the season.

Mike Elko, Texas A&M: Elko, 46, spent the 2018-21 seasons with the Aggies as defensive coordinator under Fisher before taking the coaching job at Duke. In 2022, Elko led a Blue Devils program that was 0-8 in Atlantic Coast Conference play the previous year to a 9-4 record and a Military Bowl victory. Duke finished the 2023 regular season 7-5, including victories over Clemson and North Carolina State.

Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State: Lebby, 39, has been the coordinator for several offensive powerhouses, most recently at Oklahoma. He also served as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and Central Florida. Lebby, who signed a five-year contract, is the fifth full-time coach at Mississippi State since Dan Mullen left for Florida after the 2017 season. Mississippi State went 4-6 this season, missing a bowl game for the first time in 13 years.

Jonathan Smith, Michigan State: Smith led Oregon State to an 8-4 record this season amid the upheaval of the Pac-12 Conference. The former Oregon State quarterback took over as coach in 2018 and after three losing seasons turned around the program in 2021, taking the Beavers to the L.A. Bowl. In 2022, the Beavers went 10-3 and defeated Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl. Michigan State coach Mel Tucker was fired for cause in September amid accusations of sexual harassment. Five players left the program and under interim coach Harlan Barnett, the Spartans went 4-8, including a season-ending 42-0 loss to Penn State.

David Braun, Northwestern: Braun was an emergency interim hire after coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired in July amid allegations of widespread hazing in the program. Braun had been hired as defensive coordinator only a few months earlier, but he led Northwestern to surprise wins over Wisconsin and Purdue to become the first Wildcats coach to post six wins in his first season since Walter McCornack in 1903. Northwestern removed the interim tag from Braun’s title after the season.

Chip Kelly, UCLA: Kelly put together three straight winning seasons with the Bruins, but it wasn’t enough for him to stay in Westwood. The timing of his departure isn’t ideal with UCLA’s first game at Hawaii six months away before it makes its Big Ten debut against Indiana.

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: After leading the Wolverines to a 15-0 season and their first national title since 1997, Harbaugh takes his second NFL coaching job. He coached the 49ers from 2011 to 2014, and the franchise made one trip to the Super Bowl and appeared in three straight NFC championship games. In 2015, Harbaugh took the job at Michigan, and in nine seasons, he went 89-25 and coached in the playoffs in each of the last three years.

Nick Saban, Alabama: The most respected college coach in the country called it quits after 17 seasons at Alabama, where he built one of the best programs in the sport’s history. He won seven national championships — six at Alabama and one at LSU — and three came in the College Football Playoff era. This past season he led the Crimson Tide to the playoffs where they fell to eventual champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Saban coached one year at Toledo, five at Michigan State and five at LSU, compiling a career record of 297-71-1.

Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: Fisher was a hot commodity when the Aggies hired him in 2018, having posted an 83-23 record that included a BCS championship at Florida State. He never approached that success at Texas A&M, but winning records and bowl victories in his first three seasons triggered a new 10-year contract with $95 million guaranteed in 2021. Winning ceased, bowl appearances dried up and Fisher was fired even though the school must pay him a staggering $77.5-million buyout, dwarfing the previous record buyout of $21.7 million paid in 2020 to former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

Zach Arnett, Mississippi State: Arnett had been the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator for three seasons when he took over the reins after the sudden death of coach Mike Leach in December. He didn’t last a season, getting fired after a 51-10 loss to Texas A&M that also was Fisher’s last game. Mississippi State was 4-6 under Arnett and had trouble scoring. However, he’ll be paid a buyout of $4.5 million — half of the $9 million left on his contract.

Andy Avalos, Boise State: Avalos was fired Nov. 12, having gone 22-14 in three seasons in charge of a program used to winning at a far greater rate. The last five Boise State coaches left for Power 5 jobs. Avalos, a former All-Western Athletic Conference linebacker for the Broncos, had success as a defensive coordinator at Boise State and Oregon and likely will be hired quickly in that capacity again. How much is his buyout? Quaint, by Fisher standards. Avalos will be paid 85% of what his base salary was to be the next two years, a total of $2.85 million.

Brady Hoke, San Diego State: Hoke had two stints with the Aztecs, sandwiched around a four-year run at Michigan. He retired at the end of this season, having posted a record of 39-31 over those two stints. Hoke, 65, twice was named Mountain West Conference coach of the year. Like Arnett and Avalos, Hoke was a defense-first coach whose team had trouble scoring. He had three years left on his contract and a buyout of $5 million, which likely was reduced when he announced his retirement.

Dino Babers, Syracuse: After eight years with the Orange, Babers, 62, was canned with one game left in the season and one year remaining on his contract. Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile took over as interim coach for the final game against Wake Forest. Babers was 41-55 with two bowl appearances. His best season was 2018 when the team went 10-3.

Dana Holgorsen, Houston: The Cougars stumbled to a 4-8 record in their first season in the Big 12 Conference and it cost Holgorsen his job after five years at the helm. Houston posted 20 wins in 2021-22 while in the ACC but struggled along with other new Big 12 members Cincinnati, Central Florida and BYU. Holgorsen is owed a buyout of $14.8 million, but his deal includes a mitigation clause that could lower the amount if he takes another job.

Tom Allen, Indiana: A late-season upset over Wisconsin wasn’t enough for Allen to save his job, not after Indiana went 9-27 in the last three of his seven seasons. Allen, an Indiana native, went 33-49 overall, including 18-43 in the Big Ten. Allen agreed to a settlement of two $7.75-million payments that will not be offset by future earnings.

Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee: Stockstill, 65, lasted 18 seasons with the Blue Raiders and was the fourth-longest-tenured active FBS coach behind Kirk Ferentz of Iowa, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State and Kyle Whittingham of Utah. But MTSU finished 4-8 this season, the 12th season in a row it’s had five or more losses. Stockstill posted a career record of 113-111.

Dana Dimel, UTEP: Dimel posted a lackluster 20-49 record in six seasons and lost to Fresno State in the Miners’ only bowl appearance, the 2021 New Mexico Bowl. With Conference USA reshuffled, the job in remote El Paso might be less challenging than in the past.

Terry Bowden, Louisiana-Monroe: Best known as the son of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, Terry Bowden, 67, saw Louisiana-Monroe crater in his third season, going 2-10 and 0-8 in the Sun Belt Conference.

Danny Gonzales, New Mexico: Gonzales, a New Mexico alum, couldn’t turn around the program’s flagging fortunes in four seasons. The Lobos were 11-32 under him, with their best showing being this season’s 4-8 record. Gonzales came to Albuquerque after serving as defensive coordinator at Arizona State but couldn’t gain traction offensively.

Jerry Kill, New Mexico State: Kill unexpectedly stepped down after leading the Aggies to an impressive turnaround. They went 17-11 in his two years as coach, including a 10-5 record in 2023 and back-to-back bowl appearances. His 10 victories marked the school’s first such season since 1960.

Hue Jackson, Grambling: Jackson, who coached in the NFL from 1990 to 2018, was fired after going 8-14 in two seasons at Grambling. Jackson, who was coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2016 to 2018 and Oakland Raiders in 2010 and 2011, went 8-14 in two seasons with Grambling.