- UCLA football has struggled for over two decades due to a lack of administrative investment.
- Fans and alumni have grown frustrated with athletic director Martin Jarmond for failing to get the program back to relevant.
- UCLA is searching for another coach, but many believe the job’s attractiveness is hindered by administrative dysfunction.
As Rick Neuheisel emotionally watched his son Jerry be hoisted in the air by UCLA players after it pulled off a stunning upset of No. 2 Penn State earlier this month, he came to a realization.
“Evidence of what can be, right?” he told USA TODAY Sports.
It was surely a moment for UCLA, beating a team in the top 10 for the first time since 2010. But there lies the unfortunate reality: the win came in what has been a prolonged period of mediocrity − sometimes even disheartening.
It doesn’t sit right with Rick Neuheisel. This is the man that was the 1984 Rose Bowl MVP. A few years after that, an Oklahoma transfer named Troy Aikman dazzled in the blue and gold and was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Terry Donahue made UCLA a nationally relevant program in the 80s and 90s, with success continuing after his tenure to 1998, when the Bruins were a few plays away from playing for a national championship.
Since then, it’s been California weeping.
No conference titles in the 21st century. Just two 10-win seasons compared with 10 seasons under .500. Declining attendance at the Rose Bowl. Six different full-time head coaches – a list that includes Neuheisel – have failed to build sustained success UCLA.
“You’re starting to get known for having that lull. That dull moment where we’re not doing so well,” said Danielle Aparicio, who said she has been going to games for 20 years, starting with her dad in her youth.
Why is it that UCLA can’t succeed? Well, if you ask Neuheisel, those in the football industry and fans, it extends beyond the football field.
UCLA can’t stop getting in the way of its success.
Now as the Bruins embark on finding another coach at a critical juncture of its program, can they find someone able to save it? It’s certainly worth discussing, but perhaps there’s a bigger question to ask.
Is it worth it?
”Such great things were possible if we just would take the next step and build the front porch,” Neuheisel said. “Not just want to be a front porch.”
Why has UCLA football struggled?
Neuheisel’s UCLA coaching debut in 2008 came with great hype; the Bruins hosted No. 18 Tennessee on Labor Day. There were more than 68,000 people inside the Rose Bowl to watch UCLA pull off a comeback win over the Volunteers in overtime.
Neuheisel saw the game as a chance to capitalize on momentum. However, the athletic department and administration weren’t on the same page. Throughout his tenure, he said he was told several times the expectations externally were vastly different internally. Constantly told no and there wasn’t money to invest.
“You just couldn’t get anywhere,” Neuheisel said. “At least that was my frustration.”
It’s a problem that plagued the Bruins for the past two decades, with former athletic director Dan Guerrero and former chancellor Gene Block seen as the ones preventing major investment into football. While UCLA’s other sports were winning championships, football wasn’t.
What made a bad problem worse was Guerrero’s final hire at football, Chip Kelly. Guerrero fired Jim Mora, the only coach who won 10 games at UCLA this century and regularly brought 70,000 people into the Rose Bowl, and replaced him with Kelly in what was considered a home run hire.
But it was fool’s gold. For an administration that didn’t want to invest in football, Kelly was the perfect one in charge.
Not only did Kelly’s tenure begin with a five consecutive losses and a 7-15 record in his first two seasons, but the coach did little to advance the program. Recruiting wasn’t a priority. He had little interest in engaging with donors – let alone fans. When name, image and likeness was introduced in 2021 and the race was on to raise money across the country, UCLA was twiddling its thumbs at the starting line.
“In the age of NIL, you’re counting on fans to fund your program and build a roster,” said Spencer Stueve, UCLA alumnus and current season ticket holder. “UCLA didn’t have the personalities to kind of pull the donor base together to do that adequately.”
After Guerrero retired in 2020, Martin Jarmond was hired from Boston College to become the new athletic director. By the time he arrived, the fan base was growing increasingly annoyed with Kelly’s shortcomings.
Wins started coming, but interest waned. With each game, the Rose Bowl got emptier. Record-low crowds that made the prestigious stadium look like a ghost town, with tarps placed in both end zones.
It became increasingly clear Kelly was no longer interested in being a head coach. After the 2023 season ended, Kelly was reportedly interviewing for several coordinator jobs. UCLA needed to break away from someone that already had a foot out the door, but instead, Jarmond publicly stood by Kelly.
Less than three months later, Kelly bolted to Ohio State to become the offensive coordinator.
Pressure rises on Martin Jarmond
Jarmond’s inability to read the room led to the fan base turning on him quickly. Kelly’s departure couldn’t have been timed worse, when the coaching carousel already stopped, limiting his ability to find a successor.
Unbeknownst to many, Jarmond self-imposed 96 hours to find a new coach. He settled on former UCLA running back and then-assistant DeShaun Foster. He was beloved by the team, yet had no experience as a head coach.
It went exactly how you’d figure. The Bruins went 5-7 in his first season, and after generating hype with the arrival of transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava, UCLA started 2025 0-3, punctuated by an embarrassing home loss to New Mexico. Two days later, Foster was fired after just 15 games on the job.
There was discontent with Foster as coach, but not him specifically. The frustrations were toward Jarmond and how badly he fumbled the situation after Kelly’s exit. He took the blame for hiring Foster, but said “you make the best decisions with the circumstances and the resources that you have to work with.”
