Coaching Candidates Thread: Thumbs Down to Bellotti, Sarkisian & Sumlin
by Nestor on Nov 22, 2011 8:47 AM PST
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PrintIn the backchannels (read message boards) chatter is really heating up concerning the candidates for UCLA football head coach. Yeah, I know Rick Neuheisel has gaps to close this Saturday but what he does with our football team at this point doesn't have much relevance. It seems clear given the robust comment thread of the Rodriguez to Arizona post yesterday that most folks' mind is on the macro rather than the micro event on Saturday. So why not start having some open thread on coaching candidate related discussions.
On that note wanted to share some simple notes, building on a brilliant post from Achilles laying out the criteria for UCLA's search for Neuheisel's replacement. There are three names we don't want to see on the list:
Mike BellottiSteve SarkisianKevin Sumlin
Why we don't want these guys at UCLA? Let's go over them after the jump.
First, let's start with Mike Bellotti. There is some rumbling that UCLA may be thinking about doing a dance with him. It'd be dumb because as Achilles pointed out it wouldn't be smart for UCLA to bring in a retread. Bellotti would have made some sense four years ago, when he was still in the profession. The window to bring him in here was after UCLA had fired Bob Toledo and Karl Dorrell. Not anymore. Bringing him in now will make UCLA look just like ASU when they brought in stale and washed up Dennis Erickson to Tempe. So let's hope the UCLA brass is not this stupid.
Speaking of bonehead moves, apparently there has been some internet chatter, spurred on by a wishful, uninformed, ignorant column in the Daily Breeze about Sarkisian and UCLA. Let's make one thing clear. Rick Neuheisel has not proven to be a good fit at UCLA as on field general. He shouldn't be coaching here past this Saturday (he should have been fired after Arizona). That said I'd rather have Neuheisel over Sarkisian. Neuheisel turned a solid Washington QB to a Rose Bowl champion. Sark on the other hand don't look any better than Neuheisel (despite the constant pimping by a fawning media), even after padding his schedule with patsies. No thanks. He is going to get canned in Seattle in 2-3 years anyway.
Lastly, apparently there is some chatter than Sumlin wants to coach at UCLA. Uh, no thanks. As pointed out by bluebland why this guy is over-rated:
Art Briles built the Houston program, and Sumlin's one good year with an uber-experienced Keenum proves nothing IMO. With Leach for the taking it would be extremely stupid to take a lesser disciple who hasn't beaten any good teams in his career.
You can see the record breakdown to get a sense of how it was Briles (current head coach of Baylor) who actually rebuilt the Houston program (and also brought in Keenum). Sumlin's coordinator experience is not all that impressive. As noted in his bio before coming over to Houston, a program build by Art Briles, Sumlin spent the previous five seasons at the University of Oklahoma, where he served as both the co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach (2006-07). You know who is the current "co-offensive coordinator" for the Sooners? None other than Karl Dorrell's former OC - Jay Norvell - aka "Training Jay". So, no thanks. Sumlin would be a ridiculously risky and bonehead move for UCLA when the program needs a tier 1 coach to jump start our flailing program.
So the three names above are none starters as far as we are concerned. We sure hope UCLA is not dumb enough to consider them seriously.
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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Agree on all three
I am really disappointed that RRod got snatched by Zona, his offense with our returning parts would have been instant top 25 (as long as he got someone with a clue as DC).
But we can do better then these three for sure…
Why?
Rich Rod is also a retread who couldn’t get his system to produce with great talent. He also pissed off and rubbed a lot of people wrong, not to mention he violated NCAA rules. Yeah, some great catch.
After striking out on Petersen and Meyer, AU AD was desperate to pick up any big name Coach and settled on Rich Rod. Horrible hire in my opinion. Rich Rod will NOT get it done in Arizona. Watch.
by BruinFaithful on Nov 22, 2011 9:20 PM PST up reply actions
Disagree completely
The people he pissed off were cast-in-stone Michigan loyalists who were disciples of Schembechler. Michigan was not e right cultural fit, Arizona is. He will do well at Arizona. Maybe not perennial contender, but good for a program like Arizona.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Really?
He square pegged a round hole with his offense at Michigan, but he showed clear growth as he rebuilt the program into his style.
He is a home run for Zona and if he can find any defense he will have them in the top half of the conference soon.
4 year ago the same thing was said about CRN
Horrible hire in my opinion. Rich Rod will NOT get it done in Arizona. Watch.
