LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob Chesney started his UCLA football coaching era with energy, inspiration and a promise to win.
And already he’s sounding like a Bruin.
“We don’t need to be the other school in this
town, we need to be ‘the’ school in this town,” Chesney said with emphasis at his introductory news conference on Tuesday.
Chesney replaces DeShaun Foster, a UCLA alum who was fired in his second year after an 0-3 start this season and 5-10 record. UCLA finished the season 3-9, including a 29-10 loss to crosstown rival Southern California.
One of the things UCLA liked about Chesney was his rebuilding prowess. He’s won or led his team to a conference championship game within three years of being the coach. He’s coached at Salve Regina, Assumption, Holy Cross and now James Madison, where he’s taken his team to their best season in history, making the College Football Playoff. Chesney will stay to coach No. 12 JMU as it takes on No. 5 Oregon.
It’s always interesting when a coach gets a job to see if he’ll stay to finish out the season or depart for his new school. UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said he told Chesney early on that they supported him coaching JMU no matter how long the season lasted.
“It means everything to me. There’s really zero chance I would be anywhere that wouldn’t allow you to finish a mission you started,” Chesney said. “That would break everything in my mind. It would break the trust of those players and our relationship with them. It’s empathy. I wouldn’t want my coach walking out on us in a mission that we’re still committed to. To be honest, I feel funny being here a little bit, with them watching back at home.
“Ultimately, I’m committed to that mission and now I have to be dually committed to this responsibility when we walk through that door as well. I don’t think it would be an option for me anywhere if someone said, ’Walk away from your team, you have to be with us immediately.' I understand the work will get harder. I understand the hours will get longer, but that was important for me to do both.”
The coach search committee was a who’s who of Bruin alumni, including Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, executive Bob Myers, Casey Wasserman and more.
Myers said it was an honor to be part of the search.
“What stood out with Bob was that he won in a variety of places and shown the ability to lead and win in places where it was hard to win,” said Myers, who was at the introductory news conference. “UCLA, although it has all these national championships, we have struggled in football recently. To get someone we thought could build a program was important. Someone we felt could be here for 20 years and someone who wanted to be here for 20 years.”
UCLA hasn’t had double-digit wins since Jim Mora took the Bruins to a 10-3 season in 2014.
It’s more than winning for Chesney, who said UCLA has all the right ingredients from academic success to location to weather and more.
“We have found in Bob Chesney exactly the right leader to help bring greatness, pride and a winning tradition back to UCLA football,” UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk said.
Chesney’s personality shined brightly as well. When asked if he’s related to country singer Kenny Chesney, he joked: “Yes, he’s my immediate first cousin.”
Chesney is an East Coast guy, but he believes he and the staff he hires will make recruiting work on the West Coast.
“We have to be the premier program in the state. Zero doubt about it,” Chesney said. “We have to make sure we have deep ties to the West Coast. I need to make sure with high school coaches that we’re as accessible as possible and have open, free clinics. Open practices. … we have to do a good job of opening those doors.”
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