Bob Chesney Is Going To Do The Impossible At Ucla — Win

Walking down a hallway astatine UCLA’s Wasserman Football Center earlier this week, I became a believer.

Bouncing hurriedly successful my guidance was a bright-eyed kid pinch a immense smile. I didn’t cognize him. He didn’t cognize me.

Yet arsenic he passed, he abruptly stuck retired his manus for a fist bump, which I was excessively stunned to ignore, and truthful I pounded backmost while wondering.

What conscionable happened?

Then it deed me.

Bob Chesney conscionable happened.

New UCLA shot coach Bob Chesney has won complete cynics pinch his unflinching optimism and attraction to detail.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

The caller shot coach has infused nan wholly rebuilt programme into a spot truthful energetic, his players tally astir sharing their inspiration to complete strangers.

“Yeah, we’re gonna triumph here,” Chesney says.

This shared tone starts each greeting successful this building, successful nan squad gathering room, wherever Chesney orders his players to guidelines and singing nan schoolhouse conflict opus arsenic if they are opinionated connected nan section aft a victory.

The words to nan opus are displayed connected a elephantine screen, which progressively isn’t utilized because astir of his players person now learned nan opus by heart. Those who neglect to singing get tagged pinch a reddish laser pointer, truthful beautiful overmuch everyone croons.

“I’m not gonna fto group put limits connected us,” Chesney says. “I’m not gonna fto them show america what we tin and can’t do.”

This shared tone continues heavy into nan night, arsenic immoderate of his players precocious had a excavation statement astatine nan location of Cori Close, nan Bruins nationalist title women’s hoops coach. She was not school them really to swim. She was school them really to win.

“People opportunity why here?” Chesney says. “I say, why not here?”

He shows up for my early day sojourn past week dressed uniquely for a $33.75 cardinal coach of a Big Ten schoolhouse connected nan outskirts of Hollywood.

He is dressed for illustration a player. Black shirt, achromatic shorts, bladed sheen of sweat adorning his expressive forehead.

“Been lifting weights,” he says.

Are weight machines group speech for nan coaches?

“Lifting pinch nan players,” he says. “These guys are telling maine what to do.”

UCLA coach Bob Chesney stands connected nan section successful betwixt players and shouts instructions during a outpouring practice.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Full disclosure: I arranged my sojourn afloat of skepticism astir this feline that has UCLA fans swooning.

C’mon. Seriously? He’s fresh for this? How tin he beryllium fresh for this?

The boy of a small-town precocious schoolhouse shot coach successful Pennsylvania ember country, Chesney had risen from obscurity to … much obscurity. He had antecedently coached astatine 4 different mini schools you couldn’t find connected a map. Salve Regina? Assumption? What?

This will beryllium Chesney’s first changeable nether nan agleam lights. And he is taking that changeable pinch a programme whose champion shots couldn’t deed nan wide broadside of a barn.

The Bruins person not been to nan Rose Bowl crippled successful 28 years, and he is going to hole that? They person not won a Rose Bowl crippled successful 41 years, and he was going to alteration that culture?

The celebrated Chip Kelly couldn’t do it. The affectional Jim Mora Jr. couldn’t do it. The cheerleading Rick Neuheisel couldn’t do it. The cerebral Karl Dorrell couldn’t do it. The affable Bob Toledo thought he had done it until his squad inexplicably discontinue connected him conscionable 60 minutes from a berth successful nan nationalist title game.

I had covered each of these coaches, proceeding their yearly promises, seeing their yearly collapses, realizing USC had a stranglehold connected nan assemblage shot money and attraction successful this town, and I had travel up pinch an inescapable conclusion.

What Chesney is trying to do pinch UCLA shot can’t beryllium done.

Then I met him.

The champion connection to picture first impressions of nan 48-year-old erstwhile assemblage information would be, wow.

He talks fast. He oozes belief. He sells UCLA. He sells himself. He doesn’t shrink from his elephantine task. He doesn’t rationalize aliases equivocate his team’s sordid history.

He’s for illustration 1 of those charming smart kids who ne'er takes nary for an answer.

“I consciousness it,” he says.”I consciousness it.”

No wonderment his recruiting has been phenomenal, classed seventh nationwide for nan people of 2027, a inclination that began this summertime pinch 42 transfers, galore of whom will start. No wonderment he has been recognized by fans while hanging retired successful West Hollywood aliases Griffith Observatory aliases Dodger Stadium, wherever he’s already sat wide-eyed successful a gathering pinch Dodger head and UCLA grad Dave Roberts and Sandy Koufax.

He feels it, and nan Bruin Nation feels it pinch him.

“Everybody’s included,” he says. “You wanna beryllium included? C’mon, you’re included.”

As nan self-proclaimed driver of nan Bruin bandwagon successful caller years — only to beryllium derailed by midseason each clip — I’ll walk connected nan inclusion. I’ve sewage to spot it earlier buying it. But correct now, Chesney has worked maine up into specified a lather that, yeah, I’m believing.

First, Chesney points to his resume, a litany of mini schools who accumulated large victories, a dossier that includes only 1 losing play and nary successful nan past 7 years.

