"This is why they fired you Karl Dorrell"

by bluestreet on Sep 4, 2008 2:13 PM PDT

I don't care much for Dennis Dodd's use of the term "NCAA felon" and the tired "Slick Rick" slur but the first few paragraphs of this article brings it home:

This is why they fired you Karl Dorrell. This is why UCLA welcomed home an NCAA felon to win back the city, the conference and -- thinking way out of the box here -- a national championship.

Only Slick Rick could survive a Pick Six in his debut. Only Rick Neuheisel could transform a forlorn third-string quarterback into the campus hero -- in the space of a half. Only Neuheisel could get away with wearing a sweater vest and long sleeves on a sweltering Los Angeles Labor Day and look good doing it.

Only Neuheisel could stage the pep rally after the game. Yes, that was the UCLA football coach making his first postgame comments to the crowd after grabbing a microphone on a cheer stand at the Rose Bowl. He pumped his fist, led the crowd in UCLA's traditional 8 Clap and was done. For now.

This, dear Karl, is why Neuheisel was hired. It is because he can lead, because he cares, because he's a 47-year-old kid who has been an NCAA pariah and made it back to his alma mater, because college football is still a place where those kinds of things can choke you up. The average team around him knows it after their 27-24 overtime victory over No. 18 Tennessee.

"There's so much passion associated with college football," Neuheisel said after coaching his first college game in five years. "Not that there isn't any in the NFL ... but it doesn't have the same feel, everything hinging on every play. You have to get used to that."

I am certainly getting use to it!!

If Rick keeps this going for few years, they will eventually forget about "Slick Rick" and all those secondary violations and instead talk about his redemption. Plus if teh NCAA ever actually grows a pair they will have to write about the real "NCAA felon" from cross town.

Go Bruins!!!

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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at the risk of...

sounding like a Dorrellista . . .

I’m a little tired of the KD bashing. I don’t think he was ready to be a head coach—he seemed in way over his head, and was far too predictable as a coach.

But I don’t blame him for being hired, and I don’t blame him for staying 5 years. Other people made those decisions, and each was the wrong decision.

And, I certainly don’t think he wanted to lose a single game. He tried to say the right things (but they weren’t always the right things), he tried to do the right things (and often they were not, but he still had some nice wins over USC, OK, and a few others), and he ran a clean program that graduated kids.

He did not do a good job as a coach, but we could see that well before 5 years was up. I hope he learns more about how to be a HC, and I hope at some point he coaches somewhere . . . else, probably. But I hope he gets the chance.

He was and is a Bruin, after all.

And this guy from Sportsline probably wasn’t at 13-9 like I was and a lot of you were, and because he wasn’t there, he didn’t see Dorrell get up on the microphone and address the crowd after that game, just the way Rick did after the Tennessee game. I can’t be the only one who remembers that, either.

Good luck to Dorrell, a good Bruin who was an overmatched coach who made mistakes along the way. Hopefully like Rick he will learn from that and be better for it.

Am I glad he’s not the coach anymore? You bet. But I do wish Bruin fans would stop kicking him at some point.

I’ll take my lumps form you all about that, I’m sure. But I stand by those sentiments.

by palafox on Sep 4, 2008 3:49 PM PDT 0 recs

I agree

I definitely feel like KD was in over his head and was not ready to be a head coach at the time of his hiring. And you are correct…he is a good person and a Bruin for life. But man, what a difference between the two coaches. Any fan can see the how much better RN is suited for this role.

I wish KD the best of luck in the future…last time I checked he was coaching wide receivers for the Miami Dolphins. Hopefully he can turn Ted Ginn into a legit pass-catcher.

Go Bruins.

by hicalliber on Sep 4, 2008 4:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

agreed

i dont know why BN tends to bash character, when skill is all that needs bashing. KD was a good guy, he never embarassed the character of our program, and yes, needed to be fired because he lacked coaching skills. the break was dirtier than it needed to be, and he was about as good a guy as you can be when getting verbally bashed and fired.

that said. go CRN!!!!!!!

by jjreicher on Sep 4, 2008 4:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

I wasn't aware that Dennis Dodd = BN

I’ll have to ask him what his screen name is.

