After a season full of humiliation and lows, the UCLA Bruins finally hired a playoff-qualifying head coach in Bob Chesney just a few days ago. Before his UCLA takeover, Chesney still had serious work to finish with the Dukes football.

“I thank everybody for being here,” Bob Chesney said in his introductory press conference. “Thank you for this opportunity, and just know that we’re gonna get after pretty quickly here.”

Chesney’s coming over from James Madison (JMU), where he did a killer job for two years. He racked up 21 wins and just 5 losses during his Dukes tenure.

Before that, he was crushing it at Holy Cross, too. His overall record as a head coach is pretty sweet: 132 wins and just 51 losses. Plus, he’s got eight conference championship trophies in his case! No wonder why UCLA’s Bossman, Martin Jarmond picked him over the likes of Tommy Rees or even Jedd Fisch.

There’s a cool little detail in all of this: even though he’s the Bruins’ head coach now, he’s not totally ditching his old team just yet. He’s been given the green light to lead JMU in their first-round College Football Playoff game against Oregon on December 20. The former James Madison HC set his priorities straight:

“We have a little bit of work to take care of the Oregon (Ducks) coming up here this week or in two weeks. Ultimately, we’re gonna get working on a staff. We’re gonna working on making sure we start to build this thing the right way.”

Bob Chesney knows it’s not going to be a straightforward game at all. It’s giving actual David-and-Goliath vibes, especially on the Ducks’ home turf because of Oregon No. 8 seed. Oregon has won 22 of its last 23 games at Autzen Stadium, and Dan Lanning is 46-7 with the Ducks.

Chesney understands the stakes as James Madison prepares for its first College Football Playoff game. After that one last run with his old crew, he’ll go all-in with UCLA, ready to start building something big in Westwood. He promised to start stacking his staff and is looking forward to meeting everyone.

The former James Madison HC ended the press conference with a simple “Go Bruins.” It was a classy way to say goodbye to his former players before diving headfirst into his new, big-time gig. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in Westwood.

Negative ripple-effect of hiring Bob Chesney

Look, UCLA brought in Bob Chesney to fix things after a 3-9 season, but the first big move under his watch isn’t someone joining, but rather it’s someone leaving. Just days into Chesney’s tenure, longtime Bruins safety Croix Stewart is planning to enter the transfer portal.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound defensive back is ready for a fresh start after three years at UCLA. Stewart even confirmed the news himself by reposting the report and writing a short thank-you message: “Thank you, UCLA. 2 years of eligibility.”

Top Stories

Patrick Mahomes Pins Blame for Travis Kelce & Rashee Rice’s Costly Errors as Playoff Hopes Dwindle

Kyle Busch Hits Rock Bottom as Snowball Derby Nightmare Sparks Wave of Fan Sympathy

Sean McVay Provides Health Update After Being Forced to Travel Away From the Team

Calls Mount Against Patrick Mahomes for Ignoring Travis Kelce Amid Chiefs Offensive Struggles

Who Are Lando Norris’s Parents? Meet Adam Norris and Cisca Wauman

Michael Irvin Doesn’t Hesitate to Call Out George Pickens as Cowboys WR Responds to Richard Sherman’s Criticism

Stewart is one of the longest-serving members of UCLA’s defense, especially in a secondary that has seen tons of turnover. He originally joined the Bruins in 2022 as an early commit, but he never was the starting guy for the Bruins or even for DeShaun Foster’s defense.

He then had to redshirt his freshman year, played seven games in 2023 mostly on special teams, and then appeared in ten games in 2024 with twelve total tackles. This season, he finally started the first two games, but didn’t exactly the way he thought to be. The safety finished his last season of Bruins football with just 2 tackles.

Because he spent most of his UCLA career as a reserve and saw little opportunity to lock down a long-term starting spot, Stewart has now decided to explore other options. His decision is notable because he becomes the first player planning to dip into the transfer portal after Bob Chesney took over as head coach.