By Michael Phillips | CABayNews

UCLA football has hit a crossroads. After a painful 3–9 season, no All–Big Ten selections, fading fan energy, and a program that hasn’t sniffed national relevance in years, athletic director Martin Jarmond needed a reset, not a headline. What he delivered on December 6, 2025, is exactly that: Bob Chesney, the most quietly impressive program-builder in college football.

The hire isn’t flashy. It’s not designed to dominate talk radio or win Twitter wars.
But it is designed to win football games, develop young men, and rebuild UCLA the right way.

And if Bruins fans are wondering whether they should be excited — the answer is absolutely yes.

Here’s why.

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A Proven Winner With a Builder’s Blueprint

Chesney, 48, arrives with 132–51 career record across every level of college football — Division III, Division II, FCS, and FBS. That resume alone is rare. What’s extraordinary is that he won big everywhere, usually inheriting depleted rosters and doing more with less.

At James Madison University, he went:

• 9–4 in 2024, immediately rebuilding after mass transfers
• 12–1 in 2025, winning the Sun Belt Championship, earning 20 All-Conference selections, and pushing JMU toward a College Football Playoff berth

This wasn’t luck. This was the Chesney model:

• Discipline and detail
• Culture first, schemes second
• Maximum development of overlooked players
• Second-half adjustments that shut opponents down

His JMU teams recorded six second-half shutouts in 2025. That is not normal. That is elite coaching.

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The Kind of Coach UCLA Hasn’t Had in Years

UCLA didn’t hire a celebrity.
They hired a leader — and one whose style fits perfectly with where the program is right now.

1. A Family Man With a Centered, Positive Approach

Chesney’s reputation inside the sport is gold: calm, grounded, relentlessly positive, and deeply committed to his players’ development on and off the field. He is the rare modern coach who can be demanding without being demeaning.

He’s not rattled by pressure. He doesn’t flinch when boosters push for change. He doesn’t lose the locker room.
He builds trust — and then builds winners.

2. A Player’s Coach, a Booster’s Coach, and a Program CEO

Talk to people around Holy Cross or JMU and the descriptions are identical:

• “Players believe in him.”
• “Boosters respect him.”
• “He’s all ball.”
• “Culture changes the minute he walks in the door.”

At UCLA — a massive program that has long needed cohesion from the top down — that trilogy matters.

3. A Grinder, Not a Diva

UCLA didn’t need Lane Kiffin flash.
They needed competence, consistency, and a guy who actually loves building.

Chesney is the anti-ego hire.
And that’s exactly what wins long-term.

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He Brings His Staff — and His System — With Him

One of the clearest advantages of the hire is continuity. Chesney is expected to bring much of his JMU staff with him, including assistants with SEC and Alabama experience.

This matters for two reasons:

● UCLA’s talent needs development, not turnover

The Bruins’ roster has underachieved largely because it hasn’t been coached up. Chesney’s staff turns two-star recruits into Sunday players. That alone should excite Bruins fans tired of wasted potential.

● System familiarity = immediate improvement

UCLA won’t spend 2026 reinventing its identity. The staff arrives fully formed, with:

• A top-10 scoring offense
• A top-10 scoring defense
• A defensive scheme that suffocates opponents after halftime
• A unified teaching language players can learn quickly

This is how turnaround seasons happen.

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Recruiting: The Secret Reason UCLA Will Benefit Fast

Skeptics may wonder whether a Northeastern coach can recruit SoCal.
But recruiting experts already agree: he’ll thrive.

Chesney has always won with:

• Under-recruited players
• Developmental prospects
• Transfer portal gems
• High-character grinders who buy into something bigger

Now imagine what he can do with:

• The deepest talent pool in America
• UCLA’s brand
• Big Ten exposure
• NIL alignment
• A fresh start via the transfer portal

He’s already landed his first commitments and begun retention talks with core players like Ethan Garbers and T.J. Harden. A handful of JMU players may follow him to Westwood — including potential impact starters.

The rebuild isn’t hypothetical.
It’s already underway.

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Why UCLA Fans Should Be Fired Up

UCLA needed a rebirth. They needed hope. They needed someone who could walk into a fractured program and fix it.

They got exactly that.

✔ A proven program-builder

✔ A leader players instantly respect

✔ A calm, steady presence in high-pressure games

✔ A cultural architect who wins without excuses

✔ A family man who resonates with parents, boosters, and recruits alike

✔ A grinder who will outwork the competition

Chesney took JMU to a level the program has never seen.
He did it with fewer resources than UCLA has even in a down year.

Give him 18–24 months — and watch what happens.

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Final Word: This Is the Smartest UCLA Hire in a Decade

No, it’s not a “Hollywood” hire.
It’s better.

It’s a competent, disciplined, culture-changing hire from a school that needed stability more than splash.

Chesney won at Salve Regina.
He won at Assumption.
He won at Holy Cross.
He won at JMU.

He will win at UCLA.

UCLA fans should be excited — because for the first time in a long time, the Bruins hired a builder, not a brand. And builders win.