Clean the House: Time for Wholesale Regime Change at UCLA
by BruinsNation on Oct 21, 2011 11:31 AM PDT
in Football
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It's been a long decade of irrelevance for UCLA football, but last night, against Arizona, UCLA finally hit rock bottom. The Wildcats put an absolute beat-down on the Bruins on a nationally televised ESPN game, outscoring the Bruins 42-7 . . . in the first half. Fortunately, Arizona took their foot off the pedal, took out their starters, or else Rick would be facing something 80+.
With a roster loaded with talent from top-tier recruiting class after top-tier recruiting class, the Bruins again came out flat, were undisciplined, and were thoroughly out-coached by an interim head coach with zero head coaching experience in charge of a moribund program that was 1-5 coming in to last night's game. That's right folks: Tim Kish, coaching his first game ever as a head coach, made Rick look flat-out clueless.
Despite two weeks of "preparation" and getting "ready to compete" Rick's team came out flat, uninspired, and could not even execute simple, basic fundamental football skills. From dropped passes to the lack of anything resembling defensive discipline or tackling ability, one thing became abundantly clear: there's a lot of guys in Westwood who call themselves "coaches" but no one on Rick Neuheisel's staff knows how to coach. It's sad when high school programs (De La Salle, Mater Dei) have better defensive gap discipline and more sound fundamentals.
And this isn't the first time this kind of embarrassing play happened. As Patroclus laid out yesterday, the embarrassing performances have been the norm for every game this season as the Bruins have flailed away in our much discussed "eye test" game after game.
This is absolutely pathetic. It's totally unacceptable. We have bent over backwards to give Rick Neuheisel a fair shake, to be reasonable in our expectations for him. While Neuheisel is still technically alive to meet the baseline expectations for this season, we specifically mentioned this (emphasis ours):
We should also add that we are also going to look at more than just the baseline expectations set out above. For example, we are not going to look kindly on an 8-4 regular season record that includes the type of epic beat downs that the UCLA football program has vomited out in recent years in the form of drubbings courtesy of BYU, Oregon and Southern Cal.
Well in some ways the latest debacle in Arizona was worse than those epic beat downs referred in the paragraph above. Add to the scoreboard, what happened towards the end of first half showed on national television how Neuheisel has completely lost this program.
Generally speaking, it is unwise to let a coach go mid-season. The exception to the rule is when a team quits on the coach. The team quit last night. Frankly, it looked like they quit before the game even started. They did not come to compete. They did not rally around their coach in an attempt to save his job. They played like they did not care.
So after last night, no matter what happens rest of the season, we can say absolutely, without any doubt, that Rick Neuheisel is not the man for the job in Westwood:
Rick Neuheisel needs to either resign or be fired immediately.
But that's not enough folks.
The diseased culture of mediocrity that permeates Morgan Center has not only made our football program a laughing stock, a proverbial soft team of vespa clowns, but it has damaged UCLA athletics as a whole. Not only is operating revenue and ticket sales down, but even our non-revenue programs aren't nearly as successful as they were before Dan Guerrero took over at Morgan Center, but ol' Dan still collects a big fat paycheck. In case folks need reminders here are the low lights from Guerrero's reign of error at UCLA:
- Dan Guerrero initiates a newsletter, calls it a "blog", refuses to allow UCLA fans to post questions publicly, and hand-picks the softball questions to answer, in a manner that proves Dan and Morgan Center have zero understanding of how to engage with the fan base using "new media."
- UCLA football, under Dan's watch, has gone from a conference power and nationally prominent program, with regular Rose Bowl appearances, into the laughing stock of the conference, causing UCLA football to slide into total irrelevancy.
- Guerrero's tone-deaf public statements are embarrassing at best, and insulting to the intelligence of the UCLA fan base at worst, but more damning is that Guerrero and Morgan Center's failure to grasp that they have become an easy target for open mockery.
- Dan Guerrero is responsible for the diseased culture of mediocrity that has infected Morgan Center, demonstrating a complete inability to manage a top-tier Division I athletic program with a BCS conference football program.
- Under Dan's watch,UCLA football has managed to hit an all-time low, with sagging attendance at the Rose Bowl and embarrassing defeats at home on national television, playing undisciplined, lazy, conservative football.
- Since Dan Guerrero has taken the reins at Morgan Center, UCLA has managed to consistently slide toward mediocrity and obscurity, causing us to openly wonder if Dan's new slogan is "First to 100, Last to 200"as UCLA's formerly-consistent championship haul gets smaller during his reign.
- The entire student seating debacle at the lame, over-priced Pauley Pavilion renovation (#SFatPauley), which involved shady UCLA athletic department officials flat-out lying to the UCLA community.
- The idiotic decision to hire Cheatey Petey disciple Rocky Seto as UCLA's next defensive coordinator (#VetoSeto), demonstrating a total inability to grasp the entire Bruin Nation's objection to hiring a shady Trogan operator from a sanctioned program of cheaters.
- Declining operating revenue and ticket sales due to total mismanagement of UCLA's main revenue program, letting football turn into a total joke.
- Hiring two football coaches from the diseased, conservative, play-not-to-lose Donahue coaching tree (Karl Dorrell and Rick Neuheisel), while passing on other, better qualified, more talented coaches, that made us openly question Guerrero's ability to evaluate coaching talent and make a competent hire for the football program.
All of this leads to our other conclusion:
Dan Guerrero needs to either resign or be fired immediately.
Before going any further, we want to make something abundantly clear: we appreciate Rick's passion and love for UCLA. He's been a very classy coach and great representative of UCLA. Even as his program circles the drain, he hasn't stooped to the lame duck tactics we saw from the last head coach (playing the race card, throwing players under the bus). Rick, unlike his predecessor, recruited very well (in spite of the poor on-field product, probably because he's a great salesman for everything UCLA) and he'll leave a loaded roster for the next head coach.
That said, it's clear that Rick is not the right man for the job. His recruiting was very solid, and sometimes absolutely lights-out amazing, but college football just doesn't seem to mesh well with him. We wish Rick luck in whatever endeavor he chooses to pursue next.
As for Dan Guerrero, UCLA should not have been in a position to look for it's third head coach in the last decade. That's an unacceptable statistic and, even in the absence of all the other BS that Guerrero has pulled while in charge at Morgan Center, is a damning indictment of his mismanagement of the Athletic Department and his willing acceptance and promotion of the diseased culture of mediocrity at Morgan Center.
It is time for wholesale regime change in Westwood.
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Great. I called the Chancellor's Office and expressed my displeasure.
Lady wrote down my Name, Class, asked me if my records were under the name I gave her, and said she’d communicate my desires to the Chancellor. 310.825.2151. Call. I cannot be the only one who cares.
U-C-L-A Fight, Fight, Fight! Go Bruins!
NBA: Where Greed Happens. RIP 10/10/11.
I called the Chancellor's office today and left him a message
I will no longer be donating to any UCLA programs so long as the school does not commit to football as it does to every other program at the school. They are no longer receiving a blank check from me anymore.
by JohnstownBruin on Oct 21, 2011 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions
UCLA's athletic department expenditures
The school does not commit to the athletic program like you’d expect from a school with the richest athletic tradition in the nation. Our athletic program, with the exception of football, has been successful despite the lack of the support from the administration.