If you want to find some of the reasons for such a “dirty” break, look no further than Kurt Streeter’s disgusting race baiting article/blog. Kurt Streeter also does not equal BN.

Not sure where someone posting an article discussing CRN equates to bashing character.

by Tydides on Sep 4, 2008 5:05 PM PDT up 0 recs

Moreover

I had no problem with the post above. Just because KD was a Bruin doesn’t mean bloggers here can stop pointing out what took place in last five years. The wounds and memories are still raw and it will take a while for folks to forget.

Moreover, Walt Hazzard was not only a Bruin but one of the greatest basketball players to play in a UCLA uniform. However, that doesn’t preclude anyone from pointing out he was a total failure as a HC. People just don’ t talk about it any more because that’s a while ago.

The KD ~~memories~~ nightmares are still fresh and there is nothing wrong with folks bringing them up to point out where we are today.

by Nestor on Sep 4, 2008 5:57 PM PDT up 0 recs

yep

Dorrell definitely had some good qualities (being a bruin is one of them) and I don’t particularly like personal attacks on him, especially because he was largely hired to run a clean program. But running a clean program should really be a given (unless you’re from u$c) and criticisms about his coaching ability are fair game. Let’s not forget what happened to the football program under him.

I can accept a young coach who is way over his head, but I cannot accept a coach who does not improve during his five-year tenure. Instead, he became more and more predictable and set in his ways. All of his adjustments seemed to be for the worse—be it assistant coaching changes, to his play calling. If it wasn’t for some high-quality players like Maurice Drew, the program would have been an absolute failure.

In any event, I still wish KD all the best, but it will be a long time before I forget how awful the past 5 years were for this program. Although… CRN is helping me forget a little faster.

by UCLAbruin920 on Sep 4, 2008 6:19 PM PDT up 0 recs

Yeap

by Nestor on Sep 4, 2008 6:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

Couldn't have said it any better myself

by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 4, 2008 6:30 PM PDT up 0 recs

Thank you!

to everyone who saved me a response.

by bluestreet on Sep 5, 2008 10:06 AM PDT up 0 recs

Walt the HC

Apparently he sat in the corner during practice and smoked cigars. Complaints from the players were met with bench time. He may have been a great Bruin player, and was an acquaintance of mine in school, but his behavior and lack of skills as a coach were unacceptable.
Bill

BillSouthBay

by BillSouthBay on Sep 8, 2008 11:47 AM PDT up 0 recs

Who are you guys talking about?

I have a recollection — getting more and more vague as the days pass — of a horrible nightmare that lasted five seasons. I keep hearing these voices in the nightmare saying “but he wasn’t a bad guy.” The nightmare that I can’t get out of my head keeps reminding me of players being singled out by name, of a head coach who claimed his failures were due to racism, who fired assistants by text message, and who never EVER accepted responsibility. My nightmare was my nightmare, of course, and not anyone else’s. But in my nightmare, that alleged coach was not a really, really nice guy who was put in a place that he couldn’t succeed. He was a guy who demanded the spotlight despite countless failures, who deemed keeping his position as alleged head coach to be so important that he kept it despite the damage it was doing to my (and his) alma mater. The featured player in my nightmare doesn’t sound like the guy being beatified here.

I see no reason to beat on cancerous tissue after it’s been excised. But I also see no reason to forget that we had cancer and just think we had an upset tummy. I don’t want a repeat of that nightmare, and part of the vigilence requires a firm recollection of what it was like. Calling on my Bruin education (so trOJies, you can stop reading), Richard II told Bolingbroke and Norfolk to “Forgive! Forget!” I have no problem with the forgiving part. I forgave this alleged coach as soon as he left. But I’ll never forget.