Yet they hired RN anyways because they couldn’t find any qualified HC to take the job.
by iLOATHEscFOREVER on Nov 24, 2011 7:29 PM PST up reply actions
I must admit that I was uninformed about Sumlin
I had thrown his name out in a bleacher report article I did. He seemed an interesting candidate but I didn’t do enough research on him. That briles guy is one helluva coach by the way.
Preach for Peach
Beat $UC
by NicoG on Nov 22, 2011 9:36 AM PST via mobile reply actions
So did you take yourself seriously? lol
The BR hate isn’t a blanket. It’s just too inconsistent there to trust.
I’m not so anti-Sumlin as I am pro-others. Sumlin may prove to be very good, but I just don’t think he has proven much to date.
I second N’s comment above.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
I didn't know either
good look up Nestor
by silverlakebruin on Nov 22, 2011 2:26 PM PST up reply actions
Agree on all three
My list of candidates looks like this:
1. Urban Meyer
2. Chris Petersen
3. Mike Leach
4. Al Golden
5. Kirby Smart
6. Vic Fangio
7. Manny Diaz
Those are the one’s I’ve looked at. I’m sure there are some that I don’t know of and I’m probably off on a couple.
by King J77 on Nov 22, 2011 9:57 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Maybe because of the Temple connection, but..
I just love Al Golden.
They seem to fit our criteria :-)
Kirby Smart is interesting. He figures prominently in this list of coordinators Feldman blogged today.
by Nestor on Nov 22, 2011 10:22 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I'd be satisfied with Mullen
My personal 1st tier is Meyer (looking like OSU) and Peterson (we’ll see). If we strike out on them, the next tier would be Leach (UCLA would never dare), Golden (Don’t think he leaves South Beach and if he does, it’ll be to Penn State after Paterno’s replacement) and Mullen. Then the last tier would be Smart, Fangio, Diaz, etc. However, it has taken decades for UCLA to get to this point. Thus, I personally wouldn’t be happy with a Tier 3 coach. Also, we cannot afford to roll the dice on an unknown coordinator. The program is hurting bad and we need someone with HC experience.
There is talk of Mullen out in the web. And he has definitely piqued my interest. Some positives:
1) Developed some pretty good QB’s (Alex Smith, Brian Johnson, Josh Harris, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow). QB play has been a huge issue at UCLA. Look at CFB….even if there is subpar talent throughout the roster, an excellent QB can still make a team very competitive.
2) He is UM Lite. Mullen has learned under UM at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida before taking over Miss State.
3) As an offensive minded coach, he would know what to do with Hundley and all of the other guys with talent on offense.
4) Although we are talented, the foundation of the program is in shambles. Mullen has rebuilt Miss State and made them very competitive in the toughest conference in CFB.
5) He is only 39. He is young. I have no doubts that he can relate to kids yet can lay down the law. His recruiting has been impressive at a low level SEC program.
6) If he wins here, he has the potential to stick around for a long time. Mullen doesn’t have any connection to X University. If he wins, he’ll build his own legacy here.
I’m not for or against him but I do believe he deserves a hard look.
The record is deceiving IMO
They’ve been competitive most of the time and they’ve played a very, very tough schedule.
@Auburn (got stuffed at goal line for tying score), #3 LSU, @Georgia, #15 S Caro, #3 Bama and @ #6 Ark. Losses to 4 Top 15 teams and 3 teams that still have a shot at a NC. Georgia who looks like they’re on their way to the SEC Championship. Although Auburn lost a ton, it still isn’t easy to win in their house. I watched some of their games and they were in it before losing.
Considering how difficult it is to recruit talent to MIss State and to compete for recruits against the SEC, I think he has done a good job. Mullen has had to rebuild that program too in the midst of the SEC being so strong and competitive.
That says a lot. We definitely need to keep our eyes on him because there are a lot of positives with him IMO.
I would have no problem with a tough as nails SEC style Coach.
And, yes, coach was meant to be capilatized.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
It's PetersEn
WITH AN E. SPELL IT RIGHT PEOPLE!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Pewterson. Definitely Pewterson.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Well at least you didn't say Peter Sin
In all seriousness, it is apparently a pet peeve of his.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I think he is looking for a gig and bored with TV
I know he turned us before. I have blogged about and in fact four years ago wanted him as a tier 1 candidate. Not this time around. We don’t need another coach who has been out of the game for 4 years.
Totally Agree. We need a coach who is still in the game.
Man, John Harbaugh would have been a GREAT hire.
Maybe this time, we should just listen to the Executive Search Consultant, they seem to have done a GREAT job the last go round.
by BruinFaithful on Nov 22, 2011 9:53 PM PST up reply actions
Meyer and Leach
Urban Meyer is not coming to UCLA. Too far from his home and kids. We will not pony up enough cash to pay him.
