Reports: UCLA plans to hire James Madison's Bob Chesney as its next football coach

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Madison's Bob Chesney is expected to be hired as UCLA's new football coach, according to multiple reports Monday.

The Bruins have not yet announced a deal with Chesney, whose No. 19 Dukes are 11-1 heading into the Sun Belt Conference title game against Troy on Friday. With a win, James Madison has a chance to be in the College Football Playoff.

UCLA finished 3-9 this season under interim coach Tim Skipper, who replaced DeShaun Foster three games into the year. Foster went 5-10 as the stopgap replacement for Chip Kelly, who abruptly left the Bruins in February 2024, well after the year's coaching cycle had concluded.

The high-priced Kelly's underwhelming six-year tenure was the latest football disappointment for the Bruins, who have just three 10-win seasons and no conference titles in the 21st century. UCLA has had seven losing seasons in the last decade and is 6-12 in conference play in its first two seasons in the Big Ten.

The 48-year-old Chesney has stellar credentials after going 20-5 in two standout seasons at James Madison as the replacement for Curt Cignetti. Before that, the Pennsylvania native went 44-21 in six seasons at Holy Cross in the FCS.

His success made him one of the hottest candidates in the current coaching cycle, and UCLA quickly identified Chesney as a candidate to fix a program with significant potential beyond its recent achievements. Along with its attractive campus in talent-rich Los Angeles, the Bruins have solid training facilities in Westwood while playing their home games at the Rose Bowl ahead of a possible move to SoFi Stadium as soon as next season.

Foster was fired when UCLA got off to a dismal 0-3 start this season despite the arrival of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a Tennessee transfer.

Skipper, a well-liked veteran assistant coach, improbably led the Bruins to three consecutive wins over Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland before the Bruins lost their final five games.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/college-football