Sam Daniels

Biography

Sam Daniels enters his first season as defensive ends coach for the UCLA football program in 2026. He arrived in Westwood after spending the last two seasons as the defensive line coach at his alma mater, James Madison University, under head coach Bob Chesney. The 2026 season marks Daniels’s 15th year in coaching. He made multi-year stops at the USCAA (2012-13), Division III (2014-19), FCS (2021-23), and FBS (2024-present) levels. Daniels, alongside head coach Bob Chesney, helped James Madison reach new heights in their two years together in Harrisonburg, Va. In 2025, the Dukes recorded just the 10th unbeaten conference record in Sun Belt history, going 8-0, and captured the program’s first Sun Belt Championship. James Madison secured a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the first time in school history with the No. 12 seed and earned its highest AP ranking in program history at No. 19. The Dukes finished the season with a 12-2 record following their CFP First Round appearance. The JMU defense ranked fifth in FBS with 266.6 yards allowed per game and 13th with 18.4 points allowed per game. James Madison was also sixth in the country in third down defense (29.4%), 10th in defensive touchdowns (3), 28th in sacks per game (2.57) and 33rd in tackles for loss per game (6.2). Under Daniels’s tutelage, defensive linemen Immanuel Bush and Sahir West both earned All-Sun Belt honors. West ranked second among all freshmen in the nation with 7.0 sacks and seventh in the Sun B

Career Path