LA Times · Sep 22, 2025
Can UCLA overcome its perception problem to hire its next great football coach?
UCLA interim football coach Tim Skipper watches over practice at Drake Stadium last week. Is the UCLA football program truly on “rudderless” path or is there reason for optimism?One UCLA football legend sat across from the other, lamenting how far their beloved program had fallen.
On one side was Rick Neuheisel, a onetime Rose Bowl most valuable player and Bruins head coach, wondering aloud whether his alma mater had put itself in position to pick a strong successor to the recently dismissed DeShaun Foster.
“Is there confidence in the current athletic director when there’s been swing-and-misses,” Neuheisel asked, “or do you need to go find somebody else?”