UCLA coaching search enters speculation stage with intriguing names on the list

Already two head coaching jobs are open in college football, very early in the year, and it increases the odds that there wlll be more.

There's a limited supply of truly dynamic candidates. At UCLA, Benjamin Royer of The Daily Bruin, who has also written for the Orange County Register and the LA Times, offers his wish list:

FSU DC Tony White

Sac St. HC: Brennan Marion

USC DC: D'Anton Lynn

Washington HC: Jedd Fisch

Georgia DC: Glenn Schumann

Vanderbilt HC: Clark Lea

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic offers a short list that includes Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi. In fact, Feldman's candidates are all defensive guys, a bit surprising in that in their heyday the powder blue Bruins leaned more toward offense and flash.

Lupoi makes $2 million a year as Oregon defensive coordinator. He is well-traveled with NFL experience, a part of two national championships at Alabama, a top recruiter.

He's been at Oregon from the beginning of the Dan Lanning era in the 2022 season, and in that time his defenses have ranked 88th, 20th and 41st in yards per play defense, tied with Washington at 31st so far in 2025.

Adam Brenneman of the Big Ten Network zeroes in on another Oregon coach, offensive coordinator Will Stein:

Jason Eck, the New Mexico coach who just beat the Bruins and got DeShaun Foster fired, has also been mentioned. Saturday Eck's New Mexico squad beat the Bruins in Pasadena in his first year with the Lobos. Last year while at Idaho he put a scare into the Ducks, a no-nonsense guy and a good motivator.

But the first rule of coaching searches is that the first names floated are either outright speculation, strategy or smokescreen. The athletic department wants to disguise their true intentions. Agents want to get their clients paid.

The problem with the UCLA job is that no one wants it. Brett McMurphy of On3 Sports wrote, quoting an industry source, "Next coach? Better story is who would take that job? Chip (Kelly) ran for a reason. Terrible administration, no resources, they’re getting crushed, no NIL & currently no chance to compete in Big Ten football”

UCLA is a terrible job, and Lupoi and Stein would both be wise to pass on it. The takeaway for Oregon fans is that their names are out there, and two jobs being open this early means the pressure increases on other "hot seat" schools to begin their search and start collecting resumes.

The Bruins have a limited NIL budget, an athletic department deficit of $200 million over the last six years, and play their home games in an empty stadium 45 miles from campus. Their practice field is 60 yards long.

Announced attendance for the New Mexico game was 31,163. The Rose Bowl looked empty and listless.

There's a limited supply of truly difference-making candidates. If Florida, Alabama, or Wisconsin pull the trigger on a coaching change, the searches and the offers become more urgent. Even Jimmy Sexton, Dan Lanning's agent, will get a call.

One of the hazards of success is that everyone wants your coach or his assistants. UCLA won't be the last program to call. The Ducks have a dynamic program with exceptional facilities and support, one of the best-run athletic departments in the country.

Stein is a rising star in coaching who will be offered some great jobs over the next couple of years. This isn't one of them.

Fortunately the grass is damn green in Eugene.

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