Nine months before his debut in his first big-time college football coaching job, Bob Chesney sounded as confident as a running back with four downs to gain one yard.
Nothing could stop him, no matter the weight of the unique challenges ahead.
For instance…
How did he feel about UCLA’s lack of recent football success?
“To me,” Chesney said, “there is zero doubt in my mind that we can win here.”
UCLA coach Bob Chesney takes a photo with his family during his introductory news conference. The group includes his parents, Bob Chesney Sr. and Claudia; brothers, Vincent and Nicholas; wife, Andrea; and children, Lyla, Hudson and Bo.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A perceived lack of institutional support?
“Alignment,” Chesney said, referencing his shared vision with university officials, “was a word that continued to show up over and over and over again.”
That annoying crosstown rival?
“We don’t need to be the other school in this town,” Chesney said, “we need to be the school in this town and I promise that will happen here in the very, very near future.”
Unflinching in his belief that he could elevate his new team to the highest level, Chesney sounded a brazen, fearless tone Tuesday morning during his introduction on campus inside the Luskin Center, his words as comforting as the familiar tune of the school band that serenaded him.
The Bruins could use the swagger given their recent history. UCLA has not won a conference championship since 1998 and is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, including a 3-9 record in 2025 under predecessor DeShaun Foster and interim coach Tim Skipper.
This is a program that hasn’t registered anything of national significance since Bob Toledo won 20 consecutive games in the late 1990s and Jim Mora enjoyed a blip of success in his first three seasons from 2012 to 2014 before experiencing a significant dropoff.
None of that could discourage Chesney, 48, from becoming the first sitting head coach to abandon his job to join the Bruins since Pepper Rodgers made a similar move in 1971.
“I believe in the power of UCLA,” said Chesney, who has agreed to a five-year, $33.75-million contract that will pay him an annual salary of $6.75 million.
He’ll have extra support in his attempt to level up after taking James Madison to the College Football Playoff out of the Sun Belt Conference in only his second season with the Dukes.
Bob Myers, the former Golden State Warriors general manager who served on the search committee, said UCLA had committed to providing its new coach with resources that would rank in “the top third, maybe top quartile” of the Big Ten in a bid to give Chesney what he needed to compete with conference heavyweights. The Bruins have also agreed to a significant increase in their salary pool for assistant coaches to go with a revitalized name, image and likeness operation.
In a sign of his belief in the importance of the hiring, UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk joined athletic director Martin Jarmond in giving welcoming remarks, becoming the first chancellor at the school to do so at a coach’s hiring in recent memory.
“Today, we launch a bold new era for the UCLA football program,” Frenk said. “To lead us forward, we have made what I believe is a transformational hire who will ensure our program lives up to the storied UCLA athletics legacy.”
Chesney said his belief in UCLA was echoed by a search committee including Myers, fellow sports executive Casey Wasserman and Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters, a critical component of his willingness to embrace this opportunity.
“I don’t want to believe we’re in a place that doesn’t believe in itself,” Chesney said, “and those are three men that believe in UCLA and the power of UCLA at huge levels and I think that is important for us and our support.”
Competition has been a cornerstone of Chesney’s rise, the coach compiling a 132-51 record while orchestrating turnarounds at programs from the Division III, Division II and Football Championship Subdivision levels.
“Every single thing we do has winners and losers every single day,” Chesney said of his approach. “There will not be a day that goes by that we just kind of get by. And that’s, I think, really important, and that was ultimately the underlying theme in everything we’ve done up to this point in time. We don’t walk on the field on Saturdays not having been there before in almost every situational aspect you can imagine pressure on.”
Bob Chesney is introduced as UCLA’s new head football coach on Tuesday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Chesney appeared to covet stress, referencing his lack of sleep given his taking a new job amid unprecedented success at his current school. He indicated that he fully expected the run he’s had in two seasons at James Madison, which will open the College Football Playoff against Oregon on Dec. 20, to carry over to his new job.
“Those same exact dreams are dreams that we will have here,” Chesney said, “and those are things that we know we can do and that we will have the blueprint to doing. We’ve got to make sure that we get the right people involved to see those dreams all the way through.”
Chesney met with his new players earlier in the day, impressing them with his vision and exuberance.
“He has a lot of energy and cares about this place,” freshman linebacker Scott Taylor said, “and that’s what a lot of people want to see.”
Mixing humor with personal anecdotes in his remarks, Chesney joked that he was country singer Kenny Chesney’s first cousin and that the other Chesney would attend every game. He said his first coaching salary was $5,000 at a military college in Vermont.
Part of his success involved treating each stop like a higher level.
“When I was at the Division III world, we ran it like a Division II program,” Chesney said. “And when you got to the Division II world, it became more like trying to run it like an FCS program.”
Family, Chesney said, was at the foundation of everything he did. His father, Bob Chesney Sr., was his high school football coach. His grandfather was his offensive line coach. His uncle, Bill, was his receivers coach and one neighbor served as a filmographer and another as an equipment manager.
As evidence of this connection, most of Chesney’s immediate family filled the first two rows of seats inside a Luskin Center ballroom.
“I never saw this as, like, a profession,” Bob Chesney said of coaching. “I saw it as a way of life. … That’s what I watched my whole life. You know, growing up and I just thought that’s what we did. I didn’t know any different, that you could even call this a profession. To me, it was our ability to help young men on their journey, grow and become who they need to become.”
Furthering his inclusive approach, Chesney courted engagement from the UCLA student body, surrounding community and high school coaches, saying some of his staff would possess deep ties to the West Coast. He added that his team would offer free clinics, hold open practices and do everything it could to remain as accessible as possible.
As far as his coaching tree goes, Chesney said he had learned from many big names in the business — including former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former Louisiana State coach Brian Kelly and Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach — but wanted to embrace his own style.
“For me, along the way I was always looking for my own voice in trying to figure out how to do it my own way,” Chesney said. “I think that’s important. I don’t want to be like anybody else, I want to be me.”
A singular coach with a striking vision, Chesney made his case for a remarkable future at a place thirsting for something new.