USA Today has a nice tool that shows the total athletic expenses of NCAA public universities updated for 2010. UCLA came in with total department expenditures of approximately $62M, which was less than Oregon ($77.8M) and Cal ($69.3M) but barely higher than Washington ($61.6M), Arizona St. ($58M), and Arizona ($57M). To put this in a broader perspective, Texas spent nearly $130.5M last year, Ohio St. $122.7M, Tennessee $111.6M, North Carolina $72.6, which were the high numbers for public schools in their respective BCS conference.
Guys do this! It takes only 30 seconds!!!
And if you need a script, here is the recap of my call that I posted in azbruin’s earlier post:
"Hi Maam, I’m calling as a very concerned UCLA Alumni and former season ticket holder. I call because I am very concerned with the state of our Football program, and amespecially embarrassed about the showing from our team last night in which the players engaged in a ridiculous brawl after being blown out at halftime. This is only the tip of the iceberg with respect to the many embarrassments our Athletic Program has given us since Dan Guerrero has served as Athletic Director.
Can you please pass along my message to Chancellor Block. I ask that Chancellor Block give this issue his immediate attention, that he fire Dan Guerrero immediately, and that he put in place an Athletic Director that will put UCLA’s Athletic Program first over whatever NCAA ambitions he may have. I am strongly considering severing all financial contributions to UCLA if this issue is not immediately addressed."
The secretary took my name, when I graduated, and said she would pass the message along.
Do you have the Chancellor Email?
We must make sure the BRUIN NATION’s voice are heard with all means necessary to express our frustrations.
Thanks,
just sent one off on behalf of myself, the misses (a Geezer-ette) and the youngest Bruin in the household (class of 2015). Hopefully the sheer volume will hae an impact . . .
The Mad Bruin
by lostnacfgop on Oct 21, 2011 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Called Just Now
I left a message with the lady who answered the phone in Chancellor Block’s office — provided my name and season ticket information and told her I would be cancelling my season tickets and no longer supporting UCLA athletics until both Dan and Rick were replaced.
It definately sounded like they are getting lots of calls today because she did not seem surprised at my message but expressed that she was sorry I felt that way about the situation.
by ucsbbruinfan on Oct 21, 2011 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions
The lady at the chancellor's office had a tone in her voice
That made it sound like lots of people have called to voice their discontent.
Keep it up!
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
contact info
Can somebody consolidate a list of contact info for Block and Guererro…phone numbers, mailing addresses and emails?
Want to reiterate we appreciate Rick’s passion, but need the program to acknowledge “turning the corner”, “crisp practices”, “a bowl game” “6 and 6” is unacceptable.
If you haven't seen this
Here is Dan Guerrero’s current contract. Notice the perks and huge bonus he’ll be getting if he makes it to 2013.
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compensation/Interim%20item%2005%2008%20—%20Guerrero.pdf
LOL
That might be effective, but I’d rather have Guer-error around than to have anything to do with that scumbag. Still, a funny and creative idea!
Well . . .
. . . I think ol’ Craig was pretty merciless in his criticisms last night – all three of those guys were. Deservedly so, of course – but that didn’t make it any easier to listen to it.
The Mad Bruin
by lostnacfgop on Oct 21, 2011 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Not sure if this is related or OT
But, what the hell is up with our defense the past 2 decades? The topic has come up over and over again, but the sheer duration of this futility, and it’s magnitude, are just incredible. Off the cuff, i can’t think of any time during that span, other than possibly Phil Snow’s first season and the Walker years (although that open to some debate) when we were even respectable. Could just be a continuing reaction to last night’s punishment, but what the hell is going on. Under every head coach and 2 ADs no less. Nick Alioti seems to be doing ok up at Oregon, why couldn’t he get anything going at UCLA? His defenses were almost as bad as what we saw last night, we just had an offense that couldn’t be stopped. Anyway, I guess it all comes back to this Culture of Mediocrity you guys have articulated so well, but I’m starting to wonder if there are even larger issues and if this ship can be righted at all anytime soon. It all simply defies logic.
Could it be that only at UCLA do we not practice live tackling?
I don’t know. I think I’ll ask around on some of other sites. I’ll report back.
Could be that, at least in part - it's one obvious issue that keeps coming up
Looking forward to hearing what you find out.
by Nocal Bruin on Oct 21, 2011 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions
There was a discussion on ESPN
about this. Apparently, no one practices live tackling anymore, since the reduction in scholarships.
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions
During the season, I have heard that it is not common
During Spring and Summer/Fall practices is a different story, and we fail to practice at those times as well.
formerly bruinhoo
When Urban Meyer was doing the broadcast for the UO spring game
He was completely amazed there were live special teams plays.
I heard the Florida color man say the Gators didn't do live tackling in practice
and he also said that was why they were playing such poor defense.
Your memory fails you
We had a great defense in 1993 and 1997. We had a decent one in 2001 until everyone gave up, and we had a decent one in 2003 in Dorrell’s first year.
Note the 4-year trend. It’s not a coincidence.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Thanks
I had a sneaking feeling I might have been falling prey to recency bias. On a positive note, sounds like we’re due for a change when he hit the sweet spot in this next election cycle …
regime change
What it takes to win at football—a certain kind of personality at the head of affairs. Let’s look at a case in point, Jim Harbaugh. This is the Gen Patton type of guy who is totally engaged at all times, a hard charger taking floundering programs like Stanford and the 49ers and turning them into winners in a very short time. The best AD UCLA ever had was JP Morgan. UCLA was good in football, basketball, track and field, tennis etc. He hired winners. There are now almost 100 teams that are better coached than UCLA. Money and academic requirements are false arguments. You either do it or you don’t. It wasn’t so long ago that UCLA football won many years in a row over SC, had the best track team, had the basketball world dominated. Question of will that is all.
I thought JD Morgan was a much better AD than JP Morgan.
Although JP Morgan was a heck of a finance guy, he just didn’t grasp the nuances of D-1 athletics
well at least you are watching the trees not the forest but ooops
nuff said
by guruofbruins on Oct 21, 2011 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Please don't take offense
and continue to post. Fox 71 is just adding levity to an otherwise gloomy and depressing day. His humor is one of the many reasons I keep coming back to this great blog.
by truebluebruin on Oct 21, 2011 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions
He lost the team already!
It’s time for a change, Rick N. has lost his touch! It’s one thing to berate the QB after every damn play, but know he is yelling at his defensive coordinator who he hand picked. No more scapegoats for you coach this is you’re mess time to put the blame on yourself. FIRE RICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Need a coach with attitude
In my opinion, we cannot wait to make this decision.
Waiting will not help recruiting, waiting will hurt recruiting. we have time to make a hire before the recruiting season begins.
We need to begin the coaching search now. As much as we’d all like to think we could get a Urban Meyer or Jeff Fisher, we don’t have the money for them
Personally I think the next coach comes from a guy who has some attitude and swagger and Someone the administration can sell. But it also needs to be a guy who will do it for $1.5MM or so.
