Greg McElroy Would Like UCLA to Hire $30M Super Bowl Champion HC – if They Can Woo Him

The 2025 season has not been kind to UCLA. An underwhelming showing against UNLV and New Mexico left the Bruins with a 0–3 start. Fingers quickly pointed at Deshaun Foster, and UCLA responded by sacking him. In the aftermath, Tim Skipper was appointed interim head coach, but attention has already shifted to who will permanently lead the program.

Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy discussed the Bruins’ coaching vacancy on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning Hour podcast. Speaking on the matter, McElroy named Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein and former NFL coach Jon Gruden as potential fits. “If you go and get Will Stein, who is currently the OC at Oregon, he’d make some sense. I think if you wanted to go get Jon Gruden, I’m fine with that, too,” said McElroy. However, McElroy pointed out that Gruden would not be “real interested in that opportunity unless it was a boatload of money.”

Jon Gruden, who has been out of a job since 2021, could make a comeback if the money is right. Recently, reports have connected the former head coach to UCLA, raising questions about whether the fit would work. On one hand, Gruden has experience leading an NFL team and has also won the Super Bowl. On the other hand, replacing an inexperienced HC with a Super Bowl-winning HC could be the difference maker for UCLA. Still, McElroy expressed skepticism about the idea, pointing to recent history. “That’s kind of what North Carolina kind of tried to do, and it didn’t work great,” he said, suggesting that chasing a big name doesn’t always translate into long-term success.

Will Stein has also emerged as a potential candidate for UCLA’s head coaching job. According to news reports, Stein could be weighing the HC role at UCLA. However, one issue that comes up is that Stein has never been a head coach. This means the lack of experience as the main man at the helm could come back to bite UCLA if they decide to move forward with him. In fact, it could be a rerun of the Deshaun Foster story.

Is administrative instability holding back the Bruins?

The issues at UCLA are far deeper than the head coach position. To begin with, according to McElroy, the problem is rooted deeply in the administration. “From a resource standpoint, they don’t do it. We can look at the stands in the Rose Bowl and tell you that it’s not the player. It’s not the fans. It’s the NIL. It’s the administration. Everything costs more out there, too. I mean, they don’t provide the resources necessary to be successful.”

Greg McElroy also said UCLA’s administration doesn’t prioritize the program’s funding. “Actually, one of the guys at my wedding played ball at UCLA, and they are UCLA supporters. And I bet you anything they have not been to one game in 10 years.”, referring to UCLA’s own fans not being interested in their team. According to him, the lack of development of football has even made its fans uninterested in its games.

Furthermore, McElroy also referred to Chip Kelly’s exit last season, saying, “Chip Kelly will tell you point blank, they (UCLA’s administration) do not support the football program.” Although it was easy to blame Deshaun Foster for UCLA’s current season struggles, the deeper question lies with the administration that hired him as head coach in the first place. Ultimately, UCLA fans can only hope that someone steps in to rescue their team from this period of turmoil.