Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Nico Iamaleava's UCLA experience just took a turn from bad to worse after school makes a drastic but not unfair decision

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Craig Smith | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 4:32 PM ET

The gap in fortunes between Tennessee's 2024 and 2025 quarterbacks continued to widen over the weekend for both Nico Iamaleava and Joey Aguilar.

Aguilar delivered a spectacular performance against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in a 44-41 loss. He completed 24 of 36 attempts for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns with 2 interceptions, one of which came when a receiver slipped and fell down. He also added a rushing score.

Iamaleava's nightmare season continued on Friday night in a 35-10 loss to New Mexico to send the Bruins to 0-3. He was 22/34 passing for 217 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

And things got tougher for Iamaleava and the Bruins players on Sunday morning, as UCLA announced it has fired head coach DeShaun Foster.

UCLA Bruins fire head coach DeShaun Foster after 0-3 start

UCLA Football Head Coach DeShaun Foster has been relieved of his duties.

➡️ https://t.co/6mRKqVKquB pic.twitter.com/fWyISTpEax
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) September 14, 2025

Foster was hired in February 2024 and had a 5-10 record for UCLA in one and a quarter seasons. It's a quick move, but it's also a tough one to argue too much against after lopsided losses to UCLA and Utah and a loss to UNLV that they trailed by a big margin in.

It's a tough situation for Iamaleava and the players to be in, as now they will have to get behind a new coach and a new leadership three games into an already disastrous season. UCLA announced that Tim Skipper will take over as the interim head coach. He is listed on their website as the "interim head coach. "Special Assistant to the Head Football Coach".

It's become hard to watch for Iamaleava, even for those still irked by the way he and Tennessee parted way back in April on the eve of the spring game. At this point, except for those of the extreme hate watch category, him beginning to turn things around and salvage something from a lost season could be something at least a portion of the Tennessee fan base would welcome seeing.

Iamaleava and the Bruins will have a chance to show they're better off without Foster moving forward, as they play at Northwestern on Saturday in one of their more winnable remaining games on their 2025 schedule.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: