KD goes to Miami

by jjreicher on Jan 22, 2008 4:53 PM PST

ESPN is reporting that KD has signed on as the WR coach for the Miami Dolphins. Congratulations and good luck, Karl.

Now for a few questions/comments:

1)
KD was a successful WR coach at Denver, but was obviously in over his head here at UCLA. Leaving what we think of KD aside for the moment, does it shock anyone else that The Tuna brought him onto staff? I, personally, am quite shocked. I realize that KD had success as an NFL WR coach, but he just doesn't seem like the typical Parcells-type guy. Obviously, I am wrong.

2)
Many BNers had responded to the incorrect leaked news of KD going to KC with very positive and congratulatory remarks. It's good to see this. But let me also say that if I were KD, I would DESPISE bruinsnation and dumpdorrell. Let's face it: we absolutely reamed him. Yes we gave him time--5 years--but when the flood gates broke, boy did they break. Viscious ads in the newspaper, hundreds of ferocious blogs...we made his life pretty darn rough. What I really want to mention is that the attacks were NOT limited to his coaching ability. There were numerous posts containing attacks against his character, his passion, and his effort. It was personal, and I don't think we can just brush this aside and wish him luck. I have not fully forgiven his mistakes as coach, and I would not expect him to have forgiven our attacks. I hope the wounds heal in the future--but for now, all I can really say is that I hope he fits in at Miami, and that I hope UCLA football is better off without him.

3)
Despite the above, I do not believe that KD was a terrible head coach--mediocre I think is a better term. I felt that for the most part his players stayed out of trouble and his teams were not bottom-feeders, but middle-of-the-pack. Unacceptable for UCLA, yes, but other quality schools have been there before (or worse, case in point LSU in the '90s). Also, given the level of criticism he received throughout his time here, I felt he conducted himself very well.

KD will always be a very touchy subject, especially here at BN. I just hope that the results of all the hirings and firings will be good in the long-run for both sides.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Your assignment

Use the search button and find one incorrect statement made about Coach Toledo's Successor by anyone in the BN. The likelihood is that there are many, but I would like a list of them.

There were a lot of shots taken at CTS, obviously. But no one is naive enough to think that a person can take a job that is squarely in the public eye and somehow be granted immunity from criticism.

I know for a fact that CTS earned ever microgram of criticism he received from me. I believe that CTS earned all the criticism he received from others. Your opinion is of course yours to give freely. I believe your opinion is not supported by the facts. Prove me wrong.

So your assignment is to find where the criticism was off-base or over the top or undeserved. Please find it and share it.

by Fox 71 on Jan 22, 2008 5:24 PM PST reply actions

I was somewhat surprised as well

by all the congratulatory posts regarding Dorrell, whereas Lavin is still vilified around these parts.

Not to throw dirt in his wounds, but IMO what KD did to our football program is on par with what Lavin did to basketball: His teams underachieved. He wasted talent. He divided fans. And as the program sank further into mediocrity, the competition (Arizona and Stanford in basketball, SUC in football) got better and better as the recruiting pendulum swung heavily in their favor.

Maybe we hold basketball a little more sacred. Maybe KD is more likeable on a personal level than Lavin. Maybe it's because KD is a Bruin. But other than that, can someone please explain to me why we feel the need to wish KD luck, yet continue to vilify Lavin?

by godblesstyus95 on Jan 22, 2008 6:18 PM PST reply actions

Agreed

I saw many posts insulting him on a personal level (Doofus, loser, etc.) during his employment and many saying he was a selfish human being out for himself, so it surprised me.

Maybe we wish him like because it refunds some of his buyout back to the school?

I don't understand the personal hatred for Lavin either. Granted, I wasn't a student until Lavin's last year, but the past is the past and our future is bright.

by kidro2001 on Jan 22, 2008 9:30 PM PST up reply actions

exactly

I had the chance to meet Lavin--he's really a very nice, very intelligent guy. I don't see why the attacks were so personal on him or KD. Some people just aren't great coaches; that's just the way it is.

by jjreicher on Jan 23, 2008 12:21 AM PST up reply actions

It's what happens

when you throw assistants and players under the bus for losses while taking all the credit for victories or when you take a program coming off the high of a NC and let it fall to depths previously unseen.

These two are no longer in a position to do these things to us, hence, the change in attitude.

by Tydides on Jan 23, 2008 7:40 AM PST up reply actions

Personally, my thoughts on KD are...

I think he'll be a good, even possibly a great, head coach someday. I think his biggest problems are his hesitancy. As an HC he played not to lose rather then trying to win. He stuck with the same things even after they didn't work.

I think given enough time he will be a good coch, but I think he needs to be at a mediocre program where he can really try things out outside of the spotlight that is UCLA football and be somewhere where he can find his own style, and find himself as a coach. I think he'll be a good coach someday, but I don't think UCLA should be training ground for any coach, but instead something to aspire to and earn through past accomplishment and experience.

Kyle Bown Class of 2007

by Bruinbown on Jan 22, 2008 7:16 PM PST reply actions

A couple of other points

KD is a Bruin, which is already a huge difference between him and Lavin. He helped us win Rose Bowls and I have no doubt that he loves UCLA. His mistakes while coaching reeked of inexperience, as did his defensive demeanor once things got shaky. It's part of sports to call coaches names when things go poorly.