by Fox 71 on Sep 5, 2008 6:29 AM PDT 0 recs

There you go again

Another term for you to coin: Dorrellectomy

by Bruinut on Sep 5, 2008 9:59 AM PDT up 0 recs

It's true though

Good Things about KD: Bruin, cleaned program
Bad Things: Everything else

-Why do people say that KD “was a good person” as if it was fact? I don’t think he was “bad” but he did some things that was a bit shady & I didn’t agree with (See Fox’s reply). KD being a “good person” is left to the eye of the beholder. Overall he was but by no means was he a saint in my eyes. I truly wish him the best but I don’t see these as “personal” attacks. Personal would be going into things that are not football related. Calling him an idiot for things he does or fails to do is fair game. This is major college football. It is Big Boy country and a Big Boy job. It comes with the territory. Maybe people should check out what other fan bases are saying about their coach right now.

by BlueReign on Sep 5, 2008 8:48 AM PDT 0 recs

I'd give him at least a couple more good

1-This year’s freshman class, which looks to be a very good one.

2-He landed Brian Price, who is perhaps our best player and would start for every team in the conference not to mention most around the country.

3-Unlike Toledo, he actually went out and got a new gig, significantly lowering our payout, which I am sure helped to free up some cash for the excellent staff we have now.

by Free the 16 on Sep 5, 2008 9:59 AM PDT up 0 recs

Correction

I believe DeWayne Walker landed Brian Price. CTS gets credit for bringing in Walker.

I agree with you that getting a new gig was honorable of CTS, even though the circumstances of their firings were different. With the discipline issues and reputation surrounding Toledo, I think it would have been hard for him to get hired again…though I don’t know how hard he tried!

by tasser10 on Sep 5, 2008 12:47 PM PDT up 0 recs

Toledo didn't get hired until this year

He is at Tulane now (and Tulane was practicing here in Birmingham this week because of Gustav and because they play Alabama tomorrow). I thought he maybe had a TV job before this, but I could be wrong.

by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 5, 2008 2:48 PM PDT up 0 recs

Wasn't he the OC

for Rocky Long over at New Mexico State or something? I think this is his third year working since getting fired…

by tasser10 on Sep 6, 2008 9:35 AM PDT up 0 recs

That would make sense

Long was the DC at UCLA before taking the New Mexico State job.

by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 6, 2008 1:14 PM PDT up 0 recs

Toledo and his working career of recent

Remember, he had a sweetheart parachute from UCLA that incented him to sit on his axx unless a real good job came along, so he sat and golfed, etc. for a long time, and yes, he was with Rocky Long until the Tulane job came up.

BillSouthBay

by BillSouthBay on Sep 8, 2008 11:49 AM PDT up 0 recs

To this and below

I thought it was quite well known that Toledo didn’t try very hard, if at all, to get a coaching gig. Perhaps he was holding out for a head coaching job, and you’re right, given the circumstances it would have been difficult. However, he could have easily gone the OC route and pretty much had his pick of jobs. He didn’t because he felt it was beneath him.

KD, while no head coach, at least didn’t demand he be hired for the same spot. He could have easily taken the year off without anyone saying boo. Instead he took a WR coach position. As I said before, I give him credit for this.

As for points one and two, kind of like a President, whatever happens on your watch you get credit for, I do give him credit for getting Price and for getting a jumpstart on this year’s freshman class. Re the freshman class, he wisely figured out he couldn’t close, especially against Carroll across town, so while Pete waited until the end of the season to cherry pick his guys, KD wisely went after guys early and hard. While Pete tried to convert some, he was largly unsuccessful.

by Free the 16 on Sep 6, 2008 9:10 PM PDT up 0 recs

I think you're reaching, Free

He wanted to get on a coaching staff and do nothing rather than sitting at thome and doing nothing. So what? I don’t think he gets any credit for basically doing what he should do. If Toledo didn’t do that, that’s bad by him. Doing the right thing shouldn’t give you extra credit.

I have never heard CTS being given credit for convincing Price to come here. I thought that was all by Coach Walker. I don’t recall all the rest of the details, but wasn’t it Price whose paperwork got screwed up? If my recollection is correct (and it may be someone else altogether), the head coach failed to take the usual steps needed to get him eligible.

