The UCLA Bruins couldn’t allow this to continue. If you don’t remove a cancer, it only grows. On Sunday, the UCLA Bruins fired DeShaun Foster as the program tries to stop the bleeding from one of the worst starts to a season you’ll ever see. Martin Jarmond, the school’s athletic director, is under fire for his ineffective stewardship of the program. UCLA is beginning a head coaching search. A search committee is involved, and it is unclear if Jarmond will have any meaningful role in the process.
Assistant coach Tim Skipper has been named the Bruins’ interim head coach. Skipper will have an off week to implement his coaching philosophy before the team hits the road to face the Northwestern Wildcats.
There’s a chance that if Skipper succeeds, he could remove the interim from his title, but the Bruins will likely be looking for a head coach in the offseason.
“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to DeShaun for his contributions to UCLA Football over the course of many years, first as a Hall of Fame student-athlete, then as an assistant coach and finally as head coach,” Athletic Director Martin Jarmond said. “He was named to this role at a challenging time of year, on the cusp of a move to a new conference, and he embraced it, putting his heart into moving the program forward. His legacy and love for this university are firmly established. He is a Bruin for life, and we wish him, his wife, Charity, and their family the best.”
While Jarmond said the right things in his statement, he might be the next to go. Jarmond hired Foster, which was a disaster so why would the UCLA administration let him choose another head coach? Jarmond is under contract through 2029, but UCLA proved on Sunday it is willing to pay expensive buyouts for the sake of the program.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: DeShaun Foster is gone at UCLA, but will athletic director Martin Jarmond stay?
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
