Derek Carr joins UCLA football as special advisor to Bob Chesney

Derek Carr hasn't thrown an NFL pass since he walked away from the Saints in May 2025, but he's not done with football. UCLA announced this week that the four-time Pro Bowler is joining new head coach Bob Chesney's staff as a special advisor, a volunteer role where he'll help game-plan with the offensive staff and work directly with the Bruins' quarterbacks.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Former NFL QB Derek Carr has joined the UCLA staff as a special advisor to head coach Bob Chesney Carr will assist Chesney and the Bruins’ offensive staff with game planning, while also working with UCLA’s QBs. t.co/N9fUGlhT6G

The move isn't as random as it looks on the surface. Carr overlapped at Fresno State from 2009-2013 with Darrick Yray, now UCLA's general manager, who spent years with the Bulldogs in offensive and operations roles. That relationship reportedly opened the door for Carr to plug into Chesney's staff as he settles into life after an 11-year NFL career that included stops with the Raiders and Saints.

Carr's exit from the league was anything but planned. He retired abruptly in May 2025 after a labral tear and degenerative changes in his throwing shoulder made playing through the pain a non-starter, reportedly walking away from a chance at $30 million rather than push through surgery and a lost season. Now, instead of chasing one more NFL contract, he's advising a UCLA program trying to find its footing under a first-year head coach.

Chesney himself is a new face in Westwood, arriving off a 21-6 run at James Madison that included a Sun Belt title and a College Football Playoff appearance. Bringing in a quarterback with Carr's résumé to work with the QB room and sit in on game-planning is a low-cost, high-upside add for a staff still building its identity heading into camp.

FOX College Football

@CFBONFOX

🐻 @UCLAFootball’s newest special advisor Derek Carr has arrived to camp 🎥: @BruinReport

That arrival on campus is the real signal here — this isn't a ceremonial title Carr picked up and forgot about. He's actually in the building for fall camp, which is when a new advisor's fingerprints can show up fastest, from install tweaks to how the quarterbacks are coached day to day. For a UCLA offense trying to find rhythm under a new staff, having a guy who played over a decade at the position in the room is exactly the kind of resource Chesney was talking about when he called Carr's experience 'an incredible resource.'