$9.7 million college football coach emerges as one of the favorites to land UCLA job

Despite being one of the first major jobs to open, the UCLA head coaching search continues into December.

The Bruins fired head coach DeShaun Foster on Sep. 14 after an 0-3 start to the season. He was promoted to head coach after serving as the running backs coach from 2017-23.

Since Foster's dismissal, multiple names have been linked to the job in Los Angeles. Most notably, James Madison head coach Bob Chesney has been rumored to be the favorite over the past few weeks.

As this coaching search drags on, a new name has emerged among the favorites to be named the next head coach at UCLA. The Bruins may not even have to look outside the state of California, based on the latest predictive odds on Kalshi.

San Diego State Aztecs head coach Sean Lewis | James Snook-Imagn Images

San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis now has the second-highest odds of being the next UCLA head coach. He only trails Chesney, who has been the projected favorite on Kalshi for the past few weeks.

As of Monday morning, Lewis has a 21% chance of being the next head coach at UCLA, up 15% from last week.

Lewis led a massive turnaround at San Diego State this season, taking the Aztecs from 3 wins in his first season to 9 wins this season. The Aztecs were one of four teams tied at the top of the Mountain West with a 6-2 conference record, but missed the championship game due to a tiebreaker.

Lewis was named a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award. The Aztecs were projected to finish 8th in the Mountain West, but have exceeded all expectations under Lewis in only his second season. Lewis is 12-12 overall in his first two seasons.

Lewis was named the head coach at San Diego State in 2024. It came one season after he served as Colorado's offensive coordinator under Deion Sanders. He signed a five-year deal, worth just over $9.7 million, keeping him at San Diego State through 2029.

His first head coaching stint was at Kent State from 2018-22. Lewis compiled a 24-31 overall record and was 19-17 in the MAC. He helped lead the Golden Flashes from 2 wins to 7 wins in only one season. He led the program to two bowl appearances, including a win in the Frisco Bowl in 2019. It was the first-ever bowl victory in program history.

Over his coaching career, Lewis has served as an assistant at Syracuse, Bowling Green, Eastern Illinois, and Akron. He played tight end at Wisconsin from 2004-07, initially as a quarterback before switching.