CHICAGO — As part of his efforts to revive UCLA football, coach Bob Chesney has forged some friendships with pro counterparts who know how to build a championship culture in LA.
His bond with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is so strong that the duo was scheduled to play golf together Thursday at Lakeside Golf Club in Southern California. Chesney has also tapped the expertise of Rams coach Sean McVay about the challenges of repeatedly traveling multiple time zones within a season.
“No matter where they play, they land at 6 at night [at the destination],” Chesney said Wednesday of McVay’s Rams, who won the 2022 Super Bowl. “They go through their evening, they get up the next day on whatever time zone they’re in and play the game. I think they’re like 90% wins on these cross-country trips.”
Chesney’s friendship with Roberts goes back to last fall, when the Dodgers manager and former UCLA outfielder served as an adviser to the search committee that hired Chesney from James Madison. They texted and spoke multiple times by phone before Chesney received a strong endorsement from Roberts.
“That relationship has been really powerful for me, just to watch a guy that’s at the pinnacle winning at a high level and just what it takes and understanding what it takes,” Chesney said of Roberts, who has won three World Series with the Dodgers. “I feel like I’m cut from a very similar cloth in the way that I see it as he is — it’s not just fire and brimstones and win at all costs, he’s going to do it the right way and care for his players, and that’s nice to hear.”
What’s been Roberts’ biggest advice to Chesney, who is trying to lead UCLA back to national prominence for the first time since early in the Jim Mora era more than a decade ago?
“Honestly, it’s been about trying to stay true to who you are ultimately, I think, is what he believes in and what he shared with me,” Chesney said, “but just the kindness that I feel like he embodies and the care for his players is different than a lot of people that might be at that level of their career, but I believe that connectivity along with how good those players are allowed them to accomplish things that they did as we watched that World Series a year ago.”
Chesney has benefited from another friendship involving an LA sports icon in podcaster Bill Simmons, who has championed the coach since he won big at Holy Cross — Simmons’ alma mater. The pair also recently dined together with a group of UCLA alums.
Simmons has repeatedly tweeted his support of Chesney since his hiring by UCLA in December, recently retweeting a complimentary story featuring the coach and adding, “We aren’t positive we can accommodate absolutely everyone on the Chesney Bandwagon — but we’re gonna do our best for the latecomers, thanks for your patience.”
Chesney said he was appreciative of the support from someone who has 5 million followers on X.
“To see him just publicly pump us up and everything, there’s nothing wrong with that — it can only add value and continue to get the word spread a little bit more,” Chesney said. “We’re not like super close, but at the same point and time, I’m certainly a supporter of his and I think he is of us.”
