UCLA Coaching Hot Stove: Focusing on Dan Guerrero’s Incompetence, His Sham "Search"
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2011 7:31 AM PST
in Football
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PrintThere is not a lot of news today involving the coaching search this am. You can read up the update from the LA Times, which doesn't provide any new information. So let's reset a bit in terms of where we are, and zero in on the incompetent of Dan Guerrero that has once again resulted in joke coaching search, making UCLA a national laughing stock
So here are the names of coaches who have come up during our search process this time (through various reports):
-
Chris Petersen -
Kevin Sumlin -
Al Golden - Jim Mora Jr.
- Mike Bellotti
- June Jones
We are not going to bother dignifying names such as Tom Cable and Dewayne Walker because that doesn't pass the laugh test. If you look at the rest of the names above, you will note that except for Sumlin, all of those names were considered during the 2007 coaching search. None of them names are anything new. I guess in 2007 there were three other names that popped up during the search: John Harbaugh, Jim Grobe and Mike Leach.
Of course it appears this time around Guerrero did not bother pursuing Mike Leach essentially giving him the cold shoulder all along. Apparently he was just too arrogant to consider Leach and there is also the matter of Guerrero being closed friends with Texas Tech AD who fired Leach. So Guerrero didn't consider Leach for petty reasons.
All of this leads to the obvious question what the heck Chianti Dan has been doing all this time, when has been clear for weeks, if not months that UCLA may be in the market for a new head coach in 2011. The way the sham of a "search" has been conducted it seems Guerrero just dusted up his bland rollodex from 2007 and called the same freaking people. This is why so many are having a hard time with the spin of having to accept options such as a Mora Jr. or Bellotti, because it looks like Guerrero and his incompetent staff did nothing to prepare themselves for a methodical search process.
As has been discussed in recent days there are plenty of talented coaches who could potentially be options for UCLA and may be interested given the Bruins have resources to spend this time around. It is stunning to see Bruins not even bothering considering someone like Dan Mullen or letting guys like Larry Fedora seriously pursued by someone else.
We can already see where this clusterf*ck of a process is headed. After Guerrero flails around pursuing candidates who are not anything new, he will end up settling on someone like Mike Bellotti or Jim Mora Jr, and then try to give us BS spin about how he had conducted an exhaustive such process. Once again the clueless UCLA officials in Morgan Center will be urging us to get behind a new coach, who will come in with more questions and involve the Bruins taking a major chance, when we needed a top tier coach to resurrect this program.
What is also clear that Chianti Dan never had a plan in place for doing a search. Given the actions of this guy, it appears that he really did want to badly hold on to Rick Neuheisel for one more season, even though it became clear to everyone else that UCLA needed a change. This is why Guerrero lollygagged following the Arizona game and refused to let Neuheisel go. This is why Guerrero made the now infamous statement about how Bruins should be excited about having a chance to play for the Rose Bowl, after the 0-50 wipeout at the Coliseum.
Guerrero never wanted to fire Neuheisel. His hands were essentially forced the Monday after the SC game and there is a reason why he looked so nervous and sweaty during that press conference. He had no idea how he was going to do a "search." That is why flailed around at Petersen, pursued a "hot name" like Sumlin despite all the red flags, and then threw a pathetic hail marry at Golden just to please the Chancellor (Gene Block and Golden knew each other from their days at Virginia).
The question now becomes is whether the Chancellor can afford to let this guy further embarrass the school and muck up the process. If I were him at this point the following steps seem to be no brainer:
- Relieve Chianti Dan immediately all his responsibility as the AD at UCLA
- Appoint someone at AD, who has been around for a while (i.e. someone like the head of compliance or the Comptroller) to run the day to day operations at Morgan Center
- Immediately begin a national search for a new AD for UCLA, who actually has a clue about building and maintaining elite major revenue programs.
- Appoint a small committee of Bruin greats such as Troy Aikman and supporters such as Casey Wasserman to resume the coaching search, and execute it in next 2-3 weeks.
I personally am more concerned about getting a new AD than getting a new football coach. The way hoops season is shaping up, there is a good chance we will be in the market for a new hoops coach. And we can't let Chianti Dan screw up the process of recruiting a new coach, who may have to fix Ben Howland's ugly mess in Westwood.
So to close it up - if you want to take one action today to support the cause of restoring UCLA football - call the Chancellor's office and request Mr. Block to step in and take charge of the football coaching search process (and preferably fire Guerrero ASAP). We need new and competent leadership at Morgan Center. Time for Guerrero to get the heck out of Westwood.
GO BRUINS.
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ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE...fire Guerrero
and set up a committee of non-Donahue Bruins to identifty and recruit a head football coach…
If you check my history, I believed Rick N should have been fired after the Cal game
LAST YEAR!. I certainly reiterated that after the Arizona game. I also returned my Texas BB tickets in protest of the DG reign of terror; therefore, I resent the X-Neubs charge…Thank you for attention…
I think he was referring to what to call the non-Donahue Bruins, not you
by Kenneth Powers on Dec 6, 2011 9:11 AM PST up reply actions
Okay...I just wanted it clear
that I do not want to be assoicated with the people who I believe are the real cancers to the program…Neubs…
The X-Neubs..
..was a reference to those who were apologists for CRN — now XCRN — in attempt to add to the rich lexicon here at BN..
The BN Lexicon can be found
here, though it definitely needs some updating.
(Nestor – I don’t think I can devote time to a full update of it on my own, and a fanpost asking for submissions would be lost in the turnover in a few hours at the rate we’re getting new posts. Perhaps you can approach another regular about it?)
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Focus
With the influx of offensive-minded coaches (RichRod, Leach, Kelly), is there a point where the focus should shift from a coach known for offense to a coach known for defense? In other words, are we resigned to 42-35 games instead of trying for 21-10 games? Also, f we hire an offensive-minded coach and he is unable to keep up with the high-powered offense’s of the Pac-12, are we destined for 6-6 records for 5 years?
hard to get excited about a defensive team.
Touchdowns put butts in seats. Particularly in LA.
Now, if you’re going to suggest a Defense First head coach, AND a stellar offensive guy like Gus Malzahn, them I’m listening.
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
Laugh Test?
We are not going to bother dignifying names such as Tom Cable and Dewayne Walker because that doesn’t pass the laugh test.
..Nestor, ol’ hoss, I fear the laugh test will come when the selection is actually made.
Followed, of course, by interminable fits of sobbing from the Bruin faithful. We are on the brink of dark times here, old son.
Agreed..
..but this is the one instance, I fear, where the old maxim “It’s always darkest before the dawn” does not apply.
well...
you could be looking at quite a bit darker first….. :/
Go Bears Go
Dark times?
This is a freakin Nuclear Winter.
Oh UCLA you sweet bitch, you've BRUINed me for anything else.
we're in dark times
we’re headed for a black hole from which UCLA might never escape.
I agree it's looking bleaker by the day...
"Winners Then, Winners Now... Bruin in Madrid"
by uclaprofe on Dec 6, 2011 12:57 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
Agree completely
I personally am more concerned about getting a new AD than getting a new football coach.
Going one further, I, personally would rather we get a new AD and an interim so-so coach than to get an exciting coach and have Chianti Dan continue to run the show. A fresh coach with Dithering Dan still in charge would be a savory pot of cioppino with a dead rat floating in it.
I agree that the problem is at the top...
We’re going to have the same problem after (well, we’re already having it) with our basketball program, and we’re going to need a new Administration to address it, otherwise we’re going to have the same non-search as we look for a good basketball coach.
Yesterday
There were many people on here discounting the idea of bringing in an interim (one year contract) coach. The idea was called “stupid” with fears of not learning our lesson and Lavin 2.0. The reason I read this blog is because it’s reality based. Well….here’s reality …the odds are down to 5% that we’re going to get an acceptable coach this university deserves. As such, our best AVAILABLE option is to pull a tOSU move with a one year hire and get our Urban Meyer the following year. I’m arguing all of this in the context that DG will be fired and a competent AD gets to perform the coach search next year. With a competent AD, the fears of Lavin 2.0 will be greatly diminished. For me, this is the ideal scenario:
1) Fire DG now
2) Search for/hire a great AD
3) Let that great AD woo and hire our Urban Meyer next year
It's still a bad idea
Not that any of Chianti Dan’s ideas will be better, but it’s still a bad idea.
Again
We’re reality based here!
Out of the AVAILABLE options, please provide a (realistic) better idea.
Boom.
•Relieve Chianti Dan immediately all his responsibility as the AD at UCLA
•Appoint someone at AD, who has been around for a while (i.e. someone like the head of compliance or the Comptroller) to run the day to day operations at Morgan Center
•Immediately begin a national search for a new AD for UCLA, who actually has a clue about building and maintaining elite major revenue programs.
•Appoint a small committee of Bruin greats such as Troy Aikman and supporters such as Casey Wasserman to resume the coaching search, and execute it in next 2-3 weeks.
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
by MexiBruin on Dec 6, 2011 11:12 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
It's not even close to being realistic
Troy and I were friends and both graduated in ‘89. That’s not even a remote possibility. Look, i’m tire of fighting with the front pagers here. I’ll come back in “2-3 weeks” after this cluster f**k has fully materialized and give you all of you a big fat I told you so.
Given that Dan will probably be around in 2-3 weeks
Neither scenario will be able to say “I told you so,” given that Guerrero being gone is the underlying premise here.
by Kenneth Powers on Dec 6, 2011 11:50 AM PST up reply actions
How is that unrealistic?
The only difference is the timeline for hiring the next coach. If the right decisions are made promptly, getting our next coach is still a possibility. We’d prob need an interim AD, but the coaching search can still be handled.
Your ideal scenario and our ideal scenario both rely on Chianti being fired first. Until that happens though, neither of us gets anywhere.
Have you asked Troy lately what his stance and involvement in this is? Not being snarky, but I’d like to know what he thinks about all this.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
gBruin...you're actually the one guy on here I like a lot
so I’ll respond to you. You’re right…our scenarios are nearly the same – except for the last. Although I agree your approach is better than mine – it’s less realistic. DG is not getting fired this week (which your approach requires) and Aikman is not joining any search committee (yes…we email each other often and no….he’s not getting involved in this mess any further).
Conversely, my approach doesn’t require DG to be fired (although that would be ideal). In fact, my approach assumes DG will be around to sign our next coach to a deal. Having resigned myself to this awful-but more likely -outcome, my goal (and I think it should be your goal as well) is to pressure Block to make sure this deal is for only ONE year. At least we can buy some time to accomplish the goal of getting rid of DG and replacing him with a solid AD who can conduct the search properly in 2012. Go ahead and disagree but sheez – it’s not a stupid idea and it worked well for tOSU.
Bottom line – I believe DG is 100% incapable of hiring an acceptable coach. By quickly dismissing the one-year contract as a viable alternative, it’s putting us at more risk that we’ll be stuck with a crappy coach for four years and not one. I know I making assumptions here and so are you. But after it’s announced that we just signed an unacceptable coach to a 4 year deal – I think you’ll regret not channeling more of your energies into making sure it was only a one year deal.
re. it working well for tOSU...
tOSU finished the regular season 6-6. Losing Pryor et all was a major factor in that record, but regardless, 6-6 is not ‘working well’ for a tOSU-level program.
formerly bruinhoo
Your idea is about as realistic as asking Rick Neuheisel to come back for one more year
Just go back and say, “hey Rick, our bad…we thought we could do better but we’re obviously wrong”.
Like I said in another thread. It’s a slap in the face to the players on the team. you’re telling them that you’re throwing away a year of their eligibility because you can’t get your sh*t in order. Do you have any idea what kind of message that sends to the rest of the nation. If we’re already a laughingstock can you imagine what will happen if we aren’t able to get a coach when we’re offering $4M per year? Seriously, your idea is completely unrealistic.
Don't make up your own reality
the odds are down to 5% that we’re going to get an acceptable coach this university deserves
Sorry but that’s just your opinion.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I'm Glad
you’re still able to see rainbows and unicorns. The comments above and below suggest my 5% may be too optimistic (unless of course you think Mora is an acceptable choice – which puts you in a minority position). More and more people are moving to my side including some influential people on this blog. Time for you to pick on someone else.
I'm not sure whay your position is, but if a move to your side, do I get to be recognized as an influential person on this blog?
“Cause I’ll move for recognition.
Why, are you counting yourself as influential now?
I guess that makes one person that agrees with you.
He's part of the 99%
Awww crap…there’s an occupybruinsnation.com movement starting.
Coach Search
I could not agree more with everything stated above. I went to my first Bruin game in 1963 and it pains me to see the mess created by the horrific AD/CD. He has to go now!
by BobJam on Dec 6, 2011 7:53 AM PST via mobile reply actions
"He's just not that into you...."
I’ve done due diligence and written to Block about the dysfunction of the AD and his lack of ability to anticipate program needs. However reading the many Bruin boards and blogs talking about possible coaches…. and also reading the word outside UCLALandia diminishing those same possibilities. The sad truth: UCLA football Coach is not an attractive position for most of the coaches we want. 3 million isn’t enough to marry the girl with the bad breath and the maxed out credit cards. It may well take a miracle mistake (a low profile coordinator who turns out to be a great head coach), or more likely another 3-4 years of mediocrity of a bad hire (Mora, et. al.) to cause UCLA administration to make a change. I just don’t see Block moving now, regardless of the drip, drip of “doughnut this” and “Chianti that.” It’s enervating, depressing. I am 61 years old; I wonder if I will ever see a UCLA Top 5 team again.
Well
The problem is that our maxed out credit card was maxed out by Chianti Dan. He is UCLA’s halitosis. He’s UCLA’s Herpes which is why nobody wants to F**K with us. He is the reason no top coach will accept the huge amount of money being offered.
Why not fire Chianti Dan and go after a top coach with the offer of having some input in the AD that gets hired?
you're wrong
it’s just that Chianti Dan is an incompetent bungler.
thing it goes beyond that at this point
Block just doesn’t give a damn either. If Dan is incompetent, then what does that make Block, who puts up with all this?
In my mind the entire problem goes all the way through the entire administration of UCLA this past decade
Dear harry bruin, what a dagger to the heart
But this is just so poignantly sad but true. I am utterly lost for words to describe my feelings.
And it is not quite 8:30 am yet in my household.
Dan thought
that because he allowed Neu to hire new coordinators, the “reset” button was pressed on his timeline. That is why he thought 6 wins was enough to show in year 4, because in Dan’s mind, it was really only year 2. That’s also why Neu was confused by the firing. They both thought the fans would just put years 1 and 2 down the memory hole and chock them up to the “pre-pistol/Chow” era.
Insane, I know, but I really do think that was his mindet.
Neu should have been fired after last year. That’s what any competent AD would have done. Bringing him back was bad for the program and bad for him.
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2011 8:46 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
You are correct, sir! And what could have been...
The stars were lining up for a program-changing hire last year had they fired Neu. Had DG done so and acted decisively, we could have snatched up Brady Hoke from SDSU, and probably on the cheap. He wasn’t hired by Michigan until nearly mid-January.
Hurts to even think about it…
Titanic, Deck Chairs, etc.
Sorry, gotta rant:
Guererror possesses shriveld up pea gravel in his nut sack. The handwriting was on the wall LAST DECEMBER and all of us know it (in our heart of hearts). Rick should have been shown the gate after the SUC game last year and an earnest search for the afore-described full-tlt-boogie coach that we all know UCLA needs.
Personally, I am tired of all this embroidery around the edges. UCLA long ago (well, since mid-last-year) is living without my contributions and I cannot conceive of EVER wasting my time on a Fall afternoon at the Rose Bowl with the current regime in place.
They don’t give a royal rat’s ass about any of the fans, just those highly constipated, don’t rock the boat high rollers for whom UCLA sports is a nice-to-have backrop as they sip their Chablis (or Chianti) and eat their soggy cucumber sammiches in the luxury boxes. They — the high rollers — don’t give a flying shit about any of this.
(Tangential question: why are the Clippers perennial doormats? They are just an ATM for Sterling because the sheep still plod through the turnstiles and drop coins in his bank account. UCLA is rapidly becoming the Clippers of the PAC 12. Hell, even Howland’s team is sucking wind in their venue while the luxury boxes are being installed at “the new” Pauley.)
Meanwhile, we proles suck dessicated dog turds and hope against hope.
Time to storm the barricades, I say!
Otherwise all of this is just so much Coca Cola gas.
I pity the people that are just starting to realize that this was a sham of a search...
the people that thought we were going to actually land Petersen or any other nationally relevant coach.
With Guerrero at the helm, this program is critically wounded. There is no escape. The best we can hope for is a coup de grace to end our suffering.
by beanandcheeseburrito on Dec 6, 2011 8:34 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
come on man
spill it. What do you have in mind?
Calling chianti dan
Embarassing to the FOUR letters is embarrassing to the word embarrassing. Words can’t even express my anger towards this athletic department. My four season tickets are hanging by a thread. Figure it out Block!
by 0725brui on Dec 6, 2011 8:41 AM PST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
Boosters are still not demanding Dan's head
and still willing to write him checks. Until that changes, we are doomed.
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2011 8:42 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Add your reasons why good coaches don't want the HC job here.
Another top 10…
I was hoping for a "bodyguard of lies" situation...
…from Westwood, as in “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies” (Churchill). Thinking that there can be absolutely no way that Guererro, Block, et al could stagger through this process like drunks (from what I am seeing in the press, that’s what it looks like), they MUST have already worked this out and they are just waiting to seal the deal with a big name who we will all like. I can’t see why this is so public – Recruitment 101 says get it done behind the scenes WAY in advance, NO SURPRISES. The way this has already played out is just shocking. DG is simply comical in his approach to this hire…and if I wasn’t hurting so badly for a real coach for the football (and basketball BTW) team, this would be pretty funny. I.e., if this was ‘SC buffooning it up (like a Trogan situation), I would enjoy it. Right now, it’s almost the biggest train wreck I have ever seen in recruitment, especially at my alma mater. I can’t wait for it to be over with, and I feel really bad for the kids on the team – they deserve WAY better than this – most of them could have gone to any number of reputable programs. Hang in there guys, hopefully this debacle will be over soon enough and we can move on.
shadenfreude is an aweful feeling.
I hate that i am enjoying it a little.
because the reality is I want all the programs we play to be good, to be in the game in every sport, to be doing their best in everyway.
Go Bears Go
If Guererro makes the decision, we'll be back here in 3 years again
Well said, N, thank you.
I think we are all in agreement that Geurrero is the biggest of our issues. His incompetence is glaring. I’m not even convinced he has the best interests of our great university in mind. Again, I think we are all in agreement that he has absolutely no business whatsoever holding the keys to yet another football coach hiring.
But here’s the deliemma I’m considering: What should be the “order” of events? Most specifically, should we allow a search committee to hire a new coach before we have a new AD in place? Much like Neuheisel being strapped with assistant coaches who he himself did not select, I’m torn on how it’s going to play out if a new AD is forced to inheret a brand new coach (even one of the highest order like a Petersen or a Meyer or a Leach) given the unrest in UCLA football.
Look, in a perfect world, Block will step out of the shadows, show that he actually has a pulse with respect to UCLA athletcs, and fire Guerroro immediately. We can fast forward a search for a new AD and then allow him (or her) to lead the search for a new head football coach. Yes, this would delay the process by a bit but we still would end up, i think, with a smoother heirarchy.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Chancellor Block is coming out of his office anytime soon to show any true leadership (despite my daily emails and calls to his office). If we are forced to accept that Guerrero is going to control this decision, do we focus our efforts on “helping” him by being as outspoken as we can with our support/disapproval of his proposed candidates… or do we focus all of our energy on getting him ousted even though it hurts the search process by delay (thats what I’ve been doing, full disclosure)?
The worst realization for me has been: Dan isn’t going anywhere before he screws up yet another football coach hire. Even with a new AD, I have a bad feeling we’re going to be back here in 3-4 years wondering who our savior coah should be.
by DoubleTroubleBruin on Dec 6, 2011 8:47 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Bruin-ed
Do we actually have evidence that UCLA’s administration even cares about football? I see feints and going through the motions, but overall I’m getting the impression that they think UCLA is “fine” in that we’ve won more national titles than anyone else and that they’re only concerned with the state budget and that fallout. Aside from the PP upgrade, the entire Athletic Department seems to be in caretaker status. So let’s just throw sheets over the furniture, toss a few mothballs in the corners and leave for a few years.
If this is so, it’s a very short-sighted view, especially given the under-realized $$ potential from football and the fact that the only professional football team in town is at Figueroa Tech. This is unacceptable and we’re right to be outraged.
by wmm on Dec 6, 2011 9:16 AM PST up reply actions
A long time ago at UCLA..
..The Phi Delts and the ATOs used to be IM football champs and the Sigma Nus used to be the IM all-sports champs. One idiot in our house (Lambda Chi) thought that we should try to out-do the Sigma Nus and go for the All-IM title.
We did and, boy did it pay off! The Kappas and Tri Delts and Thetas..
..still dated the Phi Delts and ATOs.
Point of the story is that >100 NCAA championships are a magnificent achievement, but perennially, folks pay attention to the NCAA FB and BB powerhouses. All things considered, though, I would like us to be greedy and go for guns AND butter.
Fedora to UNC
Sports by Brooks is tweeting that Larry Fedora is headed to UNC, so scratch another top candidate off our list. (Oh wait he was never on it, never mind.)
by Lifelong Bruin Fan on Dec 6, 2011 9:00 AM PST reply actions
Malzahn?
I thought Malzahn was a shoe in there, I still would like to see him get some feelers from our end.
Funny how the list I created when Neu was fired of 15 candidates is dwindling yet we are not interviewing or looking at the names on it.
Looks like Petersen will stay in Boise and complain
he can’t get into BCS bowl games, even though he won’t take the opportunity to coach for a BCS school.
Not very high on people complaining about things when they have options.
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2011 9:08 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Colin Cowherd was making the same point on the radio today
Completely agree with you silverlakebruin!
by Bruin Dad and Grad on Dec 6, 2011 10:05 AM PST up reply actions
Let him rot..
..he made his choice.
by War Planner on Dec 6, 2011 10:05 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I wonder, are the players tweeting about this situation?