But I give no credit to CTS at all. He was in charge of recruiting, and he (a) wasted lots of eligibility by having guys playing on special teams instead of redshirting them. That’s horrible management. And the results of his alleged recuiting are showing now, especially in our offensive line.

The CTS experiment was an abject, absolute, total failure. It should never have been started, and certainly should not have been allowed to continue as long as it did.

But enough of that. Let’s get positive and talk about the future, which for the first time in half a decade is positive.

by Fox 71 on Sep 7, 2008 6:33 PM PDT up 0 recs

No question KD did a lot of bad

I was pointing out the few good moments. As Bill mentioned above, Toledo sat it out when he could have gotten another gig. Most fired head coaches do the same thing, at least in the year after they were fired. I am fairly certain KD had the same buyout on his contract Toledo did, yet he got another gig.

Good point though on the Price thing. If the leader gets credit for the good and bad, then he should definately take the hit on the paperwork issue. Absolutely no defense for that. And a good point on wasting eligibility on recruits (both Bosworths should be Jrs now for example).

Let’s face it, in reality Neuheisel is having to clean up after not one, but two coaches.

by Free the 16 on Sep 8, 2008 12:30 PM PDT up 0 recs

The transformation of "Error Craft" to "Air Craft"

Now that’s coaching. And that’s something we haven’t seen in Westwood for a long, long, long time.

It wouldn’t be hard to predict how the script would have been written last Monday if KD were still around (and that’s assuming we would be playing on a Monday if KD were around). Lack of adjustments, silly penalties, premature burning of timeouts, gutless and boring play calling, followed by the usual “I’ll throw the kid under the bus” tactic in explaining the loss to the media. Fulmer’s bad coaching would’ve been cancelled out and outdone by Dorrell’s bad coaching, and Tennessee’s overall talent edge would have won out handily.

It’s going to take a while to forget the pain of the last five years. By contrasting the then and now, it is part of the healing and cleansing process.

by godblesstyus95 on Sep 6, 2008 9:51 AM PDT 0 recs

Everyone Here

is completely entitled to their own “recovery rate,” no doubt.

IMHO, I look forward to the end of both the venting against Dorrell, and the “Slick Rick” crap.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Sep 8, 2008 4:29 PM PDT 0 recs

Some of you are better than I, re: forgive and forget Dorrell

Dorrell wasted 5 of my UCLA football seasons. I have a little poodle pup that I adore, and 5 years represent nearly half her life. Any way you slice and dice it, those 5 years could never be recovered. And in those 5 years he had become a millionare while destroying our football program. All the while, uttering jibberish that few could understand. But once in a while he managed to get a message through: He brought back UCLA football to the forefront. Or that he was underpaid as a coach.

I don’t care if he is a Bruin. There are, I’m sure, rapists and murderers who graduated from UCLA, so what? They’re off limits to criticism too?

This Dorrell clown wasted 5 years of my life. Don’t want to sound morbid, but I’m sure there were diehard Bruin football fans who passed away during those 5 years, never to know what eventually happened to that charlatan of a coach.

So, no, I will not soon forgive and forget. Because that clown left the program in such a state that a school like BYU is thumping its nose at us and with good reason, due to the current state of THEIR program compared to ours.

by bluegold on Sep 9, 2008 3:50 PM PDT 0 recs

I blame the initial hire

on the chancellor and DG; and then Karl’s behavior and just utter defiance and stubbornness with the media and standoffish attitude really irritated me at the end. I can remember in his first two seasons thinking why the hell do we have this green coach when SC just went and hired an NFL guy. That really irritated me too. We can already see how Rick’s positive attitude and confidence is affecting the team. Everything just seems so much better and hopeful. The fans really deserve this. Best thing to happen to the program in years. Now let’s hope Rick can just continue his success in the next 5-7 years. Nothing against Karl of course but his personality sucked for a head coach. The kids and fans deserved better.

by bruin95 on Sep 10, 2008 1:02 PM PDT 0 recs