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A video shared online shows the UCLA football team reacting to the re-hiring of former running backs coach Hall of Fame alum DeShaun Foster as head coach on Monday (February 12).
Foster, 44, spent the past seven seasons working as the Bruins' running backs coach before accepting the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders last week. The UCLA Hall of Fame running back was announced as the team's next head coach on Monday, three days after Chip Kelly's decision to accept the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State.
"We want somebody that wants to be a Bruin. Well, we didn't get somebody that wants to be a Bruin, we got a Bruin. Come on out, coach. Your new head coach," said athletic director Martin Jarmond before Foster took the stage, which was met by an excited cheer and hugs from the team.
The Bruins suddenly had a head coaching vacancy after Kelly accepted the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State last Friday (February 9). Kelly's departure followed a similar domino effect to Foster's hiring as Bill O'Brien left the Buckeyes less than a month after accepting the position to become Boston College's next head coach, a position that opened after Jeff Hafley accepted the offensive coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers.
Foster concluded his collegiate playing career ranked second among UCLA players in touchdowns (44), third in rushing yards (3,194) and fifth in scoring (266 points). The former running back was selected by the Carolina Panthers at No. 34 overall in the second-round of the 2022 NFL Draft and recorded 3,570 yards and 11 touchdowns on 927 rushing attempts, as well as 142 receptions for 1,129 yards and five touchdowns, during his six-year NFL career, which concluded with a lone season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers in 2008.