After naming Tim Skipper as their interim head coach last Sunday, the UCLA Bruins made another coaching move this Sunday, bringing in Kevin Coyle to help out with their defense following the departure of UCLA’s defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe.
Coyle will look to help out the struggling UCLA defense, which currently ranks tied for No. 122 in the nation, allowing 36.0 points per game. Coyle and Skipper are already familiar with each other, with Coyle serving as the Fresno State defensive coordinator while Skipper was their interim head coach last year.
Last year, Fresno State had the fourth-best scoring defense in the Mountain West Conference but Coyle was Fresno State’s DC before Skipper became the interim head coach, with Coyle running the Bulldogs’ defense since 2022, with Coyle’s defense ranking top-four in the conference in each season. When Coyle was hired in 2022, it was his second stint as Fresno State’s defensive coordinator, as he also held the position from 1997-2000.
Coyle has decades of coaching experience, having coached since 1978 where he began as a graduate assistant. The long-time coach has spent time in college football, the NFL and the AAF, where he served as the Atlanta Legends’ head coach. In the NFL, Coyle was the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator from 2012-2015 while also spending time on the Cincinnati Bengals’ coaching staff.
After Malloe mutually parted ways with the program, it makes sense for Skipper to bring in a coach with plenty of experience, both with coaching and with Skipper.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA brings in Kevin Coyle to help Bruins’ defensive staff after Ikaika Malloe’s exit
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