Mike Leach has way too much baggage. Not a good personality fit for Wooden University.
Don't think Meyer will happen
However, Leach would fit our criterias. Only stale bureaucrats would think Leach is not a solid fit. Now keep in mine I don’t have any first, second or third choices. However, I do think Leach would be great for UCLA.
It's just not true
about the baggage. Stop repeating it. Anyone with half a brain can tell what went on at Texas Tech.
And his personality is absolutely a good fit. I think of him as a Steve Jobs type. Just because he’s smart, our bureaucrats feel threatened. They’re the ones who are not a good fit at UCLA.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Tasser's point deserves to be shouted: LEACH HAS NO BAGGAGE
Not even a medium sized valise. He doesn’t have a man purse. (His wallet, however, is deservedly large, but that’s for later.)
If the kid who got sent to detention had been the son of a plumber instead of the son of the biggest douche hypocrite ever to grace the airwaves, Leach would probably still be running Texas Tech. Nothing happened to that kid that didn’t deserve to happen. And in fact nothing happened at all. It was a gigantic screw-over of a guy to keep from paying him his salary increase.
The laws in Texas were a little different. If he were suing under Califoria law, Coach Leach would be a part owner of Texas Tech at this point.
Or to put it another way, Coach Neuheisel had much, much more baggage when he arrived here. COACH LEACH HAS ZERO BAGGAGE.
the article on Coaches Hot Seat
mentions he might want to drop his remaining lawsuits vs Tech if he wants to get on with another job.
It's not the Truth that matters
It’s doesn’t matter if the baggage is real or perceived, perception is stronger than reality. People make long lasting judgments based on headline without ever reading the article. There is a reason Leech does not have a job. He has been passed over several times for jobs despite being a better candidate. The fact of the matter is he handled the situation in a way that doesn’t put ADs in a comfortable position.
+1
I TOTALLY agree, if he is such a GREAT Coach, with NO Baggage and great credentials, then why hasn’t he been hired? By all accounts, he would have gone to almost any school and on the cheap. Pending litigation is certainly baggage.
With or without the baggage, I don’t think he is the best coach for the job. He is a Air Raid Spreadf Offensive coach, he would have to recruit for it and change the system. That would be 4 different types of offenses in 6 years. WCO, Pro, Pistol, and now Air Raid Spread? That’s nuts. Especially when so many people on here have claimed that a school with the athletes UCLA has, should not have to run a gimmick offense and should be Pro Style.
If we do hire him, he would certainly not be our number one choice and I think, like the AZ hire, it would wreak of desperation.
by BruinFaithful on Nov 22, 2011 9:39 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
it is very common for a fired coach to spend at least one year out of 'the bidness'
How do you figure it’s been a long time?
The Air Raid is not a gimmick. Actually, using a word like ‘gimmick’ undermines your argument by implying you are rigid and biased. There is a saying that ’all’s fair in love and war.’ Does it matter how a coach gets his team to score as prolifically as Mike Leach has?
You say hiring Leach would be a desperation move. I say hiring Leach would electrify the fanbase and jump start recruiting.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Passing a lot is perceived to be a gimmick. Running (a la Georgia Tech) is perceived to be old style, hard nosed football.
Except both Leach and Johnson say that those two offenses are basically identical, except in one the QB hands to ball to someone and in the other he throws it.
When the T formation was first introduced, it was a gimmick. Hank Luisetti had this gimmick in basketball. I think he called it the “jump shot.” Coach had a full court zone press gimmick. I still say that personal computer thing is just a gimmick and will go out faster than the “cell phone” or whatever that thing is.
NOT TRUE!!!!
There were serious allegations that he abused a player. When asked by the School President to apologize, he became insubordinate and flat out refused. The TT President was then forced to fire him. He has also been a freebird and kind of a weirdo.
I have also never heard of Steve Jobs jogging in spandex shorts with his shirt off.
by BruinFaithful on Nov 22, 2011 9:29 PM PST up reply actions
Go read the facts
Anyone can make serious allegations. An allegation isn’t the same thing as a fact.
'He has also been a freebird and kind of a weirdo.'
I don’t know about you Fox, but that last bit of his argument sure convinced me.
formerly bruinhoo
Yu are way off
and clearly swayed by the mainstream media spin, namely what came out of ESPN, which has a serious conflict of interest in this case.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
If we miss on Meyer...
it better be because of distance to home, and kids in school out east.
It better not be because we are too cheap to pay his rate.
