Chesney Announces 10 Position Coaches

LOS ANGELES – UCLA football head coach Bob Chesney announced the hiring of 10 assistant coaches on Friday. Chesney announced the additions of offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler on Monday earlier this week.

"In organizing our first-year staff, it was imperative that we find coaches who fit a mold unique to UCLA football that will allow for immediate success," Chesney said. "This group possesses a great blend of competency, diversity and passion, and a track record of winning. Our infusion of West Coast ties will be essential in elevating UCLA's brand, not just in Southern California, but across all of college football. Most importantly, this coaching staff will create an environment of competition and toughness that will challenge our student-athletes to become their absolute best on and off the field."

As of Jan. 2, Chesney's first coaching staff in Westwood features seven members from his James Madison staff, two returning members of the 2025 UCLA staff and three coaches hailing from California who will work with Chesney for the first time. Below is the list of hired assistants to date.

UCLA Football Coaching Staff Additions
Dean Kennedy, Offensive Coordinator
Colin Hitschler, Defensive Coordinator
Drew Canan, Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends
Colin Lockett, Wide Receivers
Chris Smith, Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
A.J. Steward, Running Backs
Sam Daniels, Defensive Ends
Anthony DiMichele, Safeties
Eddie Whitley Jr., Defensive Backs
Gabe Lynn, Nickels
Vic So'oto, Linebackers
Legi Suiaunoa, Defensive Line

Full bios for each coach can be found by clicking here.

Kennedy, Hitschler, Canan, Smith, Daniels, DiMichele and Whitley all served at least one season on the James Madison staff alongside Chesney. In 2025, the group led the Dukes to just the 10th unbeaten conference record in Sun Belt history, going 8-0, and captured the program's first Sun Belt Championship. James Madison secured a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the first time in school history with the No. 12 seed and earned its highest AP ranking in program history at No. 19. The Dukes finished the season with a 12-2 record following their CFP First Round appearance.

James Madison displayed one of college football's most complete teams in 2025, ranking top-20 nationally in scoring offense/defense as well as total offense/defense. On offense, the Dukes were tops in the Sun Belt and ranked 11th in the FBS in scoring with 37.1 points per game in addition to ranking 17th in the country in total yardage with 452.6 yards per game. On defense, the Dukes ranked fifth in the FBS with 266.6 yards allowed per game and 13th with 18.4 points allowed per game, pacing the Sun Belt in both categories.

Drew Canan, Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends
Canan has served as special teams coordinator on Chesney's staff since 2014, with two seasons at James Madison (2024-25), six at FCS Holy Cross (2018-23) and four at NCAA Division II Assumption College (2014-17). He was also assigned to tight ends during each of his stops at James Madison and Holy Cross. Together, Canan and Chesney have won seven conference championships and made eight Playoff (seven FCS, one CFP) appearances.

Canan's special teams unit at James Madison was top-15 in the nation and led the Sun Belt in blocked kicks in each of his two seasons. During the 2025 campaign, the Dukes ranked third in the country with four blocked kicks via three punts and one field goal.

Offensively, Canan coached a pair of JMU tight ends to All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention status in Taylor Thompson in 2024 and Lacota Dippre in 2025. Thompson made 33 catches for 448 yards and co-led the Dukes in touchdowns, including the game-winning score in the 2024 Boca Raton Bowl. Dippre led his position group with 15 catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.

Colin Lockett, Wide Receivers
Lockett, a native of Diamond Bar, Calif., joins UCLA after spending one season each at New Mexico (2025) and FCS UC Davis (2024) as a wideouts coach. Lockett helped New Mexico to a bowl game appearance and a 9-3 record under head coach Jason Eck, who was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year; it marked the first time in program history that a first-year staff had accomplished those three feats.

The Lobos capped the regular season by defeating San Diego State in a 2OT thriller for its sixth straight victory before narrowly missing a berth into the Mountain West Championship game. Wide receiver Keagan Johnson led New Mexico with 772 yards on 61 catches, including three touchdowns, earning him All-Mountain West Honorable Mention.

As an all-purpose player at San Diego State, Lockett totaled 1,999 receiving yards on 130 catches, including 16 touchdowns over his Aztec career from 2009-12. He also averaged 24.1 yards on 92 returns with three touchdowns.

Chris Smith, Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
Smith has now served on Chesney's staff in eight of the last nine seasons across three different stops. He has assisted Chesney as his offensive line coach for seven seasons, with two at James Madison (2024-25) and four at Holy Cross (2018-21). Smith also operated as Chesney's offensive coordinator for the 2022 season before taking on an NFL role as the offensive line coach for the New York Giants.

Smith's 2025 offensive line group at James Madison blocked for one of the nation's elite running backs, Wayne Knight, who was named a Paul Hornung Award Finalist and Associated Press Second Team All-American. Knight ranked third in the FBS and broke the school record with 2,039 all-purpose yards. He was also seventh in the nation with 1,373 rushing yards and fifth with 6.63 yards per carry. James Madison scored the fourth-most rushing touchdowns in the country with 38 and boasted the country's sixth-best rushing offense with 241.5 ground yards per game. The offensive line also blocked for Sun Belt Player of the Year Alonza Barnett III, who accumulated 232 points scored on 23 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns, which was good for third among all FBS quarterbacks.

All five starters on Smith's 2025 offensive line earned All-Sun Belt accolades, including right tackle Pat McMurtrie on the First Team and center Zach Greenberg and right guard Riley Robell on the Second Team.

AJ Steward, Running Backs
Steward returns for his second season as running backs coach at UCLA in 2026. In 2025, Bruins utilized a four-man rotation in the backfield, with three (Jalen Berger, Jaivian Thomas, Anthony Woods) finishing with at least 275 rushing yards on the season and three (Berger, Woods, Anthony Frias II) averaging at least 4.5 yards per carry. Berger paced UCLA's running backs with 364 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 81 carries. Everyone in the backfield quartet had at least one standout performance over the course of the year, highlighted by outings from Berger (3 TDs, 107 yards of total offense in Oct. 11 win at Michigan State) and Frias (97 rushing yards, 130 yards of total offense in Oct. 18 win over Maryland). Steward enters his 16th season of collegiate coaching and eighth as a full-time running backs coach in 2026.

Sam Daniels, Defensive Ends
Sam Daniels is set to take over as defensive ends coach at UCLA, bringing with him 15 years of collegiate coaching experience at the USCAA, Division III, FCS and FBS levels. Daniels spent the last two seasons as the defensive line coach at his alma mater James Madison. His 2025 unit was highlighted by Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Sahir West, who ranked second among all freshmen in the nation with 7.0 sacks and third in the Sun Belt, regardless of class, with 14.0 tackles for loss.

Prior to James Madison, Daniels made coaching stops at Delaware (2022-23), Richmond (2020-21), Bridgewater College (2019), Shepherd University (2016-18), Frostburg State (2014-15) and The Apprentice School (2012-13).

Anthony DiMichele, Safeties
DiMichele follows Chesney to UCLA after spending the last four seasons as his safeties coach and recruiting coordinator at James Madison (2024-25) and his alma mater Holy Cross (2022-23). The 2026 campaign will mark his 12th year of coaching and sixth alongside Chesney. DiMichele and Whitley's (cornerbacks) position groups helped James Madison hold opponents to a sub-50.0 completion percentage on seven occasions and lead the Sun Belt with 181.6 passing yards allowed per game.

The safeties and nickels accounted for seven of James Madison's 12 interceptions in 2025. Three members of DiMichele's unit garnered All-Sun Belt recognition: Jacob Thomas (Second Team), DJ Barksdale (Third Team) and Tyler Brown (Honorable Mention).

Eddie Whitley Jr., Defensive Backs
Whitley arrives at UCLA after spending six seasons at James Madison from 2020-25. Whitley worked with all three defensive back positions for the Dukes, coaching the corners in 2024-25, rovers in 2021-23 and safeties in 2020. He assisted one of the nation's top defenses each year through the Dukes' reclassification from the FCS to FBS; James Madison ranked top-10 in total defense in each of the 2020 and 2021 seasons while in the FCS, and top-20 during the 2022 and 2025 seasons in the FBS.

Whitley coached under Curt Cignetti at James Madison from 2020-23 prior to Chesney's arrival. In those four seasons, Whitley helped the Dukes to a 38-8 record, the program's first-ever FBS bowl game appearance, two NCAA FCS Playoff berths and two Coastal Athletic Association co-titles and Sun Belt East Division titles.

Gabe Lynn, Nickels
Lynn, the second of UCLA's returning staff members, takes on a new role as nickels coach in 2026. As the safeties coach last season, Lynn helped the Bruins allow just 196.6 passing yards against, which ranked No. 34 nationally and eighth in the Big Ten during the regular season. Starting safeties Key Lawrence (70) and Cole Martin (65) finished third and fourth on the team in tackles, respectively, and combined for 7.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. UCLA held its opponent under 220 yards passing in all but one game during the 2025 campaign, including a trio of sub-200-yard outings. The 2026 campaign will mark Lynn's eighth year as a collegiate coach and fourth as a full-time position coach.

Vic So'oto, Linebackers
So'oto, a native of Oceanside, Calif., spent the previous four seasons at California, where he coached outside linebackers and special teams before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2025. This upcoming season represents his 12th year coaching at the FBS level and 10th as a full-time position coach. Across stops at California (2022-25), USC (2020-21), Virginia (2016-19) and BYU (2015), So'oto has helped lead teams to seven postseason berths over the last nine seasons, including the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game with USC and three consecutive bowl berths with the Golden Bears.

In Berkeley, So'oto played a key role in building consistently strong defenses, highlighted by a 2025 unit that ranked fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing defense (197.1) and allowed a league-low 10 passing touchdowns during the regular season. In 2024, the Golden Bears were 14th in the nation in rushing defense (109.8) and 36th in total defense (337.5). So'oto played 13 games over four NFL seasons with six franchises from 2011-14 after a standout college career at BYU.

Legi Suiaunoa, Defensive Line
A coaching veteran of 25 years, Suiaunoa joins Chesney's staff after spending the last two seasons as the defensive line coach at Michigan State. Suiaunoa, who has coached across five different levels of college football, has helped his teams to four NCAA FCS Playoff appearances and four FBS bowl game berths. In 2024, Suiaunoa's defensive front helped the Spartans rank 32nd in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 125.1 yards per game.

Prior to Michigan State, Suiaunoa developed one of the best defensive lines in the Pac-12 Conference during his six-year stint at Oregon State. The Beavers ranked 14th and 21st in the FBS in rushing defense in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In 2022, Oregon State posted a 10-3 record and was tops in the Pac-12 in both rushing defense (108.2) and scoring defense (20.0). The Beavers were also No. 1 in the country in red zone defense, allowing only 28 scores in 42 attempts (66.7%). Suiaunoa's 2023 defensive line group helped Oregon State rank ninth in the FBS and second in the Pac-12 with 36.0 sacks.

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Chesney Announces 10 Position Coaches

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Jaivian Thomas

Anthony Woods

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Chesney Announces 10 Position Coaches

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