Fans aren’t buying that excuse. Since Foster was let go, fans in and around the Rose Bowl can be seen sporting “Fire Jarmond” shirts, and a plane has flown around with a banner that read “Fire UCLA AD Jarmond.”
“When you look at it, Martin Jarmond needs to be held accountable,” said Henry Valdez, a UCLA season ticket holder for 25 years. “They need to let him go too.”
Is the UCLA job desirable?
Now, UCLA is looking another reset. On the hunt for its next coach to take over permanently for the 2026 season. However, are the Bruins able to entice someone to take the job?
After all, it was Jarmond himself that said, “it’s an attractive job. It’s not an easy job.”
Scott Roussel, president of coaching news site FootballScoop.com, said he’s spoken to several former coaches that have told him people “should be tripping over themselves” to be UCLA coach. But like what many in the coaching world believe, the lack of administrative support is what’s scaring people away.
“They should have everything you need to be able to win conference championships, regardless of whether or not in the Big Ten. They should have everything you need to recruit locally,” Roussell said. “They should have more than enough money to secure the players they need and you should be able to compete for championships and live a great life there. It’s definitely viewed as a great job. The administration is what I hear coaches going ‘Eh, don’t love the current situation.”
Money is a central issue. UCLA’s athletic department has been operating in a deficit for years now, a driving force why the Bruins desperately wanted to be in the Big Ten with its guarantee of mone compared with the uncertainty of the Pac-12.
Yet, while UCLA has been trying to dig itself out of its hole, it hasn’t been effective in generating funds from a fan base that can provide it. The resources are there, but the administration hasn’t had the right person there to tap into it.
“There are 50 people who could do the job. It’s not that complicated. You have to get someone that could rally donor support,” Stueve said. “UCLA has a rich donor base. You just have donors giving to the hospital instead of football.”
With Jarmond’s job seemingly at stake, UCLA has shown signs it’s ready to take football seriously. The search committee, spearhead by Jarmond, includes financial juggernaut Casey Wasserman, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters, former player Eric Kendricks and seniors associate athletic director Erin Adkins.
There’s a new chancellor too in Julio Frenk, who comes from Miami and has told the Los Angeles Times he will be active in finding success in athletics.
On Oct. 14, the UC Board of Regents – which Myers is part of – approved the compensation parameters for the next UCLA coach, seemingly allowing the Bruins to spend big to find its next coach.
“I think they will have adequate funds to meet the demand in the right term. They will have enough to entice a coach they want,” Roussell said.
Is Tim Skipper an option at UCLA?
When UCLA fans were acknowledging the 0-4 start was rock bottom, they didn’t envision rising up so suddenly. Led by interim coach Tim Skipper, UCLA shocked Penn State and has won three consecutive games. Now, at 3-1 in Big Ten play, the Bruins head into a matchup against No. 2 Indiana on Oct. 25 in what has become a meaningful game, something few fathomed a month ago.
With how much things have turned around for UCLA, it’s pondering if the guy the Bruins need is already in Westwood.
“I don’t think their intent was, hey, ‘We’ll have Skip step in and he’s going to rip off a run of wins.’ I don’t think they ever thought that was going to happen, but here we are,” Roussell said. “As long as Skip and the Bruins keep winning, that changes everything.”
Now Jarmond is in a precarious situation. UCLA will obviously wait and see how the rest of the season unfolds, especially when it has Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State and Southern California on the schedule.
At 3-4, what final record would be enough for Skipper to be considered? And is this recent run a flash in the pan, or a sample of what could come?
Skipper is beloved within the coaching circle, Roussell added, with several people pulling for him to get the permanent role. The man himself said he hasn’t “thought about that one ounce,” but like any coach, wants to be one running a program.
Even though Skipper said he isn’t thinking about the future, his staff is acting like it. The interim staff continues to get recruiting commitments when there’s a high chance it won’t be back next season.
While he’s brought buzz and excitement back, Skipper surely doesn’t fit the idea Jarmond is looking for. Hours after Foster was fired, he told reporters he wants a coach “that sees a vision to take UCLA to the playoffs,” someone confident with the attitude and skills to make it happen.
UCLA’s future at stake
Rousell said Jarmond is testing the waters but is aiming super high, “looking for a home run.” He could decide to thank Skipper and let him walk, but what if he finds a permanent job and ends up succeeding? Or worse, Jarmond strikes out looking for that home run hire.
UCLA fans that spoke with USA TODAY Sports all said they want a coach that can get the resources to succeed, connect with fans and build its donor investment, giving NIL proper attention. Most of all, they want someone that will want to stick around.
“Jarmond’s got one more chance to get this right, otherwise he’s going to be shown the door,” said UCLA alumnus and season ticket holder André Hannie.
If UCLA can find the right hire and get support from the administration to fix a generation of wrongdoing, the Rose Bowl can find glory outside of New Year’s Day. In an area where World Series and NBA Finals are expected out of the professional franchises, those same lofty goals dictate investment collegiately.
There are a multitude of things to do in Los Angeles. If you aren’t winning or showing interest in doing it, it will be reflected in attendance or funding. Show those wildest dreams are obtainable, and they will come. Get it right, and the jokes about UCLA’s home crowd will stop, no tarps necessary.
“To think that we can be consistently there when we’re not willing to invest is folly,” Neuheisel said. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, I think is the definition of insanity.”