Also, the problem with Leach is really the problem of Guerrerror and the admin morons.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
Also it better not be
Because our guys were too busy “blogging” about Cowboy boots while others were wheeling and dealing.
by Nestor on Nov 22, 2011 2:30 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
How about because Ohio State offered him?
by BruinFaithful on Nov 22, 2011 9:39 PM PST up reply actions
Not inconsistent with any of those points.
If tOSU is simply where he wants to be in life right now – regardless of how much we might offer him – so be it. If DG calls him/his agent, makes him a fair offer, and Meyer declines in favor of the Buckeyes, I wouldn’t hold it against him. The point is to make him have to think about it.
formerly bruinhoo
If we had a real AD
We could have already made the same offer that tOSU is reportedly offering. But Donut Dan is too busy with donuts and chianti
BOOOO!
What baggage? Don’t drop an accusation unless you are prepared to A) list said transgressions and B) defend said accusations.
You may be the only person left on the planet that believes the BS as pushed by Texas Tech, Craig James and ESPN.
IMO, He has been exonerated, and given his track record for graduating FB players, and not running up the police blotter with his players; he is a perfect fit for our university.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
PLEASE, READ UP ON LEACH BEFORE SPREADING THE BAGGAGE CRAP
There is a search function on BN.
Please, use it.
A lot of very good information on Leach has been written here.
You also might want to read his book.
sjh
I have
I have read his book. I believe him. It doesn’t matter. Perception is he’s difficult to deal with. There’s a reason he’s controversial and has yet to find a job. We’re not the controversial type of program; we’re the school of Donahue, Toledo, Dorrell, and Neuheisel. Maybe that’s the problem, but until there is a change in culture Leech is not our guy.
Here’s a link to a well researched anti-Leech article.
Clarify
I just realized I should probably clarify. My original post was an attempt to be honest and push back a little on the group-think. Note, I never said I wouldn’t want Leech as a coach. I was only stating that I don’t think we’ll hire him.
Unsubstantiated posts like yours perpetuate the "perception" you so fear
And, there is not “group-think” here. There has been a lot of fact based debate here on Leach. Read our back posts. I think that as the facts emerged and as more people did deep research on Leach, he became an “acceptable/desirable” candidate.
Push back, all you want. But do it with facts. Take Fox’s challenge.
Talking about baggage and then backing down to “perception” just won’t cut it here.
sjh
I guess the President of TT and everybody else is lying. Leach is the only honest one.
It’s hard to tell what has been said here. Since opposing opinions are censored. Only opinions that serve the overall agenda survive.
by BruinFaithful on Nov 22, 2011 10:00 PM PST up reply actions
Yes he is lying
which is why there’s a lawsuit against him.
Any opinion not based on fact will be disregarded. Quit your whining.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
As far as I can tell, you're free to hold whatever opinion you want. Many people still think the earth is flat, too.
Your opinion about Coach Leach is not based on what we lawyers call “facts.” You are taking the opinion and agenda of Craig James, the father of the involved player, and the rest of his cronies at BSPN, as fact, and it’s not. Go read what actually happened. It did not happen the way Craig says it happened.
And yes, the President of Texas Tech is a liar, based on my review of the facts. I followed the story daily when it broke. There were a few like you on theTexas Tech blog who just couldn’t grasp the concept that a person in a position of authority might not tell the truth. They would not listen to the factual arguments when they were presented.
I assume you weren’t around for Watergate. There were one or two or more people in authority who didn’t tell the truth. Then there was another president who assured us that he did not have sex with that woman. That also was a lie. Your argument seems to be that a president of Texas Tech can’t be lying. I suggest that any president can lie. Or even going to a more unimpeachable authority, Dr. Gregory House says at least one a week that “Everybody lies.”
BruinFaithful, your UCLA education should have made you better than this. Get the facts, and get them correctly. If you want to argue that Leach is a bad choice based on facts, then I want to hear your defense of that position. A factual argument might change my mind, and if you’re right, you owe it to the rest of us to change our minds. Right now, though, you appear to have listened to Craig James and come to a conclusion which I and many others find unsupportable. And what’s worse, you won’t slug it out fact to fact.
Facts?
The point is not what is said here, we’re a small minority of the fan base. The point is the fear an AD has of the reactions and headlines following the hire of a new coach. Perceptions matter and have real dollar value.
i’m giving a real world assessment to contribute to the discussion. I don’t think we hire him unless Chancellor Block changes his attitude or is replaced.
I don't think a "real world assessment" can be made without at least a passing familiarity with what actually happened.
What actually happened is not the Craig James version.
You Don't Know What You're Talking About and There's No Excuse for That
Enough has been written, here and elsewhere, about Leach and the lawsuit for you to learn the facts, yet you choose not to.