I’m not on Twitter, but I’d be real curious to know what the players themselves think about what’s going on, or not going on, as the case may be.
Anyone know if any of the players are tweeting (lord, I hate that phrase) about this, or posting on their FB pages, or otherwise making their feelings known?
I’m thinking Fauria, in particular, who’s put a few tweets out there this season that were eyebrow-raising…
???
Wow
But I guess we can’t say we didn’t see it coming.
What a huge waste and disappointment. Honestly though despite losing a talented player like Nelson, there is no room on a team for players with negative energy. In the long run the team is better off for it.
by Lifelong Bruin Fan on Dec 6, 2011 9:15 AM PST up reply actions
This type of thing has happened way too many times in the last 3-4 years . . .
what the hell is going on?
win or lose for howland
no matter how the rest of the season plays out, i’m glad howland stood by his lat comments about what it means to represent the four letters. even though it’s on him that he a) recruited a player like reeves and b) couldn’t keep him in check, i’m glad to see that howland still believes in representing our university the right way.
that being said, man it sucks to be a ucla fan right now.
by South Campus is for Lovers on Dec 6, 2011 9:16 AM PST up reply actions
Doesn't he have 2 yrs of eligibility left since he hasn't played in the Pac12 this season?
So he can dominate at UNLV, clean up his image and be a lottery pick?
that's only for medical redshirts.
Drew Gordon didn’t make it to Pac-12 play, but he didn’t get an extra year.
by Kenneth Powers on Dec 6, 2011 9:19 AM PST up reply actions
Last twitter from Nelson
@reezyF22
Wishing good luck to my bros @leezy3 @thoneycutt23 on their journey. Keep showin everyone y’all made the right decision. Lol
Too bad it isn't as easy to release Guerrero...
On the contrary, the village idiot may be repeating this sham in April…
You're missing a big point
The Rose Bowl hasn’t even been half-full for most games. Bringing in a coach with no local name recognition is not going to fix that problem until the team starts to win….that could take a couple years.
Someone like Mora, with NFL playoff HC experience would sell tickets immediately. There would be some buzz created….could he be another Petey?
DG has been getting a lot of heat from Block for not filling the stadium. If Mora is the wrong choice it won’t be evident for a few years. But filling the Bowl will take the pressure off DG immediately.
by BruinsinceBarnes on Dec 6, 2011 9:19 AM PST reply actions
"would sell tickets immediately."
why?
by Kenneth Powers on Dec 6, 2011 9:19 AM PST up reply actions
LOL
Because Chianit Dan thinks UCLA alums are stupid enough to buy his spin.
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2011 9:21 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
You're partially right
Most of the alumni who sit in the blue and gold seats have never heard of Fedora or Mullen or whoever. They want somebody higher profile whose name would not elicit a “who?” when mentioned. They’re familiar with Mora. NFL HCs have name recognition. Sure, he’s not Cowher, but he had a winning record with Atl and won a playoff game. That sells tickets (and doesn’t hurt recruiting either)..
by BruinsinceBarnes on Dec 6, 2011 9:34 AM PST up reply actions
Actually
Mora doesn’t have the greatest of reputation among recruiting analysts. This is a guy Washington itself passed over and he was an alum.
I imagine there are few UCLA fans who are always stupid enough to buy what this incompetent AD sells. That’s why we have had Lavinistas, Blindos and Neubs all these years.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Mora will “excite” the fanbase.
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2011 9:36 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I know what you're saying
but if Mora is the hire, and it’s looking possible, I won’t be disappointed. That said, I wanted Rick to be the hire too. I hate it when I agree with TJ.
by BruinsinceBarnes on Dec 6, 2011 9:45 AM PST up reply actions
"I won't be disappointed."
That doesn’t say much for your standards.
by Kenneth Powers on Dec 6, 2011 9:51 AM PST up reply actions
Lavinistas, Blindos and Neubs will rejoice at a Mora Jr hire
But serious CFB analyst, Media, knowledgeable fans and rivals will all LOL at us for hiring a joke of a coach who nobody is after. Not to mention that we’ll probably over pay for this joker since Chianti Dan let the $4M offered to Petersen leak out. Now any coach out there knows what UCLA is willing to offer and will do everything they can to get as much of that $4M as possible.
by King J77 on Dec 6, 2011 10:08 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
It's already happening elsewhere
Not to be divisive, per Nestor’s request but we must raise awareness that he should not be taken seriously as a HC candidate or we’ll be doomed to repeat history (again).
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 11:18 AM PST up reply actions
I'm trying to do my part
on the boards I frequent, It’s not easy though.
