Ikaika Malloe, unable to keep his longstanding University of Washington football connection going following the coaching change, will be hired as outside linebackers coach soon by UCLA, according to a report by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.
In recent weeks, Malloe has been spotted at practices, chatting up Chip Kelly's coaches and other team personnel, as they prepare the Bruins (8-4) to meet North Carolina State (9-3) in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 28.
As a player and an assistant coach in Seattle, Malloe provided a decade of service to the Huskies, making him a program favorite.
He played linebacker and safety for Jim Lambright's UW teams (1993-96) and coached the defensive line and outside linebackers for Chris Petersen and Jimmy Lake (2016-21). He initially was a Husky graduate assistant to launch his coaching career.
Malloe also was considered an effective recruiter, especially in his home state of Hawaii, utilizing a talent pipeline that was first established by Lambright himself.
However, he wasn't retained as new coach Kalen DeBoer replaced 8 of the 10 coordinators and assistants that worked for Lake.
At UCLA, Malloe take a coaching spot vacated by Johnny Nansen, the Bruins' defensive-line coach and a former UW assistant coach in multiple capacities for Steve Sarkisian (2009-13).
Nansen was one of two UCLA coaches who took new jobs at Arizona, with the former Washington State linebacker becoming the Wildcats' defensive coordinator.
Before coming to Washington as a full-time assistant, Malloe coached at Western Illinois, UTEP, Hawaii, Yale, Portland State and Utah State.
On the downside, Malloe held himself responsible for the Huskies' defensive-line shortcomings that began in 2020 and he had to coach without All-America candidate Zion Tupuola-Fetui for most of this past season when the outside linebacker tore an Achilles tendon and had surgery.
The Huskies and UCLA will meet next season on October 1 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky Maven stories as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
More must-reads: