UCLA on Monday hired former star DeShaun Foster to be its head football coach.

Foster, 44, had been the Bruins’ running backs coach since 2017. He played the position at UCLA from 1998-2001, earning second-team All-America honors as a senior.

Foster replaces Chip Kelly, who left last week to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State. The Bruins went 35-34 in Kelly’s six seasons, including an 8-5 record and LA Bowl win in 2023.

“While undergoing a comprehensive search for our new head coach, DeShaun resonated from the start and throughout the whole process,” athletics director Martin Jarmond said. “We are looking for a coach with integrity, energy and passion; someone who is a great teacher, who develops young men, is a great recruiter and fully embraces the NIL landscape to help our student-athletes.

“DeShaun checks all of those boxes and then some. He is a leader of men and a true Bruin. I am excited to partner with him as we usher UCLA football into an exciting new era.”

Foster rushed for 3,049 yards and 39 touchdowns in his career at UCLA, including 1,109 yards as a senior. One of his most-memorable games with the Bruins came in the 2000 season-opener against Alabama, in which he ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-24 upset victory over the third-ranked Crimson Tide.

Foster was a second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 2002 NFL draft, and played seven years in the league. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at UCLA in 2013 and was later a graduate assistant, getting his first full-time coaching job as Texas Tech’s running backs coach in 2016.

Foster joined the UCLA staff under Jim L. Mora the following season, and stayed on for the duration of Kelly’s tenure.

“This is a dream come true,” Foster said. “I always envisioned being a Bruin ever since I was young, and now being the head coach at my alma mater is such a surreal feeling, and I’m grateful for this opportunity. The foundation of this program will be built on discipline, respect and enthusiasm. These are phenomenal young men, and I’m excited to hit the ground running.”

UCLA was the last of 30 FBS programs to have coaching openings in the current cycle. The Bruins will join the Big Ten next season.