Funny how dominoes can fall in this business. And sometimes fall in different directions. For instance, in the span of ten days time, Deshaun Foster went from UCLA running backs coach to Raiders running backs coach and now he is the UCLA head coach.
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. pic.twitter.com/MiGPayT4Jj
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 12, 2024
How did this happen? Glad you asked.
Two weeks ago the Raiders were in the midst of a search for their next offensive coordinator. Among the candidates were USC Assistant Kliff Kingsbury, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, and former Bears OC Luke Getsy.
The Raiders chose Kingsbury for the job and the next day, Foster came onboard as well. You see, Foster’s first RB coach job was with Texas Tech under Kingsbury, so he was given the opportunity for his first NFL coaching job under Kingsbury and took it.
A day later, the deal with Kingsbury fell apart, reportedly because the Raiders were unwilling to give him the standard three-year deal for an assistant coach. So, Kingsbury bowed out and took the OC job in Washington.
The Raiders turn around and offer the job to Getsy instead.
Then three days ago, Kelly leaves UCLA to become the OC at Ohio State. Leaving the head coach job open. And Foster was given the opportunity to take over as head coach of his alma mater and — of course — he takes it.
Congrats, Deshaun. What an amazing opportunity. The Raiders can go find them another RB coach. Go get yours.
