The UCLA Bruins football team made a bold decision to fire head coach Deshaun Foster following a 0-3 start, marking just the second time since 1970 that the program has started the season winless through three games.
UCLA finished just 5-7 in Foster’s first year as head coach but showed some positive signs toward the end of the season, winning four of the team’s final six games, including three wins against Big Ten teams. However, with the program committing over $1.2 million for former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, expectations were sky high heading into the 2025 season.
Foster, a UCLA alum and longtime assistant under offensive mastermind Chip Kelly, coached just 15 games at UCLA, finishing with a 5-10 overall record. He inherited a tough situation at his alma mater. UCLA compiled a 45-49 overall record from 2016-2023 and 25 of those wins came in the final three seasons under Kelly with Foster among his top assistants.
Foster Was Quietly Building A Strong 2026 Recruiting Class
While Foster wasn’t having a lot of success on the football field, he was making headway on the recruiting trail. According to ESPN, Foster had put together the No. 21-ranked recruiting class in 2026, but that ranking might change in the not-so-distant future. That’s because seven high-profile recruits have already decommitted since Foster’s firing, including four-star offensive tackle Johnnie Jones.
Here is a complete list of the players who have already announced that they are re-opening their recruitment after Foster’s firing.
- 4-star OT Johnnie Jones
- EDGE Yahya Gaad
- DL Anthony Jones
- DL David Schwerzel
- LB Ramzak Fruean
- IOL Cooper Javorsky
- 2027 WR Demaje Riley
BREAKING: Four-Star OT Johnnie Jones has Decommitted from UCLA, he tells me for @rivals
The 6’7 315 OT from Bradenton, FL had been Committed to the Bruins since June
He’s ranked as a Top 100 Recruit in the ‘26 Class (per Rivals)https://t.co/cWhG2DAPO5 pic.twitter.com/9Y0T85uKAi
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) September 14, 2025
I am Officially Decomitted From UCLA, My recruitment is 100% Back open. #godsplan 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— Ramzak Fruean (@FrueanRamzak) September 14, 2025
Due to the uncertainty at UCLA, and speaking with my family, I’ve made the tough decision to decommit. Thank you to @CoachAKwon and the entire UCLA staff for everything. Excited to find where home will be! #RFTB @sjhhsfootball @FrithRobert @apjacobs
— Cooper Javorsky (@CooperJavorsky) September 15, 2025
Who Could Replace Foster As UCLA’s Next Football Coach?
Suddenly, the Bruins find themselves looking for a new head coach for the second time in the last three years. However, some interesting candidates have been linked to the program, including former defensive coordinator and current USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
Like Foster, Lynn was with UCLA during its best stretch in recent memory, serving as the defensive coordinator in 2023. He has since left for the same role at USC, helping the Trojans make tremendous strides on the defensive side of the ball. If hired, he would be the second-youngest head coach in the Power Four, behind only Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham.
Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, and former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald are among the other head coaching candidates to replace Foster next season.
