Following a 0-3 start to the 2025 college football season, UCLA football announced the firing of head coach DeShaun Foster on Sunday, Sept. 14.
The Bruins endured a 35-10 drubbing at the hands of New Mexico at home two days prior, leading to the firing. Two of UCLA’s three losses so far this season came at the hands of Group of Five opponents, which made it obvious a coaching change was needed with the Bruins heading for a bye in Week 4.
UCLA will owe Foster approximately $6 million in a buyout after he went 5-10 in two seasons as coach. Special assistant Tim Skipper will step in as the interim coach. But the search for the third coach since the 2023 season is already underway.
Who might the Bruins and athletic director Martin Jarmond turn to?
“It’s got to be someone that exonerates or exemplars are true brewing values, respect integrity and just understands those four letters,’ Jarmond said at a press conference on Sept. 14. ‘But we’ll be looking for a coach, quite frankly, that sees a vision to take UCLA to the playoffs. We want to win at the highest level, someone that has confidence in that vision and the attitude and the skills to see it through.
“We’re going to take our time with the search. There’s obviously not a rush,’ Jarmond added. ‘Now. We’re going to do it right. We’re going to be very organized. And it’s an attractive job. It’s not an easy job. There’s a distinction between those two. But we are in the Big Ten. We are at one of the top academic and at. Any programs in the country. We’re in the Big Ten. So I envision that this is an attractive job”
Here’s a look at some potential coaching options for UCLA:
UCLA football coaching candidates
Tony White, Florida State defensive coordinator
Tony White is likely going to garner a lot of interest in the coaching market this offseason. In his first season with the Seminoles, White has already led the program to an upset victory over Alabama, where he held Kalen DeBoer’s offense to 17 points.
White, who was a three-year starter at UCLA and team captain in 2000, is a two-time Broyles Award nominee for the nation’s best assistant coach. While he has not been a head coach at the collegiate level, White, 46, is a rising name in the coaching industry and could help his alma mater regain its relevance in the Big Ten.
White was considered for the UCLA job in 2024, but ultimately it went to Foster.
Will Stein, Oregon offensive coordinator
Another coach with no head coaching experience, Will Stein, has taken the reins of offensive coordinator for Kenny Dillingham and has not missed a step with the Ducks under Dan Lanning. At just 35 years old, Stein would be a good candidate to fill the role for the long haul for the Bruins and bring an advanced offense to Los Angeles.
The hope for UCLA, if they considered Stein, would be that he’s picked up on Lanning’s strategic coaching and attention to detail.
Stein is from Louisville, so the question is whether he would want to stick around the West Coast or head back closer to home for his first coaching gig.
David Shaw, passing game coordinator Detroit Lions
The former Stanford head coach could be an interesting target for UCLA. While he left the Cardinal following the 2022 season after two consecutive 3-9 seasons, he has a career record of 96-54 at Stanford, so he can clearly coach.
If UCLA wants an experienced head coach for its next man leading the program, it could not do much better than Shaw, who has a 5-3 record in bowl games. It will be interesting to see if Shaw wants to return to college football after accepting his first NFL coaching job with the Lions since 2005.
Jason Eck, New Mexico head coach
How about the coach who ended Foster’s UCLA coaching career as a candidate for the role? Eck is 2-1, leading the Lobos in his first year on the job after coming over from Idaho. He posted a 26-13 record with the Vandals across three seasons, including two trips to the FCS quarterfinals.
Eck was an offensive lineman for Wisconsin from 1995-98, and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Badgers. While he’s from Wisconsin, Eck has had stops with Colorado, Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Illinois State, Minnesota State, Montana State, South Dakota State and Idaho as a coach during his career.
Eric Bieniemy, running back coach Chicago Bears
Like White, Eric Bieniemy has never been a head coach in college football. However, he has extensive experience in both professional and collegiate settings. Bieneimy spent the 2024 season as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator with the Bruins. He also served as the running backs coach & recruiting coordinator for UCLA from 2003-05.
Bieniemy is currently the running backs coach with the Chicago Bears in the NFL. However, UCLA finished its season 5–7, ranking 117th in yards per game and 126th in points scored per game in 2024 under Bieniemy.
Dan Mullen, UNLV head coach
Sure, Dan Mullen’s previous stop as the head coach for Florida ended on a sour note. However, he is still very well-regarded as a good coach in college football. Mullen has led UNLV to a 3-0 start to the 2025 season, with an offense that ranks 53rd in the nation with 35.3 points per game.
Mullen has a 106-61 career record with Mississippi State, Florida and UNLV across 14 seasons and can coach up a good offense. He has coached future NFL QBs in Alex Smith (Utah), Heisman Trophy-winner Tim Tebow (Florida), Dak Prescott (Mississippi State), and Kyle Trask (Florida), in his career.
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota head coach
P.J. Fleck has already established himself as a strong coach in the Big Ten Conference; however, he may have already hit the program’s ceiling with Minnesota. A move to UCLA could potentially open up more resources for the coach with a career 90-62 record.
Fleck has been with Minnesota since 2017 and has a 60-40 record with the Golden Gophers across nine seasons. He has led the program to four straight bowl victories and is 6-0 in bowl games with Minnesota.
Barry Odom, Purdue head coach
Barry Odom is only in Year 1 with the Boilermakers, but he has already doubled Purdue’s win total from 2024 three games into the 2025 season. Odom successfully led UNLV to a 19-8 record in his two seasons with UNLV before heading to the Big Ten.
Odom has a career 46-34 record as a head coach, but has gone 21-9 since 2023 after a 25-25 record at Missouri in his first job from 2016-19.