Bob Chesney’s initial UCLA football staff is going to have a familiar feel to anyone who follows James Madison.
After hiring offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, the new Bruins coach is also bringing along five other assistants who helped the Dukes reach the College Football Playoff: offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Smith, safeties coach Eddie Whitley Jr., defensive backs coach Anthony DiMichele, defensive line coach Sam Daniels and special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Drew Canan. While most of the assistants will retain their titles, DiMichele will now coach safeties and Daniels defensive ends with the Bruins.
Chesney is retaining two UCLA assistants in safeties coach Gabe Lynn and running backs coach A.J. Steward, with Lynn transitioning into a role coaching nickel backs. He’s also bringing in another assistant with Big Ten experience in Legi Suiaunoa, the former Michigan State defensive line coach who will fill the same role with the Bruins.
Vic So’oto will be the Bruins’ linebackers coach after spending the last four seasons at California in a variety of roles. A former NFL linebacker who spent two seasons as USC’s defensive line coach, So’oto took a job as Cal’s outside linebackers coach in 2022. The next season, he added the role of special teams coordinator to his title before becoming the Golden Bears’ co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach last season.
Rounding out Chesney’s staff is wide receivers coach Colin Lockett, who spent last season in the same role at New Mexico. Lockett has plenty of experience on the West Coast after having served as a graduate assistant at Oregon for two seasons in addition to being a defensive backs quality control coach at Washington and a graduate assistant at San Diego State. Lockett also knows the Southern California high school recruiting scene well after having spent three seasons as a defensive backs coach at St. John Bosco High.
Steward also offers deep connections throughout the west after having previously worked at Baylor, Oregon State, Arizona, Brigham Young and Rice. Suiaunoa and Steward overlapped at Oregon State for two of Suianoa’s six seasons as an assistant with the Beavers.
In another nod to continuity, Chesney is hiring Chris Grautski, his director of athletic performance at James Madison, to become head strength coach at UCLA.
Chesney is expected to complete his staff soon.
Most of Chesney’s hires have strong ties to their boss.
Canan has been part of Chesney’s staff for more than a decade, starting at Assumption College in 2014 before later following Chesney to Holy Cross, James Madison and now UCLA. Smith spent five seasons working under Chesney at Holy Cross before leaving to become an assistant offensive line coach with the NFL’s New York Giants in 2023 and later rejoining Chesney at James Madison in 2024.
Whitley has the distinction of having worked for both Chesney and predecessor Curt Cignetti as part of Whitley’s six seasons at James Madison, which made him the longest tenured coach on the Dukes staff during the 2025 season.
DiMichele has worked alongside Chesney for the past four seasons after joining his staff at Holy Cross in 2022 and later following him to James Madison. Daniels was a newcomer to Chesney’s staff when he was hired before the 2024 season at James Madison, his alma mater.
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