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UCLA Hall of Fame running back DeShaun Foster is reportedly set to become the next head coach of his alma mater just one week after leaving the program to join the Las Vegas Raiders' staff, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Foster, 44, spent the past seven seasons working as the Bruins' running backs coach before accepting the same position with the Raiders last week.
"Sources: UCLA is set to hire DeShaun Foster as the school’s next head coach. He’s is in the UCLA Hall of Fame as a player, worked as an assistant coach there since 2017 and played seven seasons in the NFL," Thamel wrote on his X account Monday (February 12).
The Bruins suddenly had a head coaching vacancy after Chip Kelly accepted the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State last Friday (February 9). Kelly's departure followed a similar domino effect to Foster's hiring as Bill O'Brien left the Buckeyes less than a month after accepting the position to become Boston College's next head coach, a position that opened after Jeff Hafley accepted the offensive coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers.
Foster concluded his collegiate playing career ranked second among UCLA players in touchdowns (44), third in rushing yards (3,194) and fifth in scoring (266 points). The former running back was selected by the Carolina Panthers at No. 34 overall in the second-round of the 2022 NFL Draft and recorded 3,570 yards and 11 touchdowns on 927 rushing attempts, as well as 142 receptions for 1,129 yards and five touchdowns, during his six-year NFL career, which concluded with a lone season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers in 2008.