Bruins Unite
by Menelaus on Oct 16, 2006 12:55 PM PDT
in Football
Email
PrintAnother very disappointing weekend. By all accounts, a miserable failure by the Bruin coaching staff. UCLA is indeed at a crossroads. And, it may well be a time for action.
In my humble opinion, it is now unmistakable that KD isn't capable of shepherding the Bruins to the promised land. KD will likely never be able to place UCLA back among the elite college football teams in the country. I feel that I know this now. And, I think that if we all take a moment of pause, step back, and look at what has happened at UCLA over the past 4 years, the conclusion is clear. KD isn't the man for the job. He's a decent fellow, but an average (at best) coach. We could argue all day about how bad he is, but it doesn't matter. It's clear that he isn't capable of making the Bruins relevant on the national scene. Or taking them to place where conference championships (not to mention NC's) are more than a remote possibility. He's not what a university like UCLA deserves. And, to some, this has been obvious for a long time.
That said, there are Bruin fans out there fighting hard. And not to affect change in our wayward football program. But to defend Karl Dorrell. It's not the coaching, you see. It's the players. Subpar talent. Bad officiating. Unreasonable expectations. Onerous admissions standards. Etc., etc. We've heard this song before. And, to be honest, the chill of the dark Lavin years is present again. The apathy. The sad acceptance of mediocrity. And more.
It's almost unbelievable. Maybe because they're aren't too many folk like that here. But they're out there. And, just as they did a few years ago, they are working to divide the Bruins Nation and delay the inevitable realization that KD isn't the right man for the job.
"If you don't like KD, you must be a racist."
But, this isn't the time for infighting. It's not the time for recriminations. It's not a time for "blues" or "cranks" or "apologists" or "bashers." It's a time for facts. It's a time for unity. Its a time for Bruins to come together to do what we know we need to do, even if it isn't so pleasant.
Up to this at this point, I don't blame folks who have supported KD. To be fair, these things aren't always easy. And, things are often 20-20 in hindsight. As recently as this summer, I was willing to give KD a chance myself. I truly wanted KD to succeed. I wanted to forget his first two woeful seasons. And credit him for a 10 win season, despite the way it happened. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if he didn't have the pedigree of a Ben Howland to deserve it.
But, if you are reading this, and you find yourself still supporting KD, I beseech you. Take the time now to look around. See what is happening. Ask yourself if KD is capable of bringing us a national championship, or even a BCS bowl bid. And answer honestly. Recognize that a bare "chance" is not enough. This isn't the lottery, or Johnny Cochrane arguing whether it's "possible" that the blood wasn't OJ's.
No, Lloyd, you don't have a chance.
Humans are silly animals. They like to pick sides and stick with it. They're stubborn. But, for just a while, let's forget whether or not you've supported KD in the past. Try to set aside the cognitive biases that color your perception on this issue. None of us really has anything invested in this, besides wanting UCLA to live up to its vast potential.
This shouldn't be an issue that divides. It should be one that unites. This is the university for which we bleed blue and gold.
To many of you, I'm singing to the choir. But, if I'm not singing your tune, just take a few moments, and look at the many facts available on this site and elsewhere. Please.
GO BRUINS.
19 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Drop It.
If KD had the record, the momentum and the emotional disposition of a true D1 Head Coach, we wouldn't be all over his sorry as the way we are (Admissions Standards notwithstanding).
I'M BLACK and I DON'T WANNNA HEAR THAT BULLSHIT. HE SUCKS and by now THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT, so let's just get on with it and FIND OURSELVES A NEW LEADER.
logan
I think all Menalaus was trying to point out how bloggers here have already been accused of being racists for being (so rightfully) critical of Dorrell.
Come on
I certainly don't mean to raise the issue, and I don't care one iota what KD is, besides being an average (or worse) football coach. But, as our friends at ND have rightly pointed out, someone is going to mention it at some point, and I don't intend to be so constrained by uber-PC mores to keep myself from commenting on anything that you might not want to hear.
That said, we agree. KD isn't getting it done, and his race doesn't matter.
The race cart
Given the hatred they have for Dorrell I think some of it has to be racist in nature. Otherwise it makes no sense at all. The guy leads the team to a 10-2 record and beats a Big 10 team in his bowl. That's a fantastic year for UCLA, a team that hovers around a 60% all time winning percentage. The AD gave him a contract extension this year and now the starting QB is injured he will have a pass even if the team goes into the tank this year. Dorell is secure this year no matter what happens and the only way his job would be realistically in danger would be if UCLA were to totally collapse next year (to the tune of one or two wins all year). Even then he might be given another shot.
Comment by oc phil -- October 10, 2006 @ 2:31 pm
What more
What else do people need?
Okay at this point if we win out rest of the season and still finish the season at 9-3, then we can change our minds. But can anyone see that happening?