Every Bruin fan is just so beaten down that they try to rationalize any possible hire as being better than what we’ve had recently.
Same here
I use stats, rationality, reasons and visuals. Sometimes people just don’t get it. There are some Bruins out there that are still defending Dan (along with the Trogans). That is just beyond me.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 11:26 AM PST up reply actions
I sit in the "blue and gold seats" - and park in lot G (!) - and have heard of both
and I would prefer Mullen – or Briles – to Mora.
Chianti Dan is that you?
Mora won’t excite anyone
There are people who sell tickets immediately
But an unemployed NFL coach who hasn’t had a job offer in three years and was fired twice in a three year span is not one of them.
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2011 9:24 AM PST up reply actions
LOL at Mora filling the Rose Bowl
Who would be excited about Mora?
Headline writers
UCLA Fans Expect Mora the Same Disastrous Results on the Field
Good one, wmm
How about : UCLA: The Mora Things Change, the Mora they Stay the Same
by Cade McAdverb on Dec 6, 2011 11:06 AM PST up reply actions
DG is not the problem
Block is the source of our current funk. Block is blowing it and the Bruin brand is being damaged by incompetent leadership. By the way I like Nestor’s use of the word lollygagg. In my day if you were a lollygagger you were a big time flake! Should Block be given a pass while all the anger is focused on DG, CRN, and now Holland?
"Holland" drives me up the wall
This is way worse than people not knowing Petersen, because the spelling with the “o” is the common one. Holland is just completely wrong.
I don't mean to pick on you exclusively BTW
You’re far from the first person I’ve seen do this. But it’s Howland.
I work in the television industry
I am not a reporter, and I don’t work specifically on the sports side, but I have a number of friends who do. the point is, I’m sharing what I’m hearing from friends who work in sports television – so take this for what it’s worth (is that enough qualifying?): but what I’ve heard is that things are heating up with Mora – there are serious talks between the two camps. I haven’t heard that an actual offer has been made, and it could be they’re just feeling each other out, but talks have taken a more serious turn over the last 24 hours. Again, guys – my friends could be wrong, this is not me talking to anybody with first hand knowledge – but I thought it was worth sharing.
Confirmed by other bloggers as well...
Info probably true..
I just saw this rumor pop up
on a bunch of sites.
Say it aint so.
Ugh
This will be awful if it comes to reality…
As a Seahawks fan he was a trainwreck his time up here. Threw his players under the bus to cover up his inept game planning, never made in game adjustments. Offense was boring and predictable and defense his specialty got worse under his watch.
Guerrero has no clue if he thinks this is what will return UCLA to national prominence. Go ahead DG spin this to make it look like a hire that keeps up with what Wazzu and Zona did.
by Seahawcla on Dec 6, 2011 10:00 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Can ChiantiDan and Jim Mora Jr
go feel each other out somewhere else? We’ve got an AD and HC to replace here..we don’t have time for these two jokers to screw our program up any more than it already is.
An offer is in the works...
and we’ll land him for under $2M and he’ll pay his assistants the current $2M budget.
It will only take the Pauley naming rights contract and 1 or maybe 2 years of the new T.V. money to bail out the athletic department from Flounder Guerrerror’s $30M Pauley Renovation Fundraising “mistake”.
Flounder was NEVER… let me repeat that NEVER… going to shell out the $7M per year package that has been reported for Petersen. It was Guerrerror trying to spin the search as if he was doing his job and it was Petersen that was unreasonable. We offered about what Stanford did with our normal asst coaching budget.
by beanandcheeseburrito on Dec 6, 2011 10:19 AM PST up reply actions
SDSU in
the Big East? That even trumps the Big 10/12 and the Big 12/10.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Next, the Big East
will start pulling schools from China.
Dear Chancellor Block,
Having never met you, I do not know whether you view the chancellor position as a “job” or honor. I do know that as an alum, I felt it was a privilege and honor to attend UCLA. UCLA has always, at least in my mind, represented excellence. It grieves me to see that you apparently do not share my love for the institution as demonstrated by your laissez faire attitude toward the athletic department. I cannot imagine any other conclusion given your insistence on keeping Mr. Guerrero as the athletic director. I pray that you do not have similiar attitudes toward other departments within UCLA. It is so disheartening to see UCLA becoming fodder for late night commedians as Mr. Guerrero botches another coaching search (his third during his relatively short tenure).
Please, Chancellor Block, if you have any desire to save UCLA’s reputation from further degradation and ridicule, please remove Mr. Guerrero immediately, appoint a search committee for his replacement as well as a search committee for a new head football coach.
