When Fresno State football head coach Jeff Tedford stepped away from his role due to health concerns last July, assistant head coach Tim Skipper stepped up.
He led the Bulldogs to a Bowl game and a 6-7 (4-3 Mountain West) finish. Fresno State fought hard in the 2024 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, falling in double overtime to Northern Illinois, 28-20. Despite the program’s success under Tedford, Fresno State hired USC’s Matt Entz to take on the head coaching role permanently Dec. 4.
Skipper initially considered returning to Florida, where he was a linebacker coach from 2015-17, but a source told CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz that Skipper is expected to be hired by UCLA, Zenitz Tweeted Tuesday.
Per Zenitz’s source, the Bruins would bring Skipper on in a senior advisory role. Skipper began coaching football in 2001 at Western New Mexico, but has spent the most years at Fresno State. He worked for the Bulldogs for eight years, between 2006-2011 and 2022-2025, and was a Bulldog linebacker himself from 1997-2000.
Skipper has taken on many roles throughout his 20+ year career, but it’s likely he’ll be advising the Bruins in some sort of defensive capacity. He’s served as defensive coordinator twice (Western New Mexico, Sacramento State) and was Fresno State’s run defense coordinator for three seasons.
He would be an interesting addition to the Bruins’ defensive staff, which has work to do this season — UCLA finished last year No. 39 in total defense among all division I teams.