Lavin is another story altogether. He was a con man. The proof is that he never even tried to get back into coaching because he had no idea what he was doing and had to completely rely on the talent he brought in to win (which he was good at...though he eventually did not recruit the right positions). Henceforth, no school with any basketball tradition and with access to talent would ever hire him again, because he was known to be completely unqualified to coach basketball. Imagine the type of season he would have at a mid-major. He conned us and, while doing so, claimed that we were fans with unrealistic expectations, when we have the most storied program in the country. That is unforgivable.

Dorrell did not try to con us. He thought he could do the job and unfortunately he impressed the wrong person to get hired. Once here, he was in over his head, and once he realized that, he kept backtracking on the expectations beset on his teams each season and kept trying to bring in the right coordinator to save him. So yes, we wish him well because he is a Bruin and I think he meant well. We insulted him because of his amateurish mistakes and his tendency to shift blame onto others. Rick Neuheisel is not shy about admitting his mistakes and learning from them, and Karl Dorrell would do well to take a page from him.

by tasser10 on Jan 23, 2008 8:49 AM PST reply actions

KD...

I met KD through his brother back when he was the wide receivers coach with the Denver Broncos. He told me their would be tickets for me in San Diego when the Broncos came through to play the Chargers. To my surprise we got coaches passes with a ton of Broncos paraphernalia and were able to stand on the sidelines the entire game.

As a Bruins fan I think he was over his head as the head coach and I think being across from Petey during arguably one of their greatest runs didn't help.

He is a classy guy and I wish him nothing but the best.

by bruinelder on Jan 24, 2008 9:23 AM PST reply actions

Personal Attacks are illogical and beneath BN

Listen, BN did a wonderful job of criticizing KD using solid, fact-based arguments, which when made, were often irrefutable. However, many contributors fell into the illogical trap of attacking the person and not his actions or performance. Attacking the person in an argument renders said argument illogical and therefore faulty. It goes without saying that KD was in over his head here and that his on the field performance and off the field management made him a poor leader of the program. That alone is sufficient to make the sound argument that his firing was warranted. Personal attacks (doofus ect.) had no place in the discussion. It is an even more ridiculous argument to say he is a "head football coach" or a "public figure" so it is acceptable and justified to wage personal attacks. There was enough fact based, performance deficiencies to argue for his termination. Every personal attack weakened the foundations of the sound contentions made by many here.

KD is a Bruin, he tried his best in a situation where he was probably unqualified for and landed a wonderful new position where he can continue to grow and develop as a coach. Plus, UCLA is now relieved of a substantial portion of his buyout. Rather than go the "Toledo rode", he did right by his alma mater and secured another job.

So, good luck KD. We were appropriately harsh on your performance and inappopriately critical of you as a person. All the best.

Go Bruins!!

by Bald Eagle on Jan 25, 2008 3:19 PM PST reply actions

Apparently the horse ain't dead yet

so it's appropriate to beat it a bit more.

I give CTS appropriate credit for being a former Bruin. He gets equal credit with me and most of the people in the BN. He gets credit for being a former player, which is more than most of us can say. He gets credit for not being a felon, which is more than most trOJans can say.

But that's it. He gets no more "Gee, he's a nice guy" points. From what I saw, he had as many character flaws as most of the rest of us and then some. How many times did he as the CEO take credit when the team performed well? As I recall, it was every time. And how many times did he accept the blame for a loss (as Coach Howland did after the justsc game)? Zero. So no character points there.

If I recall correctly, he singled out one or two guys (but that may be Walker - I can't really remember.) He used his assistant coaches as scapegoats more than he used them as valuable adjuncts to the coaching process. He fired one coach by text message according to someone on the BN who purported to be the coach's mother in law. He either failed to look at Coach Scott's background, or he ignored that background before hiring him. And he looked me straight in the eye (and you, too, Bald) and called me a racist in Streeter's column.

I don't think anyone disputes the criticism he received about his record. Even the most Kool-Aid addicted Dorrellista eventually had to concede that he was a horrible coach. But I don't think the attacks on him as a person were out of line. He got called out for lots of things but as far as I could perceive, what he deserved it when he got called out.

I also think he earned the nickname "Doofus." He absolutely could not string to coherent sentences together without sticking in one cliche or another. When he didn't resort to using cliches, what he said was pure gibberish. It is the exact opposite of the cogent, reasoned sentences from Coach Howland. Many people thought he just had poor communication skills. My opinion was that he was not smart. Or to put it another way, my opinion was that he was stupid. I therefore thought the monicker "doofus" was well-deserved.

I join basically everyone in the BN at being glad that he's gone. I wish him no misfortune and hope that he has success wherever he goes. But do I think he was treated unfairly by the BN on either a professional or personal level? Absolutely not. He earned all the criticism he received, and in earning that criticism he gave UCLA five years of the worst coaching since Coach Howland's predecessor.

by Fox 71 on Jan 25, 2008 6:24 PM PST up reply actions