1) Mike Leach – The guy won at Texas Tech. Hard nose. Innovative and can get some attitude back in the program. You can also hire him NOW. Get him on the recruiting trail and make something happen going into 2012.
2) Mike Bellotti – Winner at Oregon. Got his team at points to a number 1 ranking. He is a great candidate and is a guy we can also hire right NOW.
3) Rich Rodriguez – Was a 10 game winner yearly at West Virginia. Actually improved his record at Michigan every year. I could see him, making the move. He has something to prove and we have a lot of the pieces in place for him to work some magic. We can get him NOW
4) Brent Venables – Asst Head coach at Oklahoma – Little bit of a longer shot. Reason I say this is a guy like Venables, arguablly the top asst in football, will want a top 10 program opening. Similar to what Will Muschamp got from Texas to Florida. Also – he will sit and wait and it will hurt us in recruiting. We need a guy now.
Reality hit us in the face last night. Let’s do something now to help us for 2012. Get as much out of 2011, but give the kids some reason to be here in 2012. Time is now
We need to get a big name...
… with the TV money coming in and the market / recruiting hotbed, a good coach should be licking their chops to come in here and do an easy turnaround. I think in many ways we’re similar to my NFL team, the 49ers. We have good players in place and a strong tradition just begging for a good coach to come in here and show immediate results.
Which begs the question: Why don't we have the money for a high end coach?
With the new Pac-12 media contract about to take effect, and the promise of even greater media revenue streams, Morgan Center will be getting several million $/year in new revenue. Also, we have a number of well-to-do boosters – while not sourced, there have been rumors and discussion that several of these are willing to further open their checkbooks to help pay for a coach, if a quality candidate is on the table.
Basically, it comes down to the fact that Guerrero (and UCLA athletics in general) has skimped on paying head coaches in the past. Whether Morgan Center and the university’s administration has an ideological problem with paying market rate for a quality head coach, or simply lacks imagination or strategic thinking in allocating or generating the needed funds, I don’t think it is accurate to say that we don’t have the money to hire one.
formerly bruinhoo
The money can be found
It’s a matter of arrogance.
The Morgan Center, the UC, they all think they can do the same thing more efficiently (read: more cheaply) than anyone else, and also share the perception that spending money on athletics is beneath them.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Working for the state
= doing everything on the cheap so you can funnel the money to pensions
+1
I agree. And spare no expense this time. Rich Rod would be a good fit with this Pistol stuff and Hundley’s ability. Act now. I have been an ardent supporter of Neu, but last night was the straw that broke the camels back. NO MORE.
Bruin 1986
Muschamp was on everyone's list,
but he is pulling a CTS with Florda. Big news last week. For the first time since the Magna Carta, Miami, Florida and Florida State were all out of the top 25. I thought that was kind of neat, but a lot of the neighbors here in Geezerville were spiking their prune juice.
None of those guys will come for 1.5 million
There are discussions that we will pay top dollar….for the right coach. Take it however you want.
If you’re happy/content with us going 8-4 every year, Leach is not the answer. Leach was HC from 2000 to 2009. During his time, he was 2-8 v Texas and 3-7 v OU. Granted, he built up TT and he should be able to get better recruits but this isn’t the type of hire I want for UCLA. I don’t want a team that runs a gimmicky offense that is one dimensional.
You can bet Oregon isn’t leaving their spot anytime soon, Washington will continue to get better, suc will be back, etc. I don’t want us to win only 25% of our games against the top teams in our conference. We all talk about our natural recruiting advantages and so forth. If you believe this, then we should always be in the discussion for the Pac 12 South and Pac 12 title almost every year. This is where UCLA should be. Not some 2nd tier program within our conference.
Rodriguez is not the answer either. IMO, we need to go back to a pro style offense and stop messing with these gimmick offense. And yes, I think the spread is gimmicky. As we’ve seen, we don’t have what it takes to run it well. In addition, I don’t want a revolving door at the QB position because they’re exposed to more hits.
As for Bellotti, I question whether he will have the motivation at his age (no offense to the geezers) to undertake this task. I was never fully sold on him either. I think his coordinators had a lot to do with his success. Not that this isn’t the case for other HC’s.
Lasty, Venables has potential but we can’t take that risk. If there is such a place below rock bottom, I think we can drop even further. We have talent but if we don’t get this next hire right, we’ll see the talent level drop to the KD levels if not lower. The Pac 12 is down but you can bet that Utah who has already recruited pacific islanders well will now start to get better/higher rated recruits since they’re in the Pac 12. Also, Colorado isn’t a slouch either. They have tradition and have had success before. We know Embree/Bienemy can recruit. If they turn things around, Colorado will be a force to be reckoned with in the future as well.
There is too much at stake. Whomever the next HC is, we need to hit a homer. And don’t forget, who saids that these people would be interested anyways. A guy like Venable can take advantage of OU’s NC run into a HC position at a school that prioritizes football and fully supports the program. The same goes for any other candidate as well.
I think
you overestimate Colorado, especially now that they’re not in the Big 12.
I agree with a lot of what you say, especially the “gimmicky” offense. I don’t even like what Oregon is running, it looks like high school football to me, I don’t care how much they’re winning. I guess beggars can’t be choosers, but I’d much prefer a pro-style offense with a sprinkling of these gimmicky offenses just to keep things fun for the players and keep the opposition guessing.
The QB position has absolutely been one of the key issues with our program. None of the other teams in the Pac-12 have had that issue for as long as UCLA has, except perhaps Cal, and see what’s happened to them lately, even with a pretty good defense. Add to that a spotty offensive line and it’s a disaster.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Yup
Our base offense should be pro style. I’m fine with what Saban does sprinkling in some spread and pistol components to make the opponents prepare for everything and keep them off balance.
Oregon's offense stands out to me not because of gimmicks (other than 2 point conversions all the time) but because of incredible speed.
They have speedy playrs who get their plays quickly and run them quickly. I don’t see that kind of speed anywhere on our team, other than occasionally from Franklin.
Leach won at TT
That can’t be understated. He was doing that with 3* athletes, not the 4* and 5* guys he’d be getting at UCLA.
I wouldn’t judge the pistol offense from what you’ve seen of it by CRN. I don’t think he would be able to run any offense successfully.
Also
you don’t base your hiring decision based on recruiting. That is a recipe for disaster. If you get the right guy (if it means taking the rest of the season to identify that person, I’m all for it), he will sign a decent class if he has any recruiting acumen at all. Most times, the 2nd class is the one where coaches usually hit paydirt. Recruits are able to see what type of offense/defense they will run, what type of identity the program has and will have a better feel/understanding from current players who have been under the HC for a year.
There is plenty of talent in Westwood. If we hire the right coach and make the necessary changes culture wise, I fully expect the next coach to compete for the Pac 12 South title next season.
Your definition of "gimmick" is anything that isn't totally conventional
A typical UCLA response to innovation. There is nothing “gimmicky” about any offense that uses the entire field. The only “gimmicks” are trick plays and trick formations like the Wildcat. Leach’s offense in particular, where he as no problem if the other team knows the play they are going to run because they can execute it anyway, is the very opposite of a gimmick.
Not to mention Chip Kelley's gimmick scheme
Which relies on knowing how to run a few plays extremely well, and practicing them hard.
Much less gimmicky, in fact, than a “pro-style” offense that throws in a billion plays from every which way that nobody has time to really learn. There are many ways to cross a field in college.
Thus "gimmicky"
And I’m far from a person that gives “typical UCLA responses to innovation”. Tell me how successful TT has been running the FB. Especially in the Red Zone when they need a yard or two for the TD. Or how about when WVA is down big…does Rich Rod’s offense lend itself to comebacks when their passing game isn’t up to snuff?
This is the reason why I prefer balance
Balance has many meanings
I respect your position as a fan, I’m just attacking your definition of gimmick, which is certainly a typical response to bold innovation in football in many quarters (not just UCLA). I think you’re being reactive about this without looking too closely at what really constitutes balance in an offense.
TT averaged 150+ yards rushing in 2008. They’ve never had trouble scoring in or out of the red zone under Leach, so I feel that concern is misplaced. If Leach is getting top-tier talent, he like any coach will be able to exploit these things more easily. A number of his proteges have incorporated a very productive running scheme into his O. The balance in the scheme is being able to use a) the entire field, and b) every one of their skill players in any play, whether it’s run or pass. Some schemes do it mostly by running, some mostly by passing. They both can work extremely well and are very efficient at the lesser used play. And that formula has proven much more effective than the false balance of 50/50 run-pass plays, which can be equally unbalanced when uncreative. (Sometimes it seems like our attack, which is more pro than you think, has only 2 receivers on any route and runs only through the same space.)
Has Chip Kelley’s rushing attack had any trouble making comebacks? They were down 21-3 against Stanford last year.
An expertly run spread attack — whether it’s run-first or pass-first — is pretty unstoppable in college. There is a reason why so many of the best offenses in CFB history have been variants of the wishbone or air raid.
So there is no confusion
Every offense should be using the entire field vertically and horizontally. And everything else you said. This is a given to me. I don’t based balance based on 50/50 play calling either.
The problem with Leach’s offense is that they cannot run against top teams. They make their living off of the Kansas, Iowa State’s of the world. When they face UT or OU, they are pretty much 1 dimensional. When they need that critical yard, they don’t get it more times than not. The same applies to Oregon. They pad their stats against the weaker opponents but when they face top notch competition, it isn’t a video game anymore. Granted, one would expect that from the level of competition.
Thus, I prefer a pro-style, balanced offense that can be equally effective running & passing the ball with diverse play calling and which utilizes all quadrants on the field. One that also doesn’t leave our QB to dry considering how snake bitten we’ve been at that position. It’s a hellavu lot easier to throw in the 2nd string LB as opposed to the QB.
Responding in friendliness
1) Leach’s qbs have never had to run or been exposed — I don’t think a single of his starters were ever injured. He’s had great OL coaching and passes the ball quickly, thus avoiding contact for the QB. So don’t worry about that.
2) The reason Leach (or any other team) can’t easily just pound that ball on UT or OU is because UT and OU are far, far more athletic and talented, which is what makes the difference in pounding the ball. So I don’t think it’s fair to blame that on his scheme. No other team in the country with TT’s talent could do that either. But with his scheme he did find a way to beat them a few times each even at their heights, and in fact almost beat #6 Texas another year in which they came back in the final minute to win. Most teams with his talent level would get blown out. Also: he did not merely beat up on the Kansases. He also beat up on the Nebraskas and A&M’s, who were far more talented even if they weren’t UT level.
I actually like this debate because I think we should zero in on these factors that distinguish coaches and make sure we’re aware of the right ones. You can have your preference and I can have mine, but I do think we can agree on what does and does not amount to a shortcoming. Yes, it’s tougher for Kelly to play OSU and Auburn, but he also put up 50 on Stanford’s awesome D last year. I just don’t think that any tough game should be used as evidence against an unusual scheme, because you can make the same point about pro-schemes laying major eggs even with superior talent.
Ahem, 13-9, ahem ;)
I don’t think that would’ve ever happened if Leach had SC’s talent.
True
but can he get that talent? I’m not so sure he can. If I’m a top 5 prep RB, I’m not going to play for Leach. His bread and butter is the pass. The same if I’m a top OL. NFL scouts aren’t going to be knocking down my door because I can pass block well but can’t maul anyone. If so, then Leach will just be utilizing the same scheme with the same talent level but just in a diferent conference.
well
we have RB talent to get us through the first 3 years of a Leach regime. So at the very least he’d have one or two years to show how he’d use a RB in his scheme at UCLA. Also, we might not land 5* RB talent but we’d sure AF land 5* QB’s and WR’s.
Why not mention Chris Petersen from Boise St.
Although its way to early to talk about replacements for CRN, but I think the Boise St. Coach should be at the top of our list! Look what he has done to a program thats in the middle of nowhere and getting “second rated recruits” according to the schools like UCLA, USC, Oklahoma and Texas etc…This guy has made Boise St into a National Contender year in and year out. I truthfully hope we have a shot at this guy.
by Trojanswearskirts on Oct 21, 2011 2:59 PM PDT up reply actions
He has said in the past that he doesn't want to leave Boise and he doesn't want to coach UCLA
But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask him.
Bear in mind the records of the last couple of Boise State head coaches who have gone elsewhere.
What I have been hearing is that after this year Boise St. will be down again for the next couple years. No better time to leave a small school like Boise St.
by Trojanswearskirts on Oct 21, 2011 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Looks like
he wants to stay in the Northwest and somewhere with a small town feel.
Regardless, there shouldn’t be any top coach out there who shouldn’t be contacted. Urban Meyer, Leach, Petersen, etc.
we won’t know if it’s a no unless we ask and make the offer.
It's cool
Yes, Leach doesn’t expose his QB’s via the run. That part is more in reference to hiring someone like Rich Rod. Having said that, his teams still can’t run the football with against top teams. I’m not so sure it is a talent discrepency either. Don’t know for sure, but their OL splits have something to do with it because if you have talent on the DL, they will penetrate those gaps. I’ve yet to see a top notch RB or OL sign up with Leach. The RB is not showcased nor are the OL being prepared for the next level by being able to both run and pass block. Thus, nobody can assume that because he comes to Westwood, he’ll get top notch recruits. HS kids are thinking NFL but I don’t see the offensive talents flocking to the Nebraska’s/GA Tech’s/etc. If this becomes reality, we’ll be the TT of the Pac 12. Some people would be ecstatic with this but that ain’t me.
I don’t think comparing Stanford and OSU/Auburn is fair. There is a big talent and speed gap.
I’m not looking for a HC that can win me 8-9 games a year yet lose to the top dogs in our conference. I’m looking for the guy that will make UCLA compete for Pac 12 titels and BCS berths. Based on what I want, Leach is not the answer.
He beat CRN for at least one major OL, Joel-something
During one of the early classes. But I have to disagree that he will recruit no better here than at Tech. For one thing, when he got fired, he had an incoming #14 ranked class at TECH! This is Tech, which is getting 7th pickens in Texas, not UCLA which has a chance at even pickens in So Cal and many other places besides.
