<a href="https://www.on3.com/sites/bruin-blitz/">UCLA</a> is <a href="https://x.com/On3sports/status/1995544600153293190">expected</a> to hire <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/james-madison-dukes/">James Madison</a> head coach <a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/coach/bob-chesney-243703/">Bob Chesney</a>, sources tell On3. The 48-year-old head coach has risen through the coaching ranks and was also a candidate in Penn State’s coaching search.



Chesney arrived at James Madison after Curt Cignetti’s departure, taking his coaching staff and most of his 11-win roster with him to Indiana. He’s gone 20-5 in his two seasons at James Madison. The Dukes are 11-1 this season and play Troy in the Sun Belt title game this weekend. Chesney is expected to coach in the College Football Playoff if the Dukes make the 12-team playoff. 



It’s expected to be a five-year deal for Chesney in Westwood, which will be formalized following the Sun Belt title game. He’s informed his team on Monday of his intentions to take the Bruins job. He went 44-21 at Holy Cross prior to James Madison and 44-16 at Assumption College prior. He brought in 64 new players last offseason, finishing his first season 9-4. 



UCLA fired coach DeShaun Foster in September following a winless start to the season. Foster, who was in his second year as the Bruins’ coach, went 5-10 during his short tenure. The move to hire Chesney comes outside of a traditional West Coast hire, but he has constantly won at every step of his head coaching career. He’s 131–51 as a college football head coach. 



The Bruins won consistently from 2021 to 2023 with head coach Chip Kelly. But Kelly left UCLA to take the Ohio State offensive coordinator job in February 2024, resulting in Foster being named head coach. UCLA has finished with seven losing seasons in the last 10.

Bob Chesney

On3 Football

UCLA expected to hire James Madison's Bob Chesney

team image

The Main Board

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Teams

Fan Sites

Forums

Shows

team-link

College Football News

College Football Player Rankings

College Football Rankings

College Football Playoff

College Basketball News

Women's Sports

College

NIL News

NIL Valuation

NIL Deals

NIL Deal Tracker

Sports Business

Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal

Transfer Portal Rankings

Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Transfer Portal

NCAA Transfer Portal Home

Football Recruiting

Basketball Recruiting

Database

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Commitments

Recruiting Prediction Machine

Recruiting

High School News

Schools

High School Search

Rankings

High School Rankings

Scores

High School Scores

High School

NFL Draft

NFL Draft News

Draft By Stars

College Draft History

College Draft Totals

NBA Draft

NBA Draft News

Draft

NASCAR

Culture

Sports Betting

About

On3 App

Advertise

Press

Contact

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

UCLA expected to hire James Madison's Bob Chesney

AP Poll Prediction

Deion Sanders

Bracketology update

OSU hires OC

Instant Impact