That's a fair question
That said, some people remain unconvinced, just as they did re Lavin. And that's kinda the point, which is to ask people who might be caught up in the argument, and/or unwilling to acknowledge that their hopes for KD were misplaced, to take a moment and see the obvious.
Just an idea
The shirt would be cool
Okay, but your joking right?
People crack me up.
No...not joking
Good, I'll call you next time
I hereby interpret your comment as your volunteering for any future design work required by my posts. For that, I thank you. ;)
I'm telling you...
Pocho
You come up with something good and then let us know here on BN, I am sure it will be a huge hit.
Might as well use your expertise to get us a good football coach. ;-)
Get the message out
Previous Post
by bruinbabe2000 on Oct 16, 2006 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions
I stand corrected
by bruinbabe2000 on Oct 16, 2006 3:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Sorry for the format trouble. Here's the edit
Up until this season, I was more than happy to give Coach Dorrell the benefit of the doubt. I wasn't expecting another 10-2 season, but at least a season with 8-9 wins, WITH a win over $C, and real improvement and growth to boot.
I was expecting a confident, determined team with decent coaching and a new attitude, especially on D. One for whom challenges would be met with aggression, poise, and preparation, not with the same old oft-repeated excuses of youth, injuries, or difficulties in learning a complex system.
Now, I don't see anything I had hoped for. Not a bit of it.
And for those that are saying the expectations are too high, I now refer you to the lengthy piece in The Sporting News from August of this year:
------------------------------------------------ ...It's Day 1 of another season, another opportunity for Dorrell, in his fourth year as coach, to pursue the monster that is Southern California and put his alma mater back on the college football map.
... This team is more talented than his previous three. Bigger and stronger and more, well, more like that school's across town. This team is his team. For the first time since he arrived before the 2003 season, nearly every scholarship player is one Dorrell recruited.
There are seven fifth-year seniors who were recruited by the previous staff, seven players who have bought into and embraced Dorrell's philosophy.
This year's freshmen, some of whom could have chosen that school across town, make up his best recruiting class yet. This team is coming off a 10-win season, something only six other teams in school history have accomplished.
The staff believes quarterback Ben Olson, after two years on a Mormon mission and one year sitting and waiting, finally is ready to live up to his megarecruit hype. Remember mighty-mite tailback Maurice Jones-Drew? Meet tailback Chris Markey, who, if he lost a couple of inches, would be Jones-Drew's twin.
The interior lines are stronger and more experienced, and the Bruins haven't been this deep at wide receiver in years.
"But if you don't have chemistry," Dorrell says, "if you don't have that brotherhood, you don't have anything."
... The night before, he turned on an overhead projector and flashed the Pac-10 preseason media poll -- the one that had UCLA behind USC, California, Oregon and Arizona State. He then placed the national coaches' poll on the projector, ran down the list of 25 and snaked back and forth over the "also receiving votes" until his finger finally landed on UCLA.
"An insult," Olson says. There's one way to get better in college football: get better players. ...
Yet Dorrell is making recruiting inroads. It began a few years ago with guys such as safety Dennis Keyes, Jones-Drew and Tevaga, who grew up a USC fan but chose to play for UCLA because of Dorrell.
...But the Bruins are becoming more than just a nuisance on the recruiting trail. UCLA has seven early commitments for 2007, three of whom USC badly wanted, including defensive tackle Brian Price from Crenshaw High School, a Trojan stronghold a couple miles from USC's campus.
..."Once you meet him," Tevaga says of Dorrell, "you believe in him." ...
..."You guys did your part," Dorrell says. "It's time for the coaches to do ours."
The first step was last winter, when Dorrell -- unbeknownst to most -- was pursued by the Chiefs and Raiders for head coaching jobs. The guy in over his head at UCLA had the NFL floating seven-figure dreams in front of him. Dorrell decided to stay put.
"I'm not here as the cleaner," he says. "I will get a lot more satisfaction with my job when we're able to turn this around and bring this program back where it should be."
...No one is better than anyone else. It's that exceptional moment when you find one who is.
From what I see, Dorrell may very well be a good man. probably better than a two-faced, cheating, crooked coach like Pete Carroll.
But Dorrell is NOT a good coach. Not nearly good enough, not yet.
If UCLA does NOT beat a suddenly vulnerable U$C, this year of all years, then he's just not the right fit. Terry Donahue may have lost his first 5 to the Trojans, but that was 20 years ago. A different era, different rules.
Maybe I'm too disappointed right now, or I'm being too negative, but the only things I can see as justifying saving Dorrell's job in my mind are:
(1) Going 4-2 the rest of the season WITHOUT losing to $C;
(2) Getting a consistent 400 yards a game from the offense the rest of the season (since touchdowns boost attendance); and
(3) Clear improvement from COLLETTO. Colletto is looking like the retread, unmotivating, ho-hum, unimaginative line coach that many (not me, sad to say) thought he would be when his hire was announced. If some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time, why is it our experienced O-line can't run block and pass block in the same freaking game?
Enough venting from me. Thanks.
MIM
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