Additionally, he has proven to be a very good evaluator of talent. He has found gems from mounds of compost (Crabtree, Huepel, the list goes on). He will find guys that are able to play from the huge pool, and I have no doubt that the excitement of his program, in LA, will win some major recruits as well. Of course I can’t prove that now. But to me, the difference between UCLA and Tech is so significant in so many ways that I have absolutely no fear that he will not get much better talent here, use it in a slightly more versatile way. I mean, if he could get a #14 ranked class at Tech, to me it’s a no-brainer that success here will draw the talent.
Agree
that talent was deficient on defense. I do believe he can win in LA but I’m not a believer that he can take UCLA to the level I stated based on my reasoning.
Thus, as someone just posted, I’m looking for Peterson’s of the world. I know it’s far fetched but there are rumblings that UCLA may step up.
What
is it about Peterson that makes you think he would take us to the level we want (consistent top 25 team)?
I guess the reason I ask is because IMO what leach did at TT is more impressive than what Peterson has done at Boise.
I’m more impressed with the record Leach put up in the Big 12 having to face Texas, Oklahoma, Ok. St, Texas A&M and Nebraska than what Peterson has done in an inferior conference by beating one good team then coasting to a top bowl game.
But again, that’s my opinion and how I look at it. I’m not trying to put peterson down or anything. Just want to get a better understanding of what makes Peterson a better candidate in your eyes.
Uh
so because Mike Leach didn’t beat out Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma St for recruits he isn’t a good coach and won’t be one at UCLA.
ALso, guys aren’t flocking to Nebraska/GA Tech because they’re in freakin Nebraska. The guy won in Lubbok (sp?). He would be able to recruit in LA. No question about it. Also, from what I’ve read about Leach, he doesn’t really have a offense that he’s tied to or must go to. He sounds like a guy who will adapt the scheme and playcalling to suit his players and put his playmakers in position to make plays.
Huh?
If you can point out where I said Leach is not a “good coach”, I’d gladly recant that statement. Somehow….I can’t seem to find it. And why aren’t recruits flocking to “freakin” Atlanta? Isn’t that where GA Tech is located?
You're right
you never said he wasn’t a “good coach”. My bad
As for why they aren’t flocking to GA Tech. Well there is UGA and also all of the other SEC powers.
What's more, TT's weakness was defense, not offense against great teams
And that is absolutely linked to talent, which will make a big difference here. With a top DC I think he will have no trouble in that department, tho of course it’s impossible to prove at this point.
One more thing Blue
Don’t forget that Leach’s offense won a national championship at Oklahoma in its second year.
If thats what you're looking, you'll have to pay out your nose
Those guys do not come cheap. The cheapest you’d be looking at with an actual resume would be someone like Petersen who would probably cost you around $4 mil a year. Maybe you could lure Gus Mahlzan from Auburn, but he’d be even more expensive.
NC coaches are $$$$$$$$$$$$$ very expensive.
I think by "gimmicky"
BlueReign means one-dimensional.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
And what is one-dimensional about throwing the ball to 5 possible receivers
Running routes that cover the entire dimension of the football field, and making it very easy to run when D backs up to compensate for that chaos?
The QB being able to run the ball is yet another dimension.
Again, there is a reactive fuddy-duddy definition of “dimension” among football traditionalists that sees a 50/50 run-pass ratio as the only possibility of balance or multiplicity. I don’t think it takes much to see the limits of that definition.
That's your opinion
No need to get testy. BR and I like the pro-style base, you don’t. End of discussion. No one is “right”. It’s a matter of taste.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Of course. And almost every kind of scheme can work with great coaching.
My testiness is guilt-by-association, because some clueless Morgan Center people are automatically dismissive of any other kind of offense as well and it annoys me no end and it should not limit our search.
We should be able to have our scheme preferences while still agreeing that a great coach is the most important thing regardless of what scheme he’s great at.
I'm pretty sure that Coach Leach and the Georgia Tech coach (whose name escapes me at the moment)
say that their offenses are pretty much identical, but one depends on handing the ball to the right guy at the right time, and the other depends on throwing the ball to the right guy at the right time. I wish I could find that quote.
I agree on gimmicks. Prothro had about one a game (including the quick kick, which I haven’t seen since he was here). Homer Smith had about one a game. (I remember one trOJie griping about Smith’s gimmicks, until it was pointed out that the gimmick we used more than any to beat them that day was a play called “The Post Pattern.” )
From what I've heard and read
about leach, it seems like he isn’t really married or tied to that “air raid” offense he ran at Tech. He will run a spread O but can definitely do more than just throw out of it.
It wouldn’t be smart to play a smash mouth style at TT because you’re going up against top teams like Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska & Texas A&M who will almost always have better athletes and therefore will probably stuff any run game you have.
Seeing what Holgorsen did at OSU and now WVU
Holgorsen was a position assistant under Leach, and he’s added some great running-game wrinkles to Leach’s spread which made Ok. St. the number 1 offense last year and unstoppable this year as well, and is off to a great start at WVU.
That’s very encouraging as to the potential of Leachism to adapt to the big stage.
BlueBland -- I'm with you 100%
You’ve done an excellent job or representing Leach and his offense.
And, let’s not forget his very deep and true commitment to academics and discipline.
Having read his book, lived in Tx and followed his teams and career, I get a bit upset when he is labeled as “gimmicky” or one dimensional. He is an intellectual, thoughtful, analytic man in all aspects of his life and the dividends are paid off when he merges his curiosity and creativity and applies them to football.
If hired, he will assess our talent and figure out a way to use it. Something we’ve not done well for the past few years. People can ridicule his notion of simplicity — he does not have a playbook — or his belief in but a handful of plays run perfectly, but who amongst us, now, wouldn’t trade simplicity and execution for what we have now?
Mike Leach has indicated that he thinks this is a great opportunity. He deserves to be in the selection process. If we don’t interview him — because of some preconceived notion of who he is or false labeling, we will find ourselves where we have been during the last two searches — with a list of so-so finalists.
And, if the rumor is true that DG will not interview him because of the lawsuit against Tech, whose athletic director is DG’s buddy, it make clear why none of us trust DG to make the next hire.
sjh
I just read his book myself
And it made me love everything about him. I was already aware of his coaching philosophy, but nothing was more impressive than his creativity at getting apathetic students to graduate, and just in general getting the most out of his pupils in an intelligent way. Also, he shows that he really understands Wooden’s greatness (which is more than just acknowledging it).
We will get on the case point-by-point when the mods decide it’s time to discuss the candidates. He is not the only guy who will thrill me, but I think there is more evidence about him than there is of the average non-Urban candidate which makes his hire less “risky” than it seems.
I was going to write a book review for BN
but in my move to CA I packed the book and cannot find it. If I do, I’ll write up a long piece on Leach that gives depth to the things you, I and the others who support him have been saying.
