How often will UCLA have the coaching advantage in 2025? A good coaching staff can hide a lot of deficiencies. DeShaun Foster has not gotten much respect in preseason rankings for head coaches.
Foster did a really good job with UCLA in 2024. The Bruins did not have a lot of overall depth. There were five NFL draft picks on the roster — and Foster deserves credit for developing those players — but the Bruins were undeniably shorthanded on offense, both in the passing game and along the offensive line. Four of the five NFL draft picks were on defense, where the Bruins created the backbone of a competitive team. They didn’t have a lot to call upon on offense. Foster did as well as he reasonably could. Yet, pundits don’t seem to be giving him any real credit.
That’s a discussion left for another day, however. Instead of ranking Foster, let’s rank the 12 head coaches he’ll face in 2025.
12. New Mexico Lobos: Jason Eck
Eck is a new face with New Mexico but after a successful stint in the FCS with Idaho, the Lobos were ready to hand over the keys.
11. Maryland Terrapins: Mike Locksley
Locksley served as Maryland’s Interim Head Coach in 2015, wasn’t retained, went to Alabama and brought home the Broyles Award just to be hired as the head man for the Terps in 2019. Since then, he’s gone just 33-41.
10. Michigan State Spartans: Jonathan Smith
Smith and the Spartans are in a similar boat as UCLA’s DeShaun Foster, entering his second season after a 5-7 debut season. Also like Foster, Smith is looking for improvement while remaining in a challenging conference where wins will be hard to come by.
9. UNLV Rebels: Dan Mullen
Mullen is entering his debut season with the Rebels but has plenty of experience with over 100 career wins. It’ll be intriguing to see how he fares after not being a head coach since 2021 while with Florida.
8. Washington Huskies: Jedd Fisch
Fisch was briefly UCLA’s interim head coach, spending two games at the helm with the Bruins where he went a very balanced 1-1, which included a loss to Kansas State in the Cactus Bowl. The jury is still out for Fisch in Washington as he’s set to enter his second season.
7. Northwestern Wildcats: David Braun
Year two didn’t go as well for Braun and Northwestern, with his win total being cut in half in the new-look Big Ten Confernece. Braun and Co. will look for a rebound season in 2025.
6. Nebraska Corn Huskers: Matt Rhule
Rhule proved himself as a coach with Temple and Baylor but he never found his footing in the NFL with the Panthers and has a record of 12-13 with Nebraska.
5. USC Trojans: Lincoln Riley
Lincoln Riley will look to depart from the hot seat in 2025. After a dominant stint in Oklahoma, Riley has been merely mortal with the Trojans, going 26-14 in his first four seasons.
4. Indiana Hoosiers: Curt Cignetti
Cignetti is entering just his second season with the Hoosiers but after earning an extension midway through last season, Indiana fans couldn’t have asked for a better start from the former James Madison head coach.
3. Utah Utes: Kyle Whittingham
Whittingham has been with Utah for the long haul, taking over head coaching reins back in 2005 after spending a decade as the Utes’ defensive coordinator. He’s been successful too, posting an all-time record of 167-86.
2. Penn State Nittany Lions: James Franklin
Franklin has methodically shaped the Nittany Lions into a juggernaut since taking over in 2014, leading Penn State to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, where they fell 45-37 to Oregon.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes: Ryan Day
Nobody could say a thing about Ryan Day’s coaching in the College Football Playoff, that sort of postseason success gets some more benefit of the doubt this regular season from Buckeye fans.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Ranking the 12 head coaches DeShaun Foster and UCLA will face this regular season
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
