UCLA football’s (0-3) 35-10 loss to New Mexico (2-1) at the Rose Bowl Friday – which gave the Lobos their first win against a Power Four team since 2008 – marked the beginning of a brewing disaster in Westwood. But the $1.2 million dollars that the Bruins paid to play the Lobos may be the least impactful consequence to UCLA. Daily Bruin Sports editor Connor Dullinger gives his five main takeaways from what has transpired since the Bruins’ loss to the Lobos and its implications on the football program.
Skipper in, Fos out
Friday’s beatdown made it clear that former UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster was not fit to coach the program.
And UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond wasted no time firing the once-legendary Bruin running back.
Jarmond announced Sunday morning that Foster would be relieved of his coaching duties and that special assistant Tim Skipper would serve as the interim head coach while the program searches for its new leader.
Skipper was Fresno State’s interim coach in 2024 after former coach Jeff Tedford stepped down. Skipper led the Bulldogs to a 6-7 record and a bowl game. Skipper’s squad even faced the Bruins on Nov. 30 – the last game of the regular season – where the Bulldogs fell 20-13.
He also served as acting head coach at Fresno State for the 2023 New Mexico Bowl, when the squad captured a 37-10 victory against New Mexico State, giving Skipper a 7-7 career head coaching record. Before his interim duties, he was UNLV’s defensive coordinator from 2018-2019 and held assistant head coach positions at Colorado State and Central Michigan.
But Skipper has a mess to clean up after UCLA went 0-3 to start the 2025 season. To make matters worse, the Bruins face a difficult road ahead – traveling to Martin Stadium to face Northwestern before battling Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State and Indiana across a six-game span.
The reality, though, is that the Bruins’ 2025 campaign is already a wash.
Although Skipper must deliver strong finish to maintain players and attract recruits and transfers, the most important news will come when UCLA announces who its next head honcho will be.
Who is next?
Jarmond has the most important decision of his UCLA career ahead of him.
The second-most critical question was who to hire after former Bruin head coach Chip Kelly left the program prior to the 2024 season.
And we all saw how that decision turned out.
Now, Jarmond has to decide who can – and will – right a UCLA ship that has completely fallen apart in a fiery and ugly display. The athletic director is treating the decision with commensurate importance.
UCLA announced that the nationwide search for the program’s next leader has already commenced and that a panel, which consists of Jarmond, executive senior associate athletics director Erin Adkins and “a committee composed of accomplished sports and business executives and UCLA greats,” will arrive at a collective decision.
But they need to be careful and patient with this decision.
Jarmond waited three days to choose Foster – a decision that now looks like a mistake.
If UCLA does not tread carefully, it could end up in the exact same situation it is in today – and the Bruins may not get another shot at rectifying a mistake that has tarnished the program’s football reputation across the country.
I expect the Bruins to choose another former Bruin to lead the program, but this time, someone with years of coordinator or head coaching experience. I also envision Jarmond and company choosing a candidate from a big-time program in a big-time conference.
They want someone with experience at the executive level – someone who can handle recruiting challenges, donors and NIL – but also someone who has an expansive résumé when it comes to high-leverage coaching, and more importantly, winning.
Revolving door
As expected, decommitments from the program’s top recruits followed Foster’s firing.
Many players commit to the coaching staff – not the program or the school – in today’s college football landscape. Many of the guys who joined Foster will likely head elsewhere soon.
And some 2026 recruits are already out the door.
The Bruins’ top prospect from the 2026 class – four-star offensive tackle Johnnie Jones – decommitted after the announcement of Foster’s departure. Jones was ranked as the No. 13 prospect in the nation at his position, according to 247Sports. Defensive linemen and four-star David Schwerzel also announced his decommitments from Westwood – he also cracked the nation’s top 50 list at his respective position.
A trio of three-star defensive prospects in defensive lineman Yahya Gaad, linebacker Ramzak Fruean and inside offensive lineman Cooper Javorsky also decommitted from UCLA. Three-star wide receiver Demaje Riley withdrew his name from the 2027 class, representing the Bruins’ sole exit from that year.
But the flurry of decommitments will not stop there. I expect more to come as UCLA heads closer to the end of its 2025 season.
The only way to get back what was lost is to make the right hire at the top – that is how programs prevail.
A new window
The Bruins may only be three weeks into the season, but the transfer portal just reopened.
The NCAA allows athletes to enter the transfer portal the day after a coaching change. And with the Bruins only three games into the season, players still have the opportunity to redshirt the 2025 campaign if eligible.
With Foster’s departure, the 30-day window has opened. Given UCLA’s season trajectory, I would not be surprised to see some players waltz out the door.
And big names may leave.
The Bruins have already lost highly touted recruits, and will likely lose even more in the offseason.
But the floodgates could open well before the season ends.
So what now?
UCLA is winless.
The Bruins have no head coach. And, from the looks of it, no future either.
The schedule only gets tougher after the squad’s winless non-conference slate. UCLA still has to face No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 19 Indiana and No. 25 USC – with three of these matchups coming on the road.
And the gauntlet does not stop there. The team will also face Michigan State, Maryland and Nebraska – all of whom are 3-0.
The next nine weeks are going to be ugly. There is no way around it.
The Bruins are not going to suddenly turn it around or clinch a bowl berth. The only thing they can do now is focus on the future. And that starts with identifying players and coaches who will help the program achieve future success.
UCLA needs to clean house. The program needs to keep what works and scratch the rest.
Doing anything else would be a waste of time – and could plunge the program further into the abyss.
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