The DeShaun Foster Disaster Experiment is over at UCLA.
Sunday, less than 48 hours after one of the most humiliating losses in the program's more than 100-year history, UCLA fired Foster.
Embattled UCLA Athletics Director Martin Jarmond, whose relationship with previous head coach Chip Kelly was so acrimonious that sources told FootballScoop it drove Kelly to Ohio State after the 2023 season, issued the following statement about the firing of his hire, Foster:
"I want to extend my sincere thanks to DeShaun for his contributions to UCLA football over the course of many years," Jarmond said via UCLA statement, "first as a student-athlete, then as an assistant coach and finally as head coach. He was named to this role at a challenging time of the year, on the cusp of a move to a new conference, and he embraced it, putting his heart into moving this program forward.
"His legacy and love for this university are firmly established. His is a Bruin for life, and we wish him, his wife, Charity, and their family the best."
UCLA, which is not obligated to provide public details of its coaches' contracts, nonetheless will owe Foster a significant buyout after he was Jarmond's choice to replace Kelly, who helped guide Ohio State to the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship and then returned to the NFL, where's offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Foster capped his truncated UCLA run with an abysmal 5-10 mark; he did not make it to the mid-point of the season's opening month in his second season at the helm, a damning indictment of the program's direction in his brief tenure.
UCLA was absolutely annihilated in the season-opening game against Utah, a former conference rival but now a resident of the Big 12 after the Bruins joined former Pac-12 members Oregon, USC and Washington in joining the Big Ten before the 2024 season.
Industry sources tell -- and have been telling -- FootballScoop that UCLA has drastically fallen behind in the current college athletics landscape, which includes Name, Image and Likeness deals as well as the House Settlement revenue-sharing that's been ongoing since Aug. 1.
Where might UCLA turn?
It seems obvious the Bruins need a coach with a longer track record than that of Foster, who certainly didn't help himself by barring players from feature interviews with media last month but also inherited a situation from Jarmond that was hardly ideal.
Early names to monitor per sources speaking to FootballScoop this week -- Foster's firing was imminent -- and specifically today include USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi -- his L.A. ties run extremely deep -- and Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield, an offensive-minded head coach, as well as USF coach Alex Golesh - brilliant offense -- and Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson. Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein certainly looks like a future head coach -- both for what he's doing with the Aggies, who eviscerated Notre Dame's vaunted defense Saturday night and also for how far Kansas State has fallen offensively since Klein's departure.
UCLA, meanwhile, must slog through this season. The Bruins have an open date this week before traveling to Northwestern. They then host top-five Penn State, go to Michigan State and still have massive games against Indiana, Washington, Ohio State and heated rival USC.