Sincerely,
by Gary72 on Dec 6, 2011 9:33 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
What concerns me is:
Shortly after the Debacle in South Central. Some form of external pressure kicked into high gear and The Donut’s hand was forced. Rick Neuheisel was fired. I assume that pressure came from big ticket donors. The firing was coupled with an immediate flight out to Boise to bring Chris Petersen to Westwood. I assume again, at the urging of the big ticket donors. SINCE THEN, it seems Dan has felt very little heat to perform an actual job search. It would appear he is returning to form and looking for low budget hustlers to keep the seat warm and make no waves.
Why are the big ticket donors doing nothing? Surely someone with sway can insist on a Dan Mullen or Art Briles, somebody other than the laughable names still being bandied about.
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
I think they are pushing best they can
But as long as Chianti has a job, well, he still has a job.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
O. M. F. G. !!!!!
http://ucla.scout.com/2/1136278.html
Reeves is gone.
And I’m seeing chatter that the next football coach is Mora Jr.
Am I stuck in some sort of nightmare right now?
You could do worse than Bellotti and Jones
but you could certainly do a LOT better, especially with that much money to spend.
I just wonder how many top-shelf coaches are left as options due to DG and the late search start, realistically. Any? Guerrero’s procrastinating has put UCLA into a real hole.
When I hear Petros talking about how DeWayne Walker might happen… oh man. HOW DOES DG STILL HAVE A JOB?
by scotty256 on Dec 6, 2011 9:51 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
Do you have room in Corvallis for a few thousand Bruin fans fleeing the homeland?
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
I too will seek Beaver asylum if the current rumors continue
Hell, any other program besides the University of Sexual Ballers will probably do.
Still cracks me up everytime
That and United States China Marketing
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 12:32 PM PST up reply actions
true
but all it takes is bringing on one stud recruiting asst. coach to help the first year or two…think embree,walker, orgeron type.
i’m actually ok with mora. (which is likely why i have no idea how to run a football program.)
by South Campus is for Lovers on Dec 6, 2011 10:01 AM PST up reply actions
I don't care who the new head coach is
Just effen fire guerrerror and blockhead
by PUSC on Dec 6, 2011 9:56 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
This is the Mother of all Cluster F*&#s
And I dread UCLA football (and soon basketball)has not yet reached the bottom of hell. And I just don’t know what the freak to feel. And I fear one day I may walk away from it all. And just look at my diploma, I guess, and thank the chancellor for UCLA MDs.
Steady focus
Keeep pressure on Block’s office. My daily call just ended and the secretary noted they had received dozens of calls and emails today-let’s make it hundreds…
Alumni- I’ve been speaking with fellow members of regional alumni chapters in an attempt to develop show org. Support for the removal of DG. If you are involved with any chapter-get involved with this ASAP. Our voice becomes much louder if demonstrate our position as unified bruins.
Mullen for HC is all I want for Christmas.
Go Bruins
by NicoBlue&Gold on Dec 6, 2011 9:57 AM PST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
Very interesting stuff Nico
Let us know if we can be helpful wrt to organizing regional alumni chapters. Feel free to use this as a platform to get out the word on that front.
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2011 10:22 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Adding insult to injury
Tom Cable was one of Mora’s assistant coaches….
Let me know when you guys see swarms of locusts outside and plagues popping up around the world, because it sounds like the apocalypse is upon us.
Aikman and Wasserman
How do we know that they can tell what the right coach for us is? I think we need to either bring in a stud AD or an outside group that is experienced in hiring the best coaches. Wasserman has no experience and I don’t think Aikman really knows what a great college coach entails.
by jcgobruins on Dec 6, 2011 10:11 AM PST via iPhone app reply actions
A lot of people wanted to fire the AD that hired Paul Hackett
until a year after that same AD hired Petey. You just never know, do you?
by BruinsinceBarnes on Dec 6, 2011 10:15 AM PST reply actions
You don't buy a goose w/ you last $1 because one once laid golden eggs...
frankly, garrett is a buffoon and is viewed as a buffoon by anybody with an ounce of knowledge
by beanandcheeseburrito on Dec 6, 2011 10:23 AM PST up reply actions
this is a delusional argument
and Bruins Nation is not on board with the strategy of hoping Chianti Dan bungles into a dumb luck hire
I wouldn't mind...
if Josh Smith is next to go. I’d rather lose games with players giving their all on the court than with lazy players standing around taking the four letters for granted. Sick of seeing Smith’s out of shape arse pouting on the court.
by bruindodger on Dec 6, 2011 10:25 AM PST via mobile reply actions
Agree All The Way Nestor
You put this all in perspective