Days after the firing of UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster, the Bruins' defensive coordinator has also departed the program.
Interim head coach Tim Skipper announced today that Ikaika Malloe had parted ways with UCLA, which is 0-3 on the season and is in a bye week. Skipper said the defensive coordinator position will be a “collaborative effort” for the time being, according to reporter Benjamin Royer.
“Skipper is treating this week as a training camp, paraphrasing, but said next week he may have some more things solidified,” Royer posted on X.
In three games, UCLA has allowed an average of 36 points, contributing to a putrid start in which the Bruins have lost at home by four or more scores twice, including last week vs. New Mexico.
Foster, an alum who played at the school from 1998 to 2001, had been a Bruins assistant for all but one year from 2013 to 2023. In February 2024, after Chip Kelly left to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, Foster, the team's running backs coach, was promoted to head coach.
In parts of two seasons, Foster went 5-10 as UCLA's coach. Not long after the 35-10 home loss to New Mexico, he was fired, opening an intriguing yet challenging job in Los Angeles.
Malloe had been with UCLA since 2022, when he joined the staff as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach.
In 2023, he was the defensive line coach before he was promoted to defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach by Kelly shortly before his departure. Malloe previously served as the DC at Yale from 2009 to 2011 and as co-DC at Washington, his alma mater, during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Following its bye week, UCLA travels to Evanston next Saturday to play Northwestern in its Big Ten opener. A home game against No. 2 Penn State follows.
