Just catching up with yesterday's news (as I was traveling most of the day). Painter has the Walker story from the Daily News, which includes a crucial detail re. UCLA coaching staff:

Neither UCLA linebackers coach Chuck Bullough nor defensive line coach Todd Howard will join Walker at New Mexico State. Walker would have considered either of them joining the Aggies staff, if the school had a bigger budget for assistant coaches.

Walker will bring UCLA defensive graduate assistant Mike Rutenberg with him as an assistant coach.

To me this is the most significant news out of Walker story (who I wish all the luck at NMSU). The fact that Bullough and Howard are staying is a huge boost to CRN/UCLA football program and key for all of our recruiting effort.

If you have followed the recruiting stories from last few weeks those two coaches (along with rest of the staff) have been teaming up with CRN hitting the recruiting trail on all front. It's a good bet that CRN will consider them among the list of candidates he had already assembled (as indicated by his statement congratulating Walker) for the next DC. Also another key part of CRN's Walker/congratulatory statement (which I posted on the frontpage -emphasis this time mine):

"I hope to fill the defensive coordinator position in the next few weeks. Because I felt there was an excellent chance DeWayne would get a head coaching opportunity, I have a list of candidates for the position. Nothing will occur until the staff reconvenes on Sunday and we discuss the candidates together. Our first priority is to continue to build an outstanding recruiting class."

Note how CRN specifically notes he will include the input from rest of his staff wrt to his DC hire (which we can now assume will include the ideas/thoughts of Howard and Bullough).

That piece of news pretty much ensure there will be no dent whatsoever in UCLA's recruiting efforts and just as important there will be continuity in UCLA' defensive scheme in the coming years.Once again you can chalk this up to CRN's deft roster/staff management as I think its reasonable to speculate he had a part in ensuring Bullough and Howard stuck around in Westwood.

Even more reasons to be optimistic re. the future of our program.

GO BRUINS.