Why UCLA HC Bob Chesney Offered to Help Oregon after Dante Moore’s Concussion

Bob Chesney's UCLA Bruins are 4-0, coming off a bye and headed to Eugene for a Big Ten showdown with Oregon. Before Rich got anywhere near the matchup, though, he wanted to talk about a phone call that had nothing to do with winning.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning had let it be known that Chesney called him after Dante Moore was knocked out of the game at USC, offering to go see Moore and take care of him if he had to stay over in a Los Angeles hospital. Chesney waved off any credit. "I'm pretty sure that Dan would have done the same thing," he said. "I think a lot of coaches possibly would."

For Chesney, it comes down to upbringing. "I feel like taking care of people is the most important thing that we could do in this profession overall," he said. He knows what it is like to leave a player behind and get on a plane home, and he pictured Moore waking up in an unfamiliar hospital surrounded by people he did not know. Chesney had met Moore once or twice at Big Ten events, and said that if the word had been go, he probably would have brought Nico with him to make Moore feel a little more comfortable. UCLA had the day off. "I think it was the right thing to do."

He already had Lanning's number. The two met at the Big Ten spring meetings, hung out late one night, faced each other when Chesney was at JMU, and stay in contact through the head coaches' group chats. Lanning's reply was simple: thanks, Moore was fine for now and would likely be out soon. The next day he texted that Moore was on his way home.

Rich said that was exactly how he wanted to open, because the humanity of the sport gets lost among the wins, losses, portals and NIL. Chesney agreed. "This still is a people business when it's said and done," he said. "As much as we want it to just be about scheme and how smart we are as coaches, it is a people business, and the human element is the strongest part of any great organization."

That philosophy is the foundation of what he is building in Westwood. When Chesney arrived, his first task was figuring out where the program was, "how alive it was or how dead it was." He knew he, his staff and his players would have to pour energy into the building, the campus and the community. What surprised him was how fast it came back. "I thought I'd be the one bringing all the energy, and it would take a while to have people reciprocate," he said. Instead, "I don't care if you're an 80-year-old Bruin alumni lady, you are just as excited as the 25-year-old ex-football player."

Pressed on what was missing before, Chesney talked about standards: how the team treats people, takes care of the building and takes care of everyone who touches the program. Those things "get missed when you often feel entitled or you feel like the world owes you something." His approach flips that. "It's never been about just what can people do for us. It's what can we do for people," he said. The team has agreed from day one to put the team first, teammates second and themselves last, all in pursuit of a Big Ten championship.

So is that the goal this year? Rich asked directly. "Man, I'm not putting any limits on us. And I don't think you should either," Chesney said. He would rather handle it on the field and in practice than predict numbers.

Rich, who has been around the Big Ten since arriving on the Michigan campus in 1986, knows one thing that always works in that conference: a run game. UCLA has one, a three-headed running back group that Rich noted ranks first nationally in rushing touchdowns, third in yards per carry and fifth in yards per game. Chesney spread the credit around. Coach Kennedy, Coach Smith and the staff design "a phenomenal run game every single week" and dress it up so it never looks the same.

A lot also falls on the quarterback, Chesney said. With two calls in a huddle, it is his job to get the offense into the right one, whether that is run, pass or a switch between them. The staff wondered whether he had that ability, and Chesney said he "absolutely" has the intellect and football acumen to handle it. Then there is the offensive line. "The running backs will get the credit, but I think every single one of them would walk right down the hall and give the credit back to the offensive line and the tight ends."

One of those backs is Wayne Knight, who followed Chesney from James Madison. Chesney described a physical runner who gets to full speed quickly, can hide behind the line and was "running roughshod" through the Sun Belt. The turning point was JMU's game against Oregon at the end of last season. Chesney admitted his team was "decently outmatched," but Knight held his own. "We always had the confidence in him," Chesney said, but that game showed Knight he could play at this level.

Which brings it back to this weekend. Rich compared it to a recent conversation on the show about the Raiders facing the Chiefs as a "buy-in game," a chance for a team that had bought into its coach to prove it. Chesney accepted the comparison. "We're 4-0. What kind of 4-0 are we is what people are asking, right?" he said. "A lot of people still don't know if they should believe or not. And I think that this is a game that gives an opportunity to a lot of people to truly believe in what we're doing here."

Rich also asked which UCLA alum reaches out most. Chesney's answer: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. They talk every two or three days by text or phone, asking each other how their teams look. "We're not talking really X's and O's and scheme," Chesney said. "It's more about team dynamics and people." He said Roberts "definitely has an ability to inspire people at a very different level," which is exactly what Chesney is trying to do with his players. "I'm his biggest fan, and he's ours too."

Chesney said Bruin fans are part of "the village" it takes to build a program, and he is glad to give them something to believe in. Rich reminded him he also has to keep pace with Cori Close, who just hung a national championship banner in Pauley Pavilion. Chesney called her another example of understanding the power of people and team. "There's a lot to be gleaned from her as well."

The interview ended with TJ, who once mentioned on the show that he wore the same shoe size as Lanning and received a free pair of Oregon kicks. Chesney happened to have a pair of UCLA sneakers on hand and said he would see what he could do. "I think we aim to please," he said. Rich's read: a classic Los Angeles "let's hang out." Number 21 UCLA visits number 13 Oregon on Saturday, and the Bruins will find out what kind of 4-0 they really are.