Jarmond struggled to find UCLA’s footing in the NIL era. Donations have not been high in recent years. Chesney has tackled that head-on by working to tap into a booster pool that Jarmond did not touch. He’s brought Bill Simmons around the program and wined and dined with top Hollywood execs in his first few weeks in Westwood.
It’s also worth noting Frenk’s arrival as chancellor in January, after most recently being at Miami. During his time with the Hurricanes, he presided over a big shift in athletic priorities, including giving Mario Cristobal the resources to bring Miami back into the college football spotlight.
So while Jarmond’s exit Monday could be an eye-raiser for some elsewhere across the country, confidence is high in what Chesney can accomplish and where the program is headed under his direction. And more importantly, according to sources, the first-year head coach knows the buy-in he’s secured from key boosters.
“We need to believe really strongly in the power of UCLA,” Chesney told On3 earlier this offseason. “We don’t need to play second fiddle to anyone. We don’t need to say, ‘Hey, maybe in three, four or five years from now.’ I don’t want us to do any of that. The moment is in front of us directly, and to not limit ourselves in any way. Just chase this as hard as we possibly can, and do not, for one second, start putting timelines on it or making excuses before the fact.
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