Expected UCLA hire Bob Chesney gets his shot on Power 4 level
Bob Chesney has won everywhere he’s been. Now, in 2026, he will get his opportunity to prove that it can translate to the Power 4 level.
UCLA is expected to hire the James Madison head coach as the Bruins’ next leader, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
James Madison is currently 11-1 and preparing for the Sun Belt championship game Friday against Troy. In two seasons, the Dukes are 20-5 under Chesney after he took over once Curt Cignetti left the program and took a significant part of the roster and staff with him to Indiana.
James Madison ranked 21st in scoring defense (20.5) and 23rd in total defense (321.8) while ranking 26th in scoring offense (33.3) in the first year under Chesney. It also led the country in both turnover margin (1.54) and fewest interceptions thrown (4) while also ranking third in fewest turnovers (9), total takeaways (29) and pick-sixes (4).
This season, the Dukes are currently 19th nationally in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and are still alive in their bid to grab the Group of 5 spot in the College Football Playoff. The offense has improved to 37.8 points per game, the nation’s 10th-best mark. The defense’s 16.0 points allowed per game also ranks 10th.
Chesney, 48, is expected to coach James Madison if it qualifies for the 12-team playoff before reporting to UCLA and begin his next rebuild, according to On3.
Before taking over, Chesney spent six seasons at Holy Cross from 2018 to 2023. He won five Patriot League titles, was named its coach of the year three times and posted a 44-21 record.
Chesney also had a combined eight consecutive winning seasons at Division II Assumption College (2013-17) and Division III Salve Regina (2010-12), making for quite the road to Westwood. Other previous stops include Norwich, Delaware Valley, King’s College and Johns Hopkins, marking UCLA as his first job of any kind on the sport’s Power 4 level.
UCLA fired DeShaun Foster after just 15 games, including an 0-3 start this year in his second season. The Bruins won three consecutive games in October under interim head coach Tim Skipper and fill-in coordinators Kevin Coyle and Jerry Neuheisel before finishing the season 3-9 with five consecutive losses.
While Foster was a rushed hire late in a coaching carousel in 2024 after predecessor Chip Kelly did not leave until February to take an offensive coordinator job at Ohio State, the Bruins were then among the first programs to have a vacancy in mid-September. More than two months later, UCLA landed one of the consensus up-and-comers in the coaching ranks to be the program’s 20th head coach.