The dispute with Leach, and the underlying litigation, have little or nothing to do with James and everything to do with some wealthy alums being pissed off that Leach signed a new contract for more money. They schemed, in emails that you can read, to create a pretext to fire him.
If you would take to time to learn the facts, you would learn that Tech’s defense is not so much on the merits but rather is based on the doctrine of sovereign immunity — even if the facts are true, they cannot be sued, without legislative permission, because they are a part of the state of Texas.
If you’d get off your ass and read some of the posts on BN that have set all this out clearly, or if you’d take the time to look at original source materials like the emails, depositions, or pleadings, all of which are available, you’d know this.
Instead, you just repeat the nonsense, using different words.
And, when cornered, you mouth the defeatist — the AD will never hire him line as though that somehow justifies your attacks on Leach’s character.
You are perpetuating two myths — one that he has baggage and the other that he won’t be hired by this AD (who may not be here, himself); unless your are Mrs. Doughnut, you don’t know what the AD will do.
Why do we bother responding to your posts? Because, you can see that there are a lot of people here who have done the research, who support Leach. He is not the only person who we support, but he should be considered. And, uneducated attacks like yours that perpetuate the myths make it easier for a change resistant culture to avoid change.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Nov 23, 2011 12:01 PM PST up reply actions
I am in awe of your awesomeness.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
You can only push a geezer like sjh so far, and then he pushes back.
I think it’s sort of fun to watch guys come in with a Bill and Ted argument (and for those of you who weren’t around for Bill and Ted, the thesis of their arguments would be something on the order of “UCLA did not have any undefeated seasons in basketball, and never won an NCAA championship.”) and try to support it without having the faintest idea of the evidence involved, and without having thought through their argument. The end of those arguments was generally “Well, I know you are but what am I? If you’re going to stifle all dissent (sniff, sob), I’m not going to post here any more. Everyone on BN is so negative.”
Interesting that in the article you linked, thewriter admits his bias
and a dislike for Leach. The stuff that follows and he portrays as fact based is paper thin.
Mike Leach is unlikable and hard to work with? Consiider me appalled. From all reports, Patton, Churchill and even Steve Jobs were unlikable and hard to work for. Too bad they got the jobs they did.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Sumlin
Not sold on him yet either. Risky hire as he kind of came out of nowhere to get the Houston job. Oddly enough his teams have been known for offense and run a similar system to the Texas Tech Air Raid yet he is a defensive guy; he however did come out of Oklahoma a few years after Leach was there and he’s got former TTU QB Kliff Kingsbury (who I believe was Leach’s first QB at TTU). Leads me to believe he’s pretty hands-off as a coach. I don’t know if he’d bring the same offensive success with him if he came to UCLA; that offense was installed by Art Briles (who was one of the pioneers of spread football at the Texas HS level and learned Mike Leach’s system as he was brought on board with Leach’s 1st staff at Texas Tech). He just kind of inherited it. Strikes me as a guy who is a good team manager, organizer, and motivator but that’s not really what we need right now. I see it kind of like Brady Hoke stepping into the Michigan job (another defensive guy), they had a great offense and talent already but he’s done a good job of keeping everything running smoothly.
However, he’s got Houston undefeated in his 3rd or 4th season, which is pretty impressive and more than we can say about our own coach.
Hiring Sumlin over Leach is like hiring Niamolutu over Paul Johnson
Or Dan Mullen over Urban Meyer. (And I actually think Mullen has good promise and is much more qualified than Sumlin, but only a moron would hire him over Meyer.)
Aside from the fact that I don’t want Sumlin…it is sheer idiocy to hire him when you have the master of his system available and wanting the job.
Muir described Sumlin as a "double" in the previous thread
I think he can quite aptly be likened to a bunt.
The sacrifice of a crucial at-bat with the potential for a homerun with the hopes that we might advance our program a single base.
Bunting is NOT winning.
No, But Punting is!
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
My Out-of-the-Box Recommendation
What about Clarence Shelmon? He’s the offensive coordinator for The San Diego Chargers. He has a long history of experience at both the college level and pro.
Hence, their perennial underachievement and failures.
Bwaaahahahahahaha.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
One thing I like about Chargers
Their classic UCLA blue unis. That’s about it.
by Nestor on Nov 22, 2011 2:28 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I think we need a dynamic personality who also retains respect of his players
It’s possible to build a championship team out of just the talent in SoCal. We need a coach who can recruit the hell out of our backyard, sell kids on our program, but also operate as CEO of our organization.