Until then, we will have to answer the posts that simplify him and his coaching.
sjh
I would like to put in a plug for Mike Leach too
I mentioned this concerning talent level at Texas Tech & Leach’s win percentage compared to the better recruiting schools in the this morning’s post but it bears repeating. UCLA tied for 17th best average recruiting classes over the last decade on Rivals:
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1238729
Leach had a better winning percentage than 15 of the top 25 recruiting teams over that same decade (2 in the top 10) & he did it with the 38th ranked average recruiting class. All this while playing in the Big 12 South. He beat Oklahoma the last 3 times they visited Lubbock. He beat Nebraska the last 4 times the two schools played. He beat Texas A&M 8 of the 10 times they played during his tenure at Tech. He only beat the Longhorns twice, but those games were always officiated in favor of the Longhorns (no surprise that Texas dominates the Big 12 office – Officials wouldn’t dare bite the hand that feeds them). The other reason for struggling against Texas was the lack of depth on defense. Tech’s starters had to play the entire game & gassed out in the 4th quarter. Most UT wins were comeback victories. With Top 20 talent at his disposal it’s hard to imagine Leach losing to anybody.
Leach revolutionized high school football in the state of Texas. Something north of 3/4 of Texas high schools run some form of the spread now & almost none did in 1999. Most of the Big 12 had to go to spread offenses to keep up with Oklahoma & Tech (and Leach was the OC who introduced it at Oklahoma in 1999).
Finally at Tech Leach had the highest football player graduation rate of any public university in the country. He had 2 doctorates & 2 masters degrees. He doesn’t just give lip service to academics. He lives & breaths it
And yes, I am a Texas Tech graduate & Tech football fanatic. I would love to see Leach land in Westwood. The man is brilliant.
2011 Season - No excuses. Just win!
Well said.
Agree with everything. Wish CRN would be let go midseason—I’ve changed my tune on this.
DG should be shown the door as well.
Everyone
make sure you share this story on Facebook and Twitter if you can. We know we are not the only voices out there, I think Bruins are almost unanimous in their feelings on this.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
BRUIN NATION UNITE!!!!!
We must get rid of DAN GUERRERO and RICK NEUHEISEL. Thanks for your service, but NO Thanks to state of UCLA Athletics Programs. * RESIGN * or be hunted down like Moammar Gadhify, to be FIRED. Enough is Enough. We want the UCLA Athletic Department to have a new direction with confidence and aggressiveness to improve the school.
WE WANT CHANGE NOW!
Loose Cannons
Just ripped one into Dan Guerrero.
They’re not done either. You can listen here:
http://www.iheart.com/#/live/189/?autoplay=true
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 12:17 PM PDT reply actions
They're asking for callers
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions
Big-time contributor Steve Hartman
just said on the air that Dan is to blamed.
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
I love this article!
I believe it sums up, how every UCLA fan is feeling and has been feeling!
by Trojanswearskirts on Oct 21, 2011 12:19 PM PDT reply actions
Clearly the defense is just fine!
man it is sad that we have to settle for mocking our program to help us cope…
We need an innovative athletic director
We need a proactive athletic director who creates opportunities instead of one who is always trying to extinguish fires (now currently a massive forest fire). We need to have our coaches paid for by boosters at comparable rates to all the other upper echelon programs and we need to compete with them on academic standards. It’s now or never for UCLA to finally get it right. Time for us fans to do our part and let the bureaucrats at UCLA know where we stand.
by JohnstownBruin on Oct 21, 2011 12:25 PM PDT reply actions
I don't know the answer to this....
It’s clear that team is not playing for Neu anymore. Is there coming back from this if you’re a coach? Can a coach who has lost the respect of his team get it back?
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 12:28 PM PDT reply actions
If it gets that far it's too late.
If it even gets that far, you’re either not a good coach or not the right coach for the situation.
Reminds me of when my marriage was over.
You just know it. WE know it. Over.
I work with families...
the sad thing is that when you get to that point, it’s been over for a while.
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions
The students should be beating down the door of Morgan center
but I’m not too sure they care. If this were Alabama or Oklahoma, they’d have already hung DG upside down and stoned him like Mussolini especially after the public comments he’s been making. Hell, I’m tempted to drive up from San Diego with a bull horn and loud speaker and shout at DG and the slickster all weekend long. Anyone with me? Bring your pitchforks and torches. UCLA’s campus apparently needs to look like occupy wall street before Dan gets off his fat ass. We need to ramp it up about ten notches, no more apathy! I won’t tolerate it any longer!
Interesting
/dons tilfoil hat
So what you’re saying is that Morgan Center has created an environment where students don’t care about sports. As a result, students don’t care enough to be outraged by that fact, thus cementing their power. As a result, it’s going to take an uprising of alumni.
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
This generation of students is apathetic
Now, in my day, we knew how to stage a protest (“On strike, shut it down!”). But this is coming from my geezerette perspective. Yesterday was a colossal embarrassment. I wonder if the students even care?
Considering UCLA hasn't fielded a real football team since 1998
I’m not surprised the students are apathetic. The majority of students who are at UCLA now were babies the last time UCLA went to the Rose Bowl. During their childhood, they knew UCL was “that one basketball school with a crappy ass football team.”
Do you honestly think students actually come to UCLA with the hopes of having a great football team? Lol yeah right. That’s what 13 years of being a joke does to a program. It wipes out a generation just like that.
And with that generation
goes a chance at getting steady donors…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Oct 21, 2011 8:15 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
"On Strike! Shut it down!"
Be still my geezer heart. To old for all the excitement surrounding those fond memories.
And, the chant accompanied movements that put those chanting at real risk. Anti-war and free speech sit ins. In Wisconsin — the TA’s went on strike and shut down the university with aggressive demonstrations.
Young’uns, taking on the power of the university while still students is one of life’s great lessons. You have your own power. You are in school to learn things. How about learning how to use your power?
Yes, football may not be that significant to you in the big scheme of things. But, it is a relatively risk free and easy challenge of authority. Win here and move on to the classroom and wallet issues.
sjh
Wow! I had forgotten that one.
Who’s going to step up and lead? It has to be a student, and that student must have courage.
My e-mail to Chancellor Block - change needed now
Chancellor Block,
I am a UCLA alum – class of ’80. I know you’ve been receiving numerous inputs today as a result of our football team’s lack of performance last night. Here’s my input. As a business owner I appreciate the fact that it sometimes takes time to develop talent. However, as a business owner, I also know that leadership is the fundamental building block of success. This was Coach Wooden’s approach that helped UCLA gain national athletic prominence.
I believe that our football program does not have the coaching leadership required to uphold the standards of UCLA. I also believe that part of the responsibility rests with the athletic director. Although I now live across country and can’t easily attend games, I would still like to be a fan. I could not watch last night’s game on television after the first half. The state of our program is embarrassing.
I encourage you to make a change NOW and not wait until the end of the season in replacing both the head football coach and the AD. There has to be accountability. By being decisive you will be demonstrating leadership to the team and showing them that our proud university will not stand for the current state of play or behavior shown last night in front of an national TV audience.
Live life to the fullest, and do it in the fast lane
The sentiment as of 1:25 or so on October 21
I copied the titles of all the front page stories, fan posts fan shots since the game. No editing. Nothing left out. Do you suppose if this list were forwarded to the Chancellor it might tell him what his alumni, student and fan community is thinking?
