DeShaun Foster’s firing was probably on the cards, as the team was outscored by 108-43 in the season, which also included two G-5 opponents. But the cracks in the program run deeper than on-field issues, with a debt mounting over $200 million over the past six years and an iconic stadium (Rose Bowl) finding it hard to fill seats. For context, the average attendance at the Rose Bowl is just 44,000 fans, which has a capacity to accommodate a 90,000-strong crowd. No wonder, then, that UCLA has been losing even its home games (Utah and UNM losses). For now, though, Interim HC Tim Skipper now faces a mounting challenge to stop transfer portal departures, along with taking a drastic decision for the future of the team, and it’s far from easy.

Skipper has experience under his belt in such coaching transitions at Fresno State, as their interim head coach. He appeared in a recent video for the ‘UCLA Athletics’, and the interim head coach was asked about his plans for players to stop redshirting for the 2025 season. Skipper more or less looked uncertain on the issue. “You know we’ll be in our fourth game, so everybody’s pretty much can play without having to deal with that or worry about that. I think the discussions might come up a little bit more after the game,” said the interim head coach. The interim HC particularly stressed focusing on day-to-day goals for now.

“Right now, the guys have been attacking, and everybody seems they want to play and eager to play. So, we’ll take it day by day. As you know, it’s a fluid situation. It could change at any time, but I like where we’re at, and we’re just going to keep on building to try to give us the best chance to win on Saturday,” announced Skipper. It’s surely an approach that can guide Skipper through the fourth game against Northwestern, but going further can be challenging, since transfer attrition will be there, and players would look to preserve their redshirt if they stay.

We are already seeing the effects of DeShaun Foster’s departure since six 2026 commits have decommitted already from UCLA, which also included four four-star players: tackle Johnnie Jones and DL Anthony Jones. Although we haven’t seen a mass exodus yet within the program itself, considering the 30-day transfer window has been opened for the UCLA players. We should surely see some players exiting. As for the redshirting issue, UCLA has Madden Iamaleava, Noah Fox-Flores, Jewelous Walls, and Jadyn Hudson as their in-squad true freshman players who could contribute in the season, but may choose to redshirt. But those aren’t the only players, and we could see some crucial players requesting to redshirt, too.

Nico Iamaleava’s transfer portal exit is a looming possibility for the Bruins, adding to Skipper’s woes

Gilmer Kwazi is a crucial wide receiver for the UCLA Bruins and played for the Bruins in the 2024 season, appearing in all games. The wide receiver has added 174 yards to his 2024 season’s 345 yards in the current season and may look to redshirt this season in coaching uncertainty. Another crucial player on the offense, lineman K.D. Arnold, who came from Jackson State on a transfer. The OL hasn’t yet redshirted in his career and may choose to do the same. Other players like Aupiu Devin, Andre Jordan Jr, and Scooter Jackson in defense may also choose to redshirt, as they haven’t opted for it yet, complicating things for UCLA. However, a gut punch for UCLA in this situation would be Nico Iamaleava’s transfer, and speculations are already mounting in that regard.

“Transferring again would allow Iamaleava to correct what he got wrong last time. For starters, get a deal done in the winter, and not the spring. If Iamaleava had taken care of his business last December, rather than dragging out his situation at Tennessee into April, he would’ve had better options than UCLA,” wrote USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer. While SI’s Matt De Lima speculated that Miami may take Nico in the December window as Carson Beck’s replacement. For now, though, Skipper, through his experience and leadership, has braced the storm for good.

Skipper, to blow off steam for his players and give a welcome change in such a chaotic scenario, took the players to a bowling alley, where the team bonded for good. “We’ve been locked in working and grinding and all that stuff, so we needed to get away and just kind of take a deep breath and compete in a different way,” said Skipper. That’s almost the opposite of what any interim head coach might have done. But Skipper has experience taking over as Fresno State’s interim head coach in 2024 and 2023 and has been present in the coaching scene since 2001, signaling the 47-year-old is the right man for the job, as the search continues for a permanent replacement.