With turmoil comes the blame game.

And with accusations come the breeding ground for tension, conflict and ultimately self-destruction.

But for UCLA football head coach DeShaun Foster, discipline and positivity are the ingredients for not only combatting the shrapnel of disappointment but also establishing a winning culture.

“We want to be a program, somewhere where you have to go and learn their way and become a certain way when you leave here,” Foster said. “It’s not just you want to come and play ball here, we want to teach you exactly how to become a man and just what you can do with a UCLA degree.”

Just two days after conceding the Victory Bell – marking the third straight loss at the Rose Bowl in UCLA’s crosstown showdown against USC – and getting officially eliminated from bowl contention, a lot of teams would crumble and collapse.

But a sense of optimism consistently permeates the energy and atmosphere at Wasserman Football Center – regardless of what Saturday’s outcome spelled – as a testament to Foster’s coaching philosophy.

“I would say my strengths are just being able to stay calm in certain situations,” Foster said. “You have to be positive, and these kids have to see somebody positive on the sideline, they have to see that somebody’s completely got their back and always there for them.”

With the Bruins’ shaky finish to their inaugural Big Ten campaign, the 19-13 loss to their biggest enemies was not the sole dark spot of the season.

After they started the season 1-5, with zero Big Ten victories under their belt, it looked as if all hope was lost. However, efforts spearheaded by UCLA’s veteran players helped spark a three-game winning streak, including two road wins against Rutgers and Nebraska.

Although UCLA has dropped back-to-back games to USC and Washington, its diligence and resilience never wavers.

“One thing that most of these coaches have told me after game after game is ‘I commend you for how hard your team plays, it is amazing that they are still out here and still trying no matter what the score reflects,’” Foster said.

The resilience that opposing coaches characterize the Bruins as having is just one stepping stone to being the men Foster yearns his players to be.

“This is my final destination. I want to be here forever.”@UCLAAthletics HOFer DeShaun Foster’s first head gig just so happens to be his dream job.@BTNJourney goes behind the scenes with the first-year @UCLAFootball coach 👇

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— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 23, 2024

The newly minted coach is also known for having his players take etiquette courses and letting them keep the suits they are given for rivalry week, to be used for interviews or any professional encounters both in and after college.

“(We teach them) everything but teach them how to put their socks on like Mr. Wooden (former UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden) used to teach us, but it’s just certain things you need to know,” Foster said. “And I just like the whole suit aspect because when our seniors leave now they have a suit for their first job interview.”

While Foster is the one that has spearheaded the culture change following the departure of former head coach Chip Kelly – who spent six years in Westwood – it is the staff he surrounds himself with that help dictate what type of atmosphere is created.

And the premier example of this may well be Ikaika Malloe. The now-defensive coordinator joined the Bruin staff in 2021 as a outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator before being elevated to head the defensive unit after D’Anton Lynn made a lateral move to head USC’s defense.

The impact Malloe has made in just one season not only speaks volumes to the type of coach he is, but adds credibility to his nomination for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.

“One thing nobody ever gets to see is who he (Malloe) is as a person off the field and the care he has for us individually as players,” said redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger. “Obviously, he cares a ton about football, but at the end of the day he cares more about each and everyone of us, which is really powerful going into games when we have the unity in the defense.”

The culture surrounding Foster’s team – that of creating not just good football players, but good men and individuals – is emulated by the graduating seniors who have spent their collegiate years growing in Westwood.

“I am incredibly grateful for the Bruin program, the UCLA program. I came in here at the age of 19, and now I’m 21 and I have learned a lot,” said senior linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo. “I have grown as a man, I have matured not just on the field but off the field as well, so this means a lot to me, and very grateful.”