Here’s the list:
Clean the House: Time for Wholesale Regime Change at UCLA
The Morning After, Part 7: Arizona
UCLA Embarrassed on National TV by Arizona 48-12
My letter to Chancellor Block (and 1st BN post!)
It’s Up To Us – Every Man, Woman, and Child
I am so tired of the HUMILIATION!!!!!
Chancellor Block’s Office – 310-825-2151
Why the Firing should Happen Now (This Week – ASAP)
What is wrong with UCLA football? Dan Guerrero
#FireGuerrero
Quick Thoughts: DG’s Post Game Comments & the Big Picture
“They Whipped Us!” Neu Post Game Arizona Video on ESPN.
I think s a good time to start a petition outlining our expectations, and…
The Streaking ref: Home video following the “streaker” (though more of an undie runner)
NCAA looks into bowl game changes
WATCH: ESPN’s Palmer On Sportscenter: [T]he clock is up for Rick Neuheisel at UCLA
Dan Guerrero Says Rick is Safe
Just sent in my email to the Chancellor
Everyone that reads BN must send one in, literally takes 2 minutes. Have 4 friends send in as well. This is not one of those situations where you can sit back and figure everyone else will do it, we need everybody to contribute.
I would add one of those creepy endings that makes fake threats or jinx’s like the chain letters, but I have faith in the Bruin Family to take charge and make this work.
Great Post
I just emailed to the chancellor. I will forward my email to all my friends on facebook as well as all my friends and family members who support UCLA also.
sad and pathetic
not too long ago, everyone was complaining about usc ‘disrespecting’ ucla by having the drum major stab his sword into the grass during pregame…glad to know reality has hit…bruins finally see that the real issues have ZERO to do with usc and everything to do with the mediocre product ucla has put on the field…
Who else is in the chain of command?
While the Chancellor is the one who can solve this problem, he’s also consistently cited as part of the problem (in hiring and retaining Guerrero, for instance). Is there someone above him to reach out to, or is there someone in UCLA’s labyrinthine administration who can pressure Block the way we want Block to pressure Guerrero? I have no idea who that person might be, just spitballing here.
UC
I think you can contact the UC President, Mark G. Yudof.
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president/welcome.html
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Wow really? Do you honestly think Yudof even has football in his mind right now?
I think the Regents are more concerned about how to handle the next wave of student protests when they raise tuition by another 10%. I honestly think knocking on that door is a waste of time.
Let's protest now...
about tuition, athletics, subway station, ignoring non-traditional students, the whole damn thing. Pick your poison.
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Occupy UCLA
We are definitely in the bottom 99% when it comes to head coach, athletic director, etc.
Yudof Came from U Texas -- Understands the football culture and
the financial benefits of a strong program. Much more savy than Block.
sjh
I think we should sue them for breach of contract
a novel approach. They were fired because they did not deliver on their obligations. Let them defend the mess we’ve seen this year.
sjh
I thought of that, too, but I don't think it would work.
There have been quite a few cases where season ticket holders tried to rescind because they had been promised professional sports, but had been given a counterfeit product. That sort of case. (I tink the Bears, during one of the time periods when they were abysmal, but I’m not really sure.)
Actually, I think it is a defensive posture
We should offer a fair but modest buy out. Let them threaten to sue.
If they do, we defend on the crap product they’ve put on the field and the issues off the field.
We might not win — but, we might. And, would anyone want his failures paraded around a trial and televised?
Conrad Murray had not choice, he was charged and dragged into court. Our coaches have a choice. Settle cheap and leave on good terms or sue us — and watch how we defend.
I would take my chances with a jury any day. Millionaire coaches complaining because when they did a piss poor job — citing all of the stat’s Fox has been posting this year — sue for more millions. Give me a working class jury and let them sue.
sjh
mea culpa
It was less than a year ago that i was arguing in comment threads with moderators (particularly Bellerophon, if I remember correctly) in defense of Rick Neuheisel, Dan Guererro & Ben Howland (who, by the way, still has 100% of my support). I criticized our community for being impatient and not supportive.
I have now seen the error of my ways. Please consider this my official apology.
I just sent a letter to Chancellor Block urging him to take swift action to end the embarrassments that are our current athletic department and football program by replacing the leaders of both.
by DoubleTroubleBruin on Oct 21, 2011 2:27 PM PDT reply actions
There is no apologies needed here
Look many of us like Neuheisel. We supported his hire and got behind it. However, we always believe not to get too emotionally invested in any coach and to keep eye on the results, over all factors and most importantly trusting our eyes.
There is no need for apologies and “I told you sos.” We are all together here.
N, if I knew how to do a poll I would
How about something like
How many still believe CTSS is the right coach, and should be allowed to finish out his contract though the 2012 season. (It goes that long, doesn’t it?)
How many think CTSS should be fired at the end of the season
How many think CTSS should be fired not.
Something like that. There were many, many people like Double Trouble who believed in CTSS. In fact, I believedin CTSS through the first year and the second year. I guess becoming a geezer reduced my patience and made me cranky.
Anyway, I think something like that would be interesting. Maybe add a question about when and what moved you out of whatever category you were to the category you’re in now.
+1
Also, we can respecfully call for his firing without getting personal on the subject. It’s really nothing personal against Rick Neuheisel. He’s a good guy who honest to god tried his @ss off to be successful. Now, unfortunately he hasn’t gotten it done and everybody needs to remember that this is a business.
Rick Neuheisel will always hold a special place in UCLA football history. His accomplishments as a player will not be forgotten and he will always be a Bruin.
This is purely business.
Well said KingJ77
Ricks Post game interview was very sad for me to see. You can tell he is affected badly by the results. He truly cares!!! He is just not up to the job.
It’s totally buisiness!
by GogetemBruins on Oct 21, 2011 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions
You make me chuckle, King.
I can see CTSS being taken over to a car, and he says to Tom Hagen, “Tom, can you get me a pass on this.” And Tom says, “Not this time, Sall.” “Tell Mike it was just business. I always liked him.”
So...
Does that make Dan G Barzzini or Tatallia???
by GogetemBruins on Oct 21, 2011 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions
In my college years we got LBJ booted with a united anti war stand
We can certainly do THIS. Really. But please no “Nixon” after it.
"I shall not seek
and I will not accept, the nomination of my university for another term as your head coach."
:)
I may work with the Waves, but I'm still a Bruin!
(Formerly "HoozierDaddy")
I was in middle school,
but I guess we’re all Geezers :)
I may work with the Waves, but I'm still a Bruin!
(Formerly "HoozierDaddy")
I remember Neu's first Presser...
…when asked about CKD he said something magnanimous and ended with, “So long as I am the head coach of this program Karl Dorrell will be spoken of in reverent tones.”
I guess I didn’t quite understand what he was getting at there…
Pretty simple.....
……the big-buck contributors simply need to tell the adminstration that until Guerrero is gone, they will not fork over a penny more…..money talks !
