SMQB: Is UCLA Football Closing in on Bob Chesney?

The current head coach at James Madison has only had one losing season in 16 years as a head coach.

Nov 16, 2025

James Madison head coach Bob Chesney is likely to have a lot of thinking to do over the next few weeks. (Photo Credit: jmusports.com)

Before we explore the ongoing UCLA coaching search, let’s look at the postgame press conferences.

Last night was another rough road game for the Bruins.

When Tim Skipper met with the media after the game, he explained the timeline of Nico Iamaleava being in the concussion protocol. Skipper was asked what advice he gave to Luke Duncan before he started his first college game. Skipper responded:

“I gave him the best advice ever. Just throw the ball to our color jersey. That’s all I told him.”

To be sure, it sounded like Skipper was joking a little about that, but given the fact that Duncan was playing against one of the best defenses in the country and he didn’t throw any interceptions, it may not have been this amazing wisdom, but Duncan didn’t go out there and make a ton of mistakes which resulted in points for the Buckeyes. The Bruin offense was just not able to “start fast” the way Skipper preaches.

The players who met with the media were quarterback Luke Duncan and defensive lineman Gary Smith III. The overwhelming majority of questions were directed to Duncan since he was the Bruins’ starting quarterback last night and he was starting his first game.

Duncan spoke about what was special, despite the loss. He said:

“It was cool. I haven’t played football since since high school. So, [I] was just happy playing football again.”

Who Is Bob Chesney?

If you believe Rick Neuheisel, the Bruins may be closing in on Bob Chesney as their next head coach. Yesterday, the elder Neuheisel said, “I’m hearing Bob Chesney at UCLA…he’s got to make a decision.”

Now, that doesn’t mean that it is going to happen. This has been one of the most interesting coaching carousels ever and there are still two games to left in the regular season. We all saw how UCLA seemed ready to hire Rick Barnes to replace Steve Alford the last time the head basketball coaching job was open, but then the Bruins had to pivot and Mick Cronin was the guy who was hired instead.

The same thing could happen here.

It’s believed that at least two other schools are interested in Chesney: Penn State and Virginia Tech. So, until there’s an official announcement, nothing is definite.

That said, let’s take a quick look at Bob Chesney.

Chesney took over at James Madison following the departure of Curt Cignetti to Indiana. Since taking over the Dukes program, Chesney has maintained the standard of excellence at JMU. He went 9-4 last season and took the Dukes to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated Western Kentucky. This year, the team is 9-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play. They will be playing in the Sun Belt Championship Game on December 5th.

That right there could delay any announcement regarding Chesney’s departure until early December, and that’s not factoring in any competition from schools like Penn State or Virginia Tech. Neither school can be counted out because Chesney is originally from Pennsylvania and James Madison is located in Virginia, either of which could give him a potentially easier transition than UCLA.

But who exactly is Bob Chesney?

Well, Chesney played defensive back at Dickinson College, a Division III school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, Chesney became a grad assistant at Norwich University in Vermont. After two seasons at Norwich, Chesney was hired as the defensive coordinator at Delaware Valley University. The following year, Chesney became the Special Teams Coordinator at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In 2005, Chesney joined the staff at Johns Hopkins as Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach. After two seasons with the Blue Jays, he added defensive coordinator duties and he helped lead the team to the Division III quarterfinals.

Chesney got his first head coaching job as a result of that. He was hired at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. There, he took over a team which had eight straight losing seasons and he posted three winning seasons.

His success earned him an opportunity at Division II Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts. In five seasons at Assumption, Chesney went 44-16 with five winning seasons and three Division II Playoff appearances.

That caught the attention of Holy Cross, which had finished the 2017 with a 4-7 record. In 2018, Chesney had his only losing season in his sixteen seasons as a head coach. The Crusaders finished 5-6 that season. In six seasons at Holy Cross, Chesney had a 44-21 record, which led to James Madison hiring him to replace Cignetti.

At JMU, he’s currently 18-5.

So, Chesney has the kind of resume we’ve talked about UCLA needing to hire for years. He started at the Division III level and has worked his way up to the FBS. He is an up-and-coming coach who has won at every stop he has made.

Regardless of where Chesney is coaching this time next year, the fan base at that school is likely to be a very happy one. The only question is: Will it be in Westwood, Happy Valley, somewhere in Virginia or somewhere else?

As we’ve seen through the years, UCLA can make many worse choices than Bob Chesney, but if Chesney is the man, the future will seem bright for the Bruins.

Go Bruins!!!

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