Rick did a great job of bringing enthusiasm back to the recruiting trail and allowed us to compete with $c for local talent, but he didn’t manage to get the right coaches in place to develop the talent and wasn’t able to instill necessary discipline into the team.
In my fantasy world, Jim Harbaugh leads the 49ers to win the Superbowl and realizes that turning around the moribund 49ers just wasn’t a big enough challenge for him, and decides the challenge of reviving our program and the joy of repeatedly beating down Kiffin is reason to come to UCLA. I’ll take Urban Meyer as 2nd choice.
But looking to more realistic candidates – we need someone who is either a dynamic up-and-comer, or a guy with a seriously impressive resume, to go into SoCal living rooms and reel in the talent. My ideal candidate would have had experience competing for recruits in time at a top-flight program, and also have the CEO experience of leading a program and infusing his personality into the organization.
On the list of candidates mooted above:
Sumlin would not be a particularly good choice, but I think still better than Belotti or Sarkisian.
Meyer is obviously a great choice, a total home run hire if we could get him.
I am not totally sold on Petersen – he hasn’t been in a real conference for a decade, and specializes in turning 2- and 3-star recruits into 4-star performers.
I think Al Golden would be a good hire, though perhaps unlikely to pry him away from Miami – I think he is a legit CEO who also now has the experience of operating in a city with major distractions. I think that is worth considering, comparing ‘big city’ coaches with people who have run programs in college football towns.
I prefer Golden to Leach, who (like Petersen) specialized in getting middling talent to overachieve in a small town, and seems to me more like an uber-talented innovative offensive coordinator; but I think he could learn from his previous head-coaching experience and find himself a strong DC as his right-hand man.
I prefer Leach to coordinators, because of that experience – and particularly to SEC coordinators who might see UCLA as a stepping-stone to an SEC head coaching job. Given where our program is right now, I could definitely see a Tennessee/Kiffin situation arising if an SEC coordinator comes to us and a plum SEC job opens up a couple of years later.
by VeniceBruin on Nov 22, 2011 11:50 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
right
point above was just distinguishing bad from very bad. Hiring Sumlin would be a bizarrely risky decision, as it’s unclear whether he has really achieved anything through his own abilities – whereas I think Belotti and Sarkisian are pretty obviously mediocre, Sumlin is just a total unknown quantity to me. I would actually prefer to give Rick another year than hire Sumlin (though obviously keeping Rick is also a no-go).
Meyer >>> Petersen/Golden > Leach >>> rising coordinators > rising SEC coordinators > Sumlin > Sarkisian/Belotti
by VeniceBruin on Nov 22, 2011 12:03 PM PST up reply actions
considering the epic NCAA smackdown that will be coming down on Miami in the next couple years
and the admins lying to him about the existence of an investigation, I would imagine that he will at least be receptive to an offer from the Bruins- or from elsewhere.
formerly bruinhoo
Paul Rhodes
This guy has a solid background. He’s had some great wins at a place that’s about the same as K-State. He’s in the middle of a 5 year contract so I don’t know what his buy-out status is. His teams are tough and play DEFENSE! He caught my eye earlier this year and the O-State game was awesome. He is making just north of a million per year. Comments?
I've been impressed since
They beat Iowa. Gene Chizik won 5 games there before he bolted for greener pastures. It’s a hard place to win and Paul Rhoades has done it
He beat the #2 team in the country
as a 28 point dog. Chizik won 5 freakin games there and won a national championship at Auburn. Auburn fans were crying when his plane landed and now he’s got almost as much cred as Miles and he’s gaining on the wizard of Bama. Hey Central MI has been a coach factory the last decade or so, why not Iowa State? Who the hell is Iowa States AD?
Maybe he wants to get away from the hog farms? Could be an opening in Westwood…
Leach
Would be high on my list. I think his offensive schemes would be successful in the PAC-12.
Leach's offense scheme is whatever works
Seriously. What I love about Leach is that if punting really was winning. He would punt all the time.
The dude has no allegiences, no irrational traditions, he is just about finding the ways that make it most likely you win.
by silverlakebruin on Nov 22, 2011 3:24 PM PST up reply actions
Whatever works --
You could not be more correct about Leach.
He is thoughtful and not bound by folk lore. He actually studies stuff.
One thing he writes about is how the Texas corners did not like to cover a certain pattern. How did he know? Game film. So he ran it over and over. And, gained lots of yards on it. On another team it would not have worked and he would not have done it.
The other thing that is great is that he believes that “whatever” only works if it is done, correctly. He demands precision and discipline.
