Bob Chesney Begins a New Era for UCLA Football
LOS ANGELES — UCLA football entered the 2026 season with a new leader and a different identity as Bob Chesney took over as the 20th head coach in program history.
Chesney arrived in Westwood after two seasons at James Madison, where he built one of the most successful Group of Five programs in the country. He guided the Dukes to a 21-6 record, an undefeated Sun Belt campaign in 2025, the program’s first Sun Belt championship and its first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
His résumé extends well beyond James Madison. Chesney entered UCLA with more than 25 years of college coaching experience, including 16 seasons as a head coach. Before arriving in Los Angeles, he had already won eight conference championships and compiled a career head-coaching record above .700.
UCLA hired Chesney in December 2025 as the program looked for a coach capable of rebuilding consistency and establishing a stronger identity in the Big Ten. He also became the first sitting head coach hired by UCLA since Pepper Rodgers in 1971.
From the beginning, Chesney emphasized competition, consistency and how players respond when circumstances become difficult. Throughout spring practice, UCLA repeatedly worked through situational football while the coaching staff evaluated how a heavily reshaped roster handled pressure.
That roster transformation has been significant. UCLA entered the spring with 56 newcomers, including 43 transfers, as Chesney and his staff worked to quickly reshape the Bruins around a new system and new expectations.
The coaching staff also reflects Chesney’s approach. Dean Kennedy serves as offensive coordinator, while Colin Hitschler leads the defense. UCLA also brought in a large group of assistants across every position group as Chesney began building the infrastructure around his first Bruins team.
One of the most important pieces of the transition has been quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Entering his second season at UCLA, Iamaleava gives Chesney an experienced quarterback around whom the Bruins can build their offense. UCLA also added former NFL quarterback Derek Carr as a special advisor to the head coach, with Carr assisting in offensive game planning and quarterback development.
Chesney’s influence has also been visible in the way UCLA approaches preparation. During preseason camp, he made clear that he was less interested in how energized players looked on the first day and more focused on how they responded once fatigue, repetition and adversity became part of the routine.
That mindset fits the challenge UCLA faces in the Big Ten. The Bruins are still relatively new to the conference and must consistently compete against programs with deep rosters, physical offensive lines and established football cultures.
For Chesney, 2026 is therefore about more than simply installing an offense or defense. It is about creating a program capable of sustaining success over multiple seasons.
His track record suggests he has done that before.
Now the challenge is doing it at UCLA, where the expectations, resources and level of competition are all significantly higher.
The first season of the Bob Chesney era will provide the first real measure of how quickly that rebuilding process can take shape in Westwood.
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