The chaos around the UCLA football staff doesn’t seem to end. The fallout from DeShaun Foster’s firing following that embarrassing 35-10 defeat to New Mexico, which UCLA paid $1.2 million to host, has only gotten worse. Assistant coaches Tino Sunseri and Ikaika Malloe were previously fired by the school, and now all eyes are on Martin Jarmond, the athletic director. In fact, Josh Pate had predicted Foster’s firing weeks before, claiming that Foster should never have been appointed in the first place and blaming the “completely inept athletic director” who hired him.

Now it’s become brutally obvious that this is not just about one terrible coach or one humiliating loss; it’s the result of years of mismanagement at the top. At this point, the UCLA fans are now losing patience as they see their once-proud football team collapse. In a recent X post, Ben Bolch wrote, “UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond came over to where I was sitting in the press box late in the third quarter to discuss the changes he made in the coaching staff that sparked this turnaround.” And while the AD claims he is taking corrective action, fans believe it is too little.

UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond came over to where I was sitting in the press box late in the third quarter to discuss the changes he made in the coaching staff that sparked this turnaround.

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) October 11, 2025

At this point, UCLA leadership is stuck between embarrassment and expense. Although it’s tough to imagine that the school would spend over $8 million to fire Martin Jarmond only months after his extended contract till 2029, it’s getting tougher to defend his continuation. “We’ve already lost more than games, we’ve lost faith,” one fan told The LA Times. The higher-ups who spent $6.4 million to fire DeShaun Foster show that direction, not money, is the true barrier. And it seems like UCLA is postponing the inevitable the longer Jarmond remains.

“I don’t think that athletic director will be afforded the opportunity to offer anyone else the job,” analyst Josh Pate said, sharing the same thoughts. His comments confirm what many people in the program already think: that change is on the way. UCLA has two options: either they take the bullet, pay Jarmond, and start over, as they should have done when Chip Kelly departed, or they hire an experienced football general manager to oversee the rebuilding process. A previous alumnus summed up the feeling well when he remarked, “If you keep missing the turn, maybe it’s time to hand someone else the keys.”

It’s not the first time there have been public demonstrations telling the university to fire Jarmond. Around the beginning of October, there was a van traveling around Westwood featuring a very similar message: “UCLA Football deserves better. Fire AD Martin Jarmond.”

As of now, UCLA is losing credibility, and any chance of a true football comeback by keeping Jarmond is slim, and that’s exactly what fans are worried about.

UCLA fans lash out at Martin Jarmond after the chaos reaches its breaking point

Ben Bolch’s post about Martin Jarmond walking into the press box sparked incredibly harsh backlash. Seeing Jarmond trying to claim credit for a brief performance boost was like seasoning salt on the wounds of Bruins fans who had endured two years of poor hires and disappointing seasons.

“Ben, did you ask him if he thinks people would want him fired if we were 4-2 or 5-1? Because he hired arguably the worst head coach in college football history,” one fan replied. Another said, “Wonder how much pressure he was under to fire Foster? Would he have done it if not for donors and boosters? Likely not. Which would make him taking credit for it super cringe (as the kids say).”

And when UCLA pulled off a surprising win, 38-13 over Michigan State, fans erupted online, but not really in celebration. “LMAO no way this fraud is trying to take credit,” one fan wrote, while another mocked Jarmond’s supposed “master plan” saying, “So is his narrative that he purposely made horrible decisions on Kelly and Foster, all part of a master plan to then fire the head coach and elevate people he had nothing to do with bringing in?”And one fan finally wrote what alumni had been shouting for weeks, “The changes @MartinJarmond made? Lmao. This dude needs to stop. Come on @UCLAchancellor, you have to fire this guy.”

Kelly’s departure from UCLA was quite messy, to say the least. He was interviewing for other positions while still being UCLA’s head coach. As a result, Jarmond didn’t immediately fire Kelly; instead, he waited until he was hired as the Ohio State Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator. UCLA was then left with a handful of options after Kelly left, forcing UCLA to turn to DeShaun Foster, whose tenure wrapped up mid-September unceremoniously, posting a 5-10 record with the Bruins.

Fans called Jarmond “pound-for-pound, undisputed king of the fair-weather flock,” who only appears when things go fine and disappears during a crisis. He knows how to take credit. It’s quiet during tough times, though,” another said. Others came out on how he literally planned all of this and was now pretending to be clean. “He extended Chip Kelly, let him walk, panic-hired Foster, and had to buy out half the staff. Now he’s playing savior?” one comment said.

Seems like Jarmond’s efforts to come clean have absolutely backfired, and fans want him out of UCLA sooner.