A coaching autopsy: DeShaun Foster, UCLA

After just 15 games, UCLA ended the DeShaun Foster era -- if 15 games even counts as an era -- on Sunday. In reality, the DeShaun Foster era will be recounted as the DeShaun Foster error.

Foster was hired after its previous head coach, Chip Kelly, decided he'd rather be the offensive coordinator at a conference "rival" than the head coach at UCLA. That was the start of the problem. The other problem was that Kelly's move was universally regarded as the right decision for him. "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 AD Martin Jarmond.

Foster, 45, would not have been a head coaching candidate in 135 other FBS buildings. A 2-time First Team All-Pac-10 running back, Foster returned to the program in 2013 as a student assistant after a 7-year NFL career, and his only coaching experience away from his alma mater was a single season as the running backs coach for a 5-7 Texas Tech team in 2016. Not only would Foster not have been a candidate elsewhere, he wouldn't have been a candidate at UCLA had the nature of his predecessor's departure (leaving for a conference rival) and the timing (the second week of February) not been what they were.

Then again, Foster's 5-10 record was not all his fault. The fact that UCLA is in the same conference as Ohio State in the first place is part of the problem.

What was the high point? The players were certainly psyched when Foster got the job.

On the field, it was Nov. 8, 2024, when the Bruins defeated Iowa 20-17, the third in what would ultimately become a 3-game winning streak. 

What was the low point? Friday. 

Losing to New Mexico before a 4-digit crowd is bad enough, but Jason Eck ended the Foster era when he said this after his New Mexico team hammered UCLA 35-10.

“We’re gonna play better teams than UCLA. I know they’re a Power Four team, but there’s gonna be a lot of teams we play that are better than UCLA. It’s not (like) we just beat Ohio State or something, who’s ranked No. 1. We gotta keep getting better and improve on a lot of areas on our team.”

B-R-U-T-A-L.

Where did Foster go wrong? The Foster era will likely be remembered for his, uh, brief introduction at the 2024 Big Ten Media Days. In reality, Foster's biggest misstep was another media appearance. In August, Foster closed training camp to the media. 

"No, I'll let you guys handle all of that," Foster said, of marketing the program. "And I'm not worried about the marketing. Because what marketing does, if you win games, you're marketed. So we're going to go out there and focus on winning games. That's why we left for training camp. But if I was just trying to just let everything be open, we could have just stayed right here and did that. We're going to work and go away and come back and everything's going to be fine."

Narrator: Everything was not fine.

We live in an era where we're all competing for attention with the YouTube and Instagram algorithms. Completely closing off media access would be the wrong strategy in Tuscaloosa, but even more so in Los Angeles, where UCLA football is closer on the local pecking order to Mater Dei football than to the Lakers and Dodgers, let alone USC and the Rams. 

Did Foster go 5-10 because he closed the training camp to the media? Of course not. But it underscored a complete lack of understanding of what the job is, especially the job of UCLA head coach, in 2025.

What did Foster get right? The 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked 25th in the 247Sports composite. If that holds -- unlikely -- it would tie for the program's highest finish since 2018. 

Where did the program go wrong? Foster was definitely asked to skateboard uphill in a hurricane.

Should UCLA leave the Rose Bowl? Should they beg out of the Big Ten and re-join the Pac-12? Can they afford to? These questions are above the pay grade of the next head coach, but the fact they're being asked is a large part of the problem. 

Where does Foster likely go next? I'd look for a running backs job at the NFL level. He needs to continue learning and expanding his network after coaching under Jim L. Mora, Kliff Kingsbury and Kelly before taking over for Kelly.

Where should UCLA go next? The next UCLA head coach needs to convince his university, boosters, and local high school coaches why Bruins football should still matter to people. He'll also need connections at the G5, FCS and JuCo level to build through the portal, because this UCLA team is likely staring 0-12 in the mirror. He also needs to be an experienced captain who's steered through a storm or three. I'd see if former UCLA director of leadership Ken Niumatalolo is interested in leaving San Jose State.