His caput coaching profession started astatine Division III Salve Regina (Rhode Island), wherever he turned 8 consecutive losing seasons into 3 consecutive winning seasons.

“‘You can’t triumph there, cipher tin triumph there’ is what they said,” Chesney says. “We won there.”

Then location was Division II Assumption successful Massachusetts, wherever he took a squad that had 2 winning records successful 17 years and led them to 5 consecutive winning records and 3 consecutive playoff appearances.

“They said, ‘You can’t do it, cipher tin do it,’’’ Chesney says. “We did it.”

Then location was Holy Cross, besides successful Massachusetts, wherever he took nan squad to a grounds 5 consecutive Patriot League championships while advancing arsenic heavy arsenic nan FCS quarterfinals.

“They told us, ‘The academics are excessively tough, nan tuition is excessively high, you can’t triumph there,’’’ Chesney recounts. “We won there.”

Finally location was James Madison successful Virginia, wherever he took a squad whose stars had each followed Curt Cignetti to Indiana and still triumphed, starring them to a Cinderella quality successful nan College Football Playoff.

“A batch of group doubted it, a batch of group didn’t judge it could work,” Chesney says. “We’ve proved a batch of group incorrect passim nan years.”

After his resume, Chesney points to his surroundings. He is much awed by UCLA’s gravitas than immoderate different shot coach I tin remember. It’s clear he tin waste nan schoolhouse because he has specified respect for nan school.

“Here you’re a handshake distant from changing your life … nan schoolhouse has an 8% acceptance rate, you’re stepping astir this field pinch valedictorians and early CEOs and doctors and lawyers,” he says. “You’re surrounded by greatness, you person a chance to respire this uncommon aerial that very fewer group get a chance to breathe.”

But for Chesney to capable this aerial pinch a shot title requires a price. It is simply a value that, truthful far, galore imaginable donors person been reluctant to pay. But successful today’s assemblage shot world, it is nan costs of doing business.

Face it, Cignetti couldn’t person changed Indiana’s fortunes truthful quickly if it wasn’t for Mark Cuban money. Chesney believes he tin do nan aforesaid point present … pinch a small push.

Longtime UCLA philanthropist Angelo Mazzone chipped successful $10 cardinal recently, and much specified gifts are needed for UCLA to beryllium capable to salary nan players that bring them a championship.

”There’s a awesome financial committedness that comes pinch getting those four- and five-star kids, but we tin really move nan tables pinch that benignant of help,” Chesney says. “Every azygous point that is needed is here, we conscionable person to make judge we get nan support from nan group connected nan extracurricular that we request to actualize our dream.”

He’s doing each nan correct things while chasing that dream.

Even arsenic his bosses are pushing to move nan squad retired of nan Rose Bowl to SoFi Stadium, he loves nan Rose Bowl, and took his squad location for its outpouring crippled connected a play that began pinch him opinionated extracurricular nan brightly lit marquee pinch his begetter and his boy successful nan dark.

“It was 1 of those moments, I was like, man, nan history of this spot … to maine to play successful nan Rose Bowl, what an grant and a privilege,” he says.

The crippled really drew a decent outpouring crowd of 10,000-12,000, partially because Chesney had worked truthful difficult astatine banging nan drum. He and his players moreover brought pizzas to various field groups successful hopes of enlisting support.

“You want to beryllium astir this program, you tin beryllium astir this program,” he says.

Then there’s his sentiment of USC. He doesn’t person one. He ne'er mentions them. For a UCLA coach, this is simply a bully thing.

“I conjecture we’re perceived to beryllium successful their shadow, and for immoderate reasons we weren’t an action nan past mates of years, but look astatine our recruiting, I cognize we’re becoming an action for L.A. again,” Chesney says. “I deliberation you tin alteration a batch of people’s opinions connected who they want to beryllium rooting for.”

As successful each levels of football, it each comes down to nan quarterback, and Chesney had his first triumph by convincing budding prima Nico Imaleava. The kid was roundly criticized successful this abstraction for holding retired and past stepping retired connected his Tennessee squad past year, but he has since grown up, and could beryllium nan benignant of game-changer that Chesney requires.

“Watching Nico pinch his diversion ability, his arm, creating plays aft nan play pinch his legs, I person very precocious hopes,” says Chesney.

There are perchance outstanding transfers astatine half of nan positions, and, pinch immoderate coagulated returning players — this is simply a squad that hit seventh-ranked Penn State, retrieve — nan Bruins person a decent foundation.

Throw successful a favorable 2026 schedule that doesn’t see Ohio State aliases Penn State aliases Washington aliases Iowa, and 1 thinks they mightiness moreover person a chance astatine making immoderate miracles.

“You’re going to spot a different marque of football, 1 that is united, that is passionate, that is physical, that is tough, that has a batch of nosy playing together,” he said.

You’re besides going to perceive a sound that died successful nan little DeShaun Foster era, a sound that has ne'er lasted much than a mates of weeks successful nan past 30 years.

That rumble is nan Bruin shot bandwagon. It’s revving up again. The inimitable unit that is Bob Chesney wants to see you connected nan commencement of its journey.

Let him.