….And don’t tell me that it’’s selling out the “kids”……the Kids" are still getting a free ride to one of the top colleges in America, and they deserve adult leadership…..
….Neuheisel being gone is a foregone conclusion; nice guy, good recruiter, bad head coach…..sort of a beach-boy Ed Orgeron
Well done by thus fool
I didn’t catch it the first time.
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
Nick Crissman
Why didn’t Neu put him in? He deserves it; he has been loyal, sitting on the bench.
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 3:23 PM PDT reply actions
Excellent post
We can turn this around quickly with the right hire. Make a big move. DO IT! UCLA embarrassed UT in Rout 66 and it was the catalyst the school needed to turn things around. Mac Brown took a program that had been floundering for a number of years and has turned the Longhorn athletic program into a franchise while not sacrificing its scholastic principles. I live in Austin. I was here during the turnaround. UT did not have the reputation, the funding, the enthusiasm, and the net worth that they do now. Their athletic program and school did not reach the status it enjoys today until they made a full commitment to football. The ascension of ESPN and college football in general has made the sport a business. Invest and engage or pull the plug but do not embarrass our university with a half-hearted ‘effort’.
I've been refreshing BN all day
Hoping that there would be an update that Neuheisel and Guerrero have been fired.
The $C Times' headline and I don't even hate them for it.
“Bruins’ loss to Arizona a new low for UCLA athletics.” It’s simply true.
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 4:00 PM PDT reply actions
Neu not interviewing this week or next
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 21, 2011 4:21 PM PDT reply actions
Excellent post by BruinsNation
I’m glad this posting was by BruinsNation, as this is the voice not of a fellow UCLA fan but as the voice of all UCLA fans.
Great Post!
I just called Chancellor Block’s office and spoke to a very nice lady…..his secretary. She actually knew what I was going to say a few times before I said it, and seemed to be agreeing with me on several instances. I have to believe that many people have called. Keep it up people. Let the “higher ups” in Westwood know we care about the state of our athletic program.
My e-mail to the AD
Mr. Guerrero,
To use the words of an Athletic Director we both know:
After firing Bob Toledo
“I felt a change in leadership was necessary,” Guerrero told a news conference Monday. "We need to raise the bar, we need to start winning Pac-10 championships again. We want to have a national-caliber program here. We certainly think we should be one of the top programs in the country.
“We played two fantastic teams, we were prepared and played hard,” Guerrero said. “I think what it showed was the gap that exists. We want to close that gap.”
“Should we be ranked preseason No. 6? Those are the kinds of things you need to look at,” Guerrero said.
After firing Karl Dorrell
“The other was to build this program into a consistent winner, a program that would be in the national discussion on a regular basis,”
“Certainly the issues of injuries came into play this year,” Guerrero said. "But the concerns that have plagued us just in a general sense over this period primarily relate to inconsistent play.
You’ve said it yourself, Mr. Guerrero. UCLA deserves better than it’s received the past four years. Waiting to make an inevitable move and making our football coach a “dead man walking” only diminishes the school’s reputation, creates an unnecessary distraction for our players, and hampers our ability to move forward. We all had high hopes for Coach Neuheisel but I think it’s clear that for the interests of everybody, we need to move in a different direction.
the passion bucket has run out on CRN!!!!
first i would like to acknowledge all the loyal bruin fans for standing up for our team!!! we needed to get rid of CRN and bring in a proven winner that can win with any type of talent and will get ride of that stupid pistol. we should Champion to bring Chris Peterson too Westwood!!!!!!! we needed a winner guys!!!!!!!!! we don’t need a bruin man we need a winner who we will make a bruin!!!!!!
Colin Cowherd view on CRN
Not agreeing with him on CRN, but he makes a good argument about UCLA’s commitment to football.
This is the link:
by Trojanswearskirts on Oct 21, 2011 5:20 PM PDT reply actions
He is an assclown
Catering to the lowest common denominator. No need to degrade discussions here by referencing a moron like him.
by Nestor on Oct 21, 2011 5:25 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Not saying he isn’t Nestor, but is UCLA 100% committed to our football program?
by Trojanswearskirts on Oct 21, 2011 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed
still good to see what the MSM is saying, it can only serve to further ratchet the tension on DG.
Success on the field = Higher donations?
Is anybody aware of any data on how much general university donations vary with the success of the athletic department, specifically football? This could be UCLA specific or BCS level schools in general.
We have anecdotal evidence that a lot of us threaten to stop the flow when times are bad (end of KD era).
But has there been evidence of inflows when times are good.
If Block would not listen to strong arguments about how he should not abide less than acceptable results in any area (athletics, faculty retention, academic reputation, etc), he would certainly listen to $ and cents.
Curious if there is evidence of how things could improve with better on-field success.
New Coach
Will UCLA hire a top name football coach to replace Neuheisel? Probably not, but it would be nice to dream about having coaches like Mike Leach or Urban Meyer. Of course, Urban Meyer was available when UCLA hired Carl Dorrell, so they won’t be looking at him. With the high powered offense that Mike Leach produces, he would own Los Angeles!
I'm going to saying his name for head coach
URBAN MYERS. Leach has to much bagged with him. URBAN IS THE GUY TO GO AFTER.
Maybe you should start
by spelling his name right.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Oct 21, 2011 8:24 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Watching
Syracuse putting a beating on West Virginia on nationalthe tv makes me shake my head even more. Talk about a program that was down and out…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Oct 21, 2011 8:25 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
This is why we need leach...
Fat Little Girlfriends…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6brYtuPX-Q&feature=related
by rich87 on Oct 22, 2011 12:54 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
this kind of outburst
would be totally unacceptable at UCLA. Thanks for the reminder of why Leach wasn’t just some poor misunderstood wrongfully accused victim at Tech, but also would need to give some assurances that certain behaviors would not be repeated at UCLA.
The Leach issue is moot, in my opinion.
Coach Leach’s description would not be a disqualifier for me, Venice. I recognize that it would be for many. I suppose there are many things that would be disqualifiers for me that would not cause most people even to bat an eye. I’m just not offended by what he said. That sad, I can’t imagine Leach getting an interview. It would be way, way to inconvenient for the administration to handle.
My own take: I think the administration wants to keep CTSS, or to replace him with a clone, as many people have said over and over again. CTS and CTSS were nice looking, articulate guys who, alas, were horribly inept as coaches. But they looked good. And they sounded good. I can’t see the administration ever hiring someone like Jim Leavitt, who sounds like someone stomped on his throat. And they will never hire anyone with a southern accent, because a southern accent doesn’t fit the perception of what a coach should sound like, and anyway, everyone knows that a southern accent means you’re, well, you know. Not smart. And certainly Not Our Kind Of People.
Rosario...
epitomizes the rest of the team….uninspired, lazy, entitled, underdeveloped, (add your text here)
by TheUniversityOfTheMasses~Reconize! on Oct 22, 2011 9:25 AM PDT reply actions
Agree!
Not just CRN, but AD Guerrero must also go! I hold the AD responsible and I am sickened by what the AD has allowed our once great program to become. Guerrero must go!
man, i've defended neu for years
but after thursday i’ wondering what phil fulmer is up to…
Across The Face
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