In all three years before DeShaun Foster became UCLA’s head coach, the Bruins earned bowl-eligibility. Chip Kelly’s tenure may not have always been smooth, but he did have a winning record during his time there.
Bruins fans hoped their team would be even better when Foster started leading the program. But UCLA missed a bowl game last year, its first in the Big Ten, going 5-7 overall.
And this season hasn’t been any better. UCLA started off 0-3 with losses to Utah, UNLV, and New Mexico. That loss to UNM, a 35-10 defeat at home, was Foster’s last game as UCLA’s head coach before he was fired.
UCLA is now looking for a new head coach. Here are five potential candidates for the Bruins, three of them being current Group of Five head coaches and one of them being in the FCS.
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USC Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn
Among Power Four coordinators in the region, Lynn will probably be at the forefront of this conversation.
Lynn helped USC make massive strides in his first year there, going from 34.4 points per game allowed in 2023 to 24.1 in 2024. And he’s regarded as a rising star in the coaching profession.
He was previously the defensive coordinator at UCLA in 2023. The Bruins were top 10 in the country in total defense (301.5 yards per game allowed) and 14th in scoring defense (18.4 points per game allowed). UCLA allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game in the nation with 80.8.
Previously, Lynn was a safeties coach with the Baltimore Ravens and worked with the Houston Texas’ secondaries before that. He was also an assistant for the Los Angeles Chargers when his father, Anthony Lynn, was the head coach there and focused primarily on linebackers. He’s also worked for the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets in the past.
Boise State Head Coach Spencer Danielson
Danielson has been extremely successful as Boise State’s head coach. He has a 17-4 overall record and led the Broncos to the College Football Playoff in 2024. So it’s not clear if this is even a job he would want, but he would be well-suited for it.
After Boise State fired previous head coach Andy Avalos, the Broncos promoted Danielson to interim head coach. It was up to him to lead Boise State to a strong finish in 2023.
He did exactly that. The Broncos went on to win the Mountain West Championship over UNLV, and Boise State then made Danielson the long-term leader of the program. And he followed that up by leading Boise State to another MW title and a CFP appearance.
Going into the 2023 season, the Broncos’ defense was one of the best units in the country with Danielson at defensive coordinator.
In 2022, the Broncos allowed the sixth-fewest yards in the FBS (281.5 per game) and the 11th-fewest points (18.5). The season before, they allowed the 12th-fewest points (19 per game).
Danielson was a positional coach at Boise State before being promoted to DC. From 2013-16, he coached at his alma mater, Azusa Pacific. He was a linebackers coach and a recruiting coordinator there, so he does have southern California ties.
New Mexico Head Coach Jason Eck
Eck just helped New Mexico beat UCLA. Maybe that would grab the attention of UCLA’s decision-makers during this search.
Eck was one of the top head coaches in the FCS before going to New Mexico this last offseason. He went 26-13 as the head coach at Idaho from 2022-24.
In Eck’s third season at Idaho in 2024, the Vandals made it to the FCS Playoff quarterfinals. The Vandals went 7-4 during the regular season in 2022, earning a trip to the postseason for the first time since 2016, and were 9-4 a year later as they reached the FCS quarterfinals.
Before going to Idaho, he was the offensive coordinator at South Dakota State from 2019-21 and the team’s offensive line coach from 2016-19. Going back to 2000, he’s also been an assistant at Montana State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Western Illinois, Hampton, Ball State, Winona State, Colorado, and Wisconsin.
San Jose State Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo
Ken Niumatalolo was Navy’s head coach for more than a decade. But between his times at Navy and San Jose State, he was an assistant at UCLA in 2023, so he does know the program.
San Jose State went 7-6 overall, and with a couple key Mountain West victories, they earned bowl-eligibility again in 2024. Though they lost their first two games this year, the Spartans had high expectations this preseason.
Niumatalolo is 117-91 in the FBS as a head coach. Most of those games were from his time as Navy’s head coach from 2007-22. Niumatalolo is Navy’s all-time winningest coach with 109 wins.
During his tenure with the Midshipmen, Navy appeared in 10 bowl games as he was the AAC Coach of the Year three times. The Midshipmen won at least a share of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy eight times when he was the head coach and even more when he was an assistant there.
Niumatalolo was an assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Navy from 2002-07, and he was the head coach of the team for its bowl game during the last of those years.
He also coached running backs at Navy from 1995-96 and was the team’s offensive coordinator from 1997-98.
But he also has coaching experience in the western part of the country. He was UCLA’s director of leadership last year and UNLV’s tight ends coach and special teams coordinator from 1999-2001.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Hawaii. He played quarterback there and was a part of the program’s first bowl appearance in 1989.
Sacramento State Head Coach Brennan Marion
Marion was just hired as Sacramento State’s head coach this past offseason. But he’s another rising star in the coaching world. His name came up in several FBS coaching searches the past couple years.
In 2024, Marion was in just his second season as UNLV’s offensive coordinator. He did well with the Rebels and has other coaching experience in the western part of the country.
In 2023, UNLV was 22nd in the FBS with 34.4 points per game scored. A season later, they were 15th in the country with 35.4 points per game.
Before his time at UNLV, Marion was a passing game coordinator at Texas in 2022, a wide receivers coach at Pitt in 2021, a wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2020, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary in 2019, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard in 2017 and 2018, and a running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016.
