The Fos Era is over.
UCLA football fired former head coach DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14 – a day after losing to New Mexico at the Rose Bowl by 25 points – and the team announced former defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe’s departure just four days later.
Thus, the program that Foster sculpted for the past year and a half crumbled within a few days.
“We love them (Foster and Malloe), but we have to move on to the next chapter now” said redshirt senior safety Key Lawrence. “We (are) trying to get our first win right now.”
Multiple recruits from the 2026 class have already decommitted from UCLA – with four-star recruits offensive tackle Johnnie Jones and defensive lineman David Schwerzel rescinding their Bruin pledges.
It is left to interim head coach Tim Skipper – who UCLA announced would take the reins from Foster the same day that the program fired the former Bruin running back – to pick up the pieces.
Skipper has filled multiple coaching roles throughout his sideline career.
The former Fresno State middle linebacker has served as a coordinator or assistant head coach for six different programs and also occupied the interim position last season at his alma mater, helping lead the program to a bowl appearance.
But Skipper will helm a team that has struggled on all fronts.
“We’re doing a great job knowing our assignments,” said redshirt junior running back Anthony Frias II. “(But) we just (have) got to execute, and as a team, we’re coming together and holding each other accountable.”
The Bruins’ air and ground attacks both rank in the Big Ten’s bottom five for passing yards and rushing yards per game despite hiring first-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri.
The Bruins’ new offensive weapons – redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava, tailback tandem junior Jaivian Thomas and redshirt junior Anthony Woods – have also struggled to find their footing in Westwood, failing to score more than 25 points and posting just 10 twice.
But controlling opposing rushing arsenals has been UCLA’s glaring weakness.
The team has allowed 244 ground yards per game, the fourth-most per game in the nation. The defensive unit’s inability to stifle opposing tailbacks has contributed to the squad’s 431 total yards allowed per game, which ranks dead-last in the conference.
The Bruins are just a year removed from boasting one of the conference’s top rushing defenses, when they held opposing teams to just 96.2 yards per contest.
But missed tackles have plagued the squad, which has contributed to the 5.5 yards per attempt opposing rushers have sported.
“I feel like we’ve lost because of our defense. It hasn’t been because of other teams – it’s been self-inflicted wounds,” Lawrence said. “We spend the first half of practice doing the fundamentals, because that’s where it all starts. We’re trying to finish it (games), and that’s how we’re going to keep the train rolling.”
A squad’s front seven typically generates the most tackle production, and the Bruins lost linebacker duo Carson Schwesinger – who recorded a conference-high 136 tackles last year – and 2024 Third Team All-Big Ten selection Kain Medrano to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Chisom and redshirt senior JonJon Vaughns filled the two vacant starting linebacker spots. And despite posting 72 combined tackles so far this season – good for the second- and third-most tackles in the Big Ten, respectively – they have seemingly failed to spearhead a formidable front seven unit.
Middle linebackers shoulder the “quarterback of the defense” title and are responsible for making on-the-fly adjustments depending on fluctuating offensive formations.
But although Chisom and Vaughns have achieved individual success, all the other front-seven members have each recorded 15 tackles or fewer.
UCLA’s defensive line has notched just two sacks through its first three games, which is tied for the fewest in the NCAA.
Yet, a new face joined the Bruins alongside Skipper, who could bolster the team’s defensive performance.
UCLA hired veteran assistant Kevin Coyle on Sunday to help helm the squad’s defensive arsenal. Coyle boasts more than 40 years of coaching experience as a coordinator or assistant coach and he has deep ties to Skipper, having coached him when they were both at Fresno State in the late 1990s.
“He is the godfather to me for football. (He) did a lot of teaching me the game,” Skipper said. “It’s where I originally started to learn how to play good defense, so the opportunity to get him is major.”
Although UCLA does not have the coaching staff that defined the Fos Era, the culture that the era instilled may still permeate the program.
Foster sought to embrace the fun of the sport while reflecting the football passion that he himself possessed. And despite the era’s conclusion, it appears that the team is still built on these pillars and is excited to start the Big Ten season.
“Football is all about energy and passion. As long as you find ways to compete, you give yourself a chance,” Skipper said. “Everybody has a number out there, but you also have a last name on the back of your jersey, so that name needs to matter, and you need to represent it in a positive way. I don’t care whether we’re bowling, playing football, whatever – compete to win, and we’re trying to build that atmosphere.”
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