Getty
Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers
UCLA was one of several Power Four programs this year facing the daunting task of finding its next head coach. The Bruins fired DeShaun Foster in the middle of just his second season in Westwood, giving the university plenty of time to identify their next leader.
When the search finally wrapped, UCLA selected Bob Chesney as its new head coach. Chesney spent the last two seasons at James Madison, where he went 21-5. He was honored in 2025 as the Sun Belt Coach of the Year after guiding the Dukes to a 12-1 record and a Sun Belt Conference title. Over nearly 20 years as a head coach across four collegiate levels, he’s compiled a 132-51 record.
The Bruins had months to conduct their search, as Chesney wasn’t hired until December 6 despite Foster being dismissed September 14. Why the delay?
Given the current structure of college football — with the portal, recruiting cycles and booster involvement — that likely played a role. But another factor was the search committee’s desire to hear from someone outside football: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Dave Roberts Was Part of UCLA’s Coaching Search Committee
According to USA Today’s Jordan Mendoza, during Chesney’s introductory press conference, it was revealed that Roberts played a key role in helping UCLA settle on the new head coach. UCLA’s athletic director, who was also part of the committee, said Roberts “supported the process purely out of his care for the program.”
Roberts played baseball for UCLA and was inducted into the Bruins Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. He served as captain of the 1994 team and was a two-time All-Pac-10 and NCAA Regional All-Tournament selection. He still holds UCLA’s career stolen base record with 109 and set the school single-season record in 1994 with 45.
While Roberts’ place in UCLA athletics history is cemented, his involvement in the coaching search further demonstrated how invested he is in the program’s overall success. He even carved out time to help the committee while preparing the Dodgers for a postseason run that ended in a seven-game World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. And he did it all for free.
“For Dave to even take the time to jump on a Zoom, it showed that he cared. He does care about UCLA,” former UCLA basketball player and fellow committee member Bob Myers said.
UCLA Hopes Bob Chesney Will Right The Ship
It has been a rough two-year stretch for UCLA football. The Bruins have gone 8-16 in that span, and the only reason Foster got the job in the first place was because Chip Kelly abruptly left to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.
But UCLA’s issues predate Kelly. Jim Mora delivered four winning seasons and two top-20 finishes in six years, yet even that brief success didn’t stick. Sustained relevancy has remained elusive.
Now, with the move to the Big Ten and continued disputes over leaving the historic Rose Bowl, UCLA finds itself at a pivotal moment. Chesney brings a strong résumé, but history has shown that winning consistently in Westwood is anything but easy. Whether he can change that narrative remains to be seen.
Shane Shoemaker Shane Shoemaker is a sports journalist covering college football and the NFL for Heavy.com. His work has also appeared in The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, USA TODAY, and ClutchPoints, along with high school sports coverage for the Marion Tribune. More about Shane Shoemaker
More Heavy on College Football
Loading more stories