No playbook. A handful of plays. Done perfectly. “Here, you know what we are going to run — try and stop us.”
sjh
Totally agree
No retreads, no coaches living off others, no overrated mediocrities. We need to go after the big names first, and if that fails, I’d like an up and comer.
With the benefit of hindsights ....
Neuheisel is recruiting coordinator material at best, the same position Lavin should have been given. That said, I am all for either Leach, Meyer, Peterson in that order.
At this writing, I can just tell those South Centran Tech players are seething with lusts, drolling at the chance of pummeling us to shambles at upcoming rivalry game. Their win over Oregon at Oregon gave them even more impetus to strut and show their stuffs.
Let’s hope Neuheisel has just enough fight left to make it close because his counterpart will be relentless, hellbent on humiliating us.
Let’s fight them with all we have !
You would take Leach over Meyer??
Why?
by VeniceBruin on Nov 22, 2011 4:40 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Well I sure wouldn't but unfortunately
Looks like Meyer is going to tOSU because Dan Guerrero is too busy with donuts and chianti to interview head coaching candidates
may well be so
but in a world unconstrained by such considerations, I’m totally confused as to why one would take Leach and Meyer if both were available.
I would take Leach over Meyer in a heart beat.
he is obviously a mad genius. But, genius is genius. His trajectory is still going up. Where ever he lands, he is going to make waves.
Meyer has reached his pinnacle. After Tebow left for the pros, Florida wasn’t doing much despite the fact the team was still loaded with talent. He says he left for his family and yet here he is flirting with tOSU. I think he left because he didn’t have it in him to rebuild. Or, put more bluntly, I think he left to keep his track record untarnished.
Mike Leach has no problem building another program. He has no laurels to rest on, It is all upside with Leach.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Me too.
I think Mexi has hit it on the head.
I would much rather have Mike Leach on board. I don’t know if we would win every game, but I would not dread each Saturday, and be surprised with a win. I would expect to win, because, like Coach Prothro, Coach Leach knows how to manage a game, and knows how to develop players into a team.
more so than Meyer?
Big turnaround at Bowling Green; leads Utah to a Fiesta Bowl win; leads Florida to 2 national championships.
Latest news says he’s off to tOSU so it’s moot. But Meyer is an elite coach, Leach is (just) a very good coach.
It's called being...
…hungry. Mexi is right on this one.
Leach wants it…he can taste it. He was forced out, against his will in a rush to judgement by Tech. He has a point to prove…why shouldn’t we benefit from that hunger?
Big mistake if we let him get away…worse if he lands in the Pac-12 and we have to play him every year…yikes!
by GemCityBruin on Nov 23, 2011 6:58 AM PST up reply actions
I would rather have Meyer
That’s my opinion. My personal top 2 are Meyer and Petersen. Leach would be in Tier 2 or (1A) with Golden and probably some others who meet the criteria. Others may have different opinions, but I’m not going to be convinced that Meyer should be the number 1 choice for pretty much everyone.
Any D2/FCS/Pop Warner coaches
with NFL experience tearing it up like Harbaugh did at USD? I like the idea of trying an up and comer who can teach fundamentals, think out of the box, and motivate like crazy. Sometimes those experienced and proven coaches end up being tired and stuck in a rut by the time they get to your program.
Of course other times, they end up being Bill Snyder.
It'd be an interesting hire
The one guy that I can think of is Mike London at Virginia. Only his 2nd year at UVA and he’s turned it around pretty quick; he even won a FCS title in his first season at Richmond. Unfortunately he’s not a viable candidate.
why isn't he
a viable candidate? I’m not advocating one way or the other. Just asking.
2 years into a new job
Just starting to rebuild a program that was flailing in the last years under Groh. I wouldn’t think he’d give it all up so easily.
London has history at UVa and is a Virginia guy, so not necessarily much reason for him to leave
as it happens, he was Al Golden’s replacement as UVa’s defensive coordinator when Golden took over at Temple, and had been a position coach in C’Ville prior. Also, the ACC is going to be a much easier league to succeed in than the Pac-12.
formerly bruinhoo
Just for kicks
I looked up the top team this year in the FCS. At the moment, it is Sam Houston State. Their coach is up for coach of the year this year and he seems to have a good track record.
Hey, found something else kinda interesting -
a program changing Division 2 coach who used to coach for UCLA. John Wristen was the Tight Ends and special teams coach for 1 or 2 years under CKD. He is currently the coach for the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves.
When Wristen took over, the team was 4-6, and now a few years later the team is undefeated and #2 in all of Division 2 football. Anyone remember how this guy did as a position coach at UCLA?
We don't want UCLA connections
in our next coach. that tactic has failed miserably. I hope this is just a bad joke.
Just came across him randomly
searching lower tier schools. I don’t think he is really a ucla guy… he just worked there once. I have no idea if he’d be a good candidate, but his record with the Thunderwolves is impressive.
Hiring a coach with a UCLA connection has not worked - history proves that point.
But still I wonder if it might be the guy rather than the UCLA connection. A guy who can turn a 4-6 team into an undefeated team in a short time obviously has something going for him. Our last three coaches had no track record at all in terms of saving a program in decline. I would be willing to give this guy a shot if everyone above him refused the job.
I don't understand
the argument. If Virginia was flailing, why is that hard to give up? It seems like there is a much better chance to be a winner at UCLA than at Virginia.
I'm not comparing the programs
I’m just saying that he’s in the nascent stages of building a good program at UVa, and it wouldn’t make sense in my opinion to leave only after 2 years when you’ve barely started there.
I don’t know I just don’t think he’d leave.
He is also really into Virginia
it’s where he grew up, it’s where he played football, it’s where he got his coaching breaks. I totally agree with your assessment. ACC is also potentially ripe for the taking.
check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Cavaliers_football#History for an entertainingly selective account of why Virginia is a storied program…
I like Leach the more I read about him. Very interesting and creative guy.
Believe it or not I’m not sold on Meyer. Major physical and mental issues and how did he do that last year with all that talent after Tebow?
But I really think our offense will be fine whoever the coach is. It’s the defense I worry about.
The best defensive guys are that Fangio guy, and the Alabama and LSU defensive coordinators. They would be my 1, 2, and 3 withy Leach rounding out my four tops.
If Leach could land a top defensive guy he’d probably be my choice
But DG has to go, too. He is an albatross to any coach. How about Kiki Vandiweghe?
I think you should clarify, Vanderweghe for AD
And, I would support that move.
He did good things for the Denver Nuggetts. He appears to be a forward thinker. I can’t even believe Guerror even thinks. Outside of an instinctual need to hunt donuts.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Meyer
40 million. That’s OSU money. People have to get real about this job. Meyer was never coming here. Meyer working for Guerrerror the great uniform designer? LOL. We need a guy who does not have a job; Leach, or a young coach looking to move into a potentially career making job. But I fear that DG might still be here and we continue to empty out the Rose Bowl. Kiki sounds good, but we need an AD who understands that College football now drives the bus.
New rumor, which he is denying as well.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Not that they are credible sources, but...
…I heard Max & Marcellus on Trogan Radio 710 this morning toss out Herman Edwards’ name as a (if not THE) leading candidate to replace our current coach. If this is true, I’m not sure how I should feel about that one.
Herm would likely have the best press conferences and would likely be great in the living room and locker room, but that 54-74 NFL record seems to indicate he’s not so great on the practice field and in the Coaches Meetings.
Would have to admit though that I’d love to hear Herm scream out “you play to win the game!!!…hello…you play to win the game!!!”
just heard the same thing, was going to come here and post it.
He is a fiery guy that would sell wel in the living room. Depending on who he gets as coordinators, this could be either a home run hire, or another flop. His specialty is defense, and I’ve said many times, we need an offensive minded coach that can create the kind of fireworks that will fill the Rose Bowl again. So, depending on the OC this would be a great hire.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
A cautionary note on Herm from Wikipedia
“Overall, Edward’s tenure as head coach of the Jets was marred by chronic clock management problems, an ultra-conservative “play not to lose” mentality, and a lack of any discernable defensive philosophy, despite Edwards’ supposed expertise in the Cover 2 defense.23 The Jets replaced Edwards by hiring Eric Mangini, a senior assistant-coach with the New England Patriots."
Great guy. A repeat of the same?
Could we hire him just to do interviews?
I would love to be the guy asking the first question. “Coach, how should you play the game?”
But I wouldn’t want him involved with any actual coaching or anything like that. He’s exactly the kind of guy we should never consider for all the reasons uclahy noted from Wikipedia.
COMPLETELY DISAGREE
Sarkisian has a great record against $c.
He doesn’t like Kiffin, was the smarter of the two, a great recruiter, people from UW love him (has tremendous respect in Seattle), and has molded 2 HEISMAN WINNERS! (Leinart and Palmer).
Put Sarkisian w/ Hundley (#2 QB prospect, and incomign UCLA QB starter) – he can get hism to be Heisman worthy and put great players around him.
$c wanted to give the job to Sarkisan
… he wanted to stay in Seattle.
They wanted Sarkisian over Kiffin. Kiffin was the backup plan. That’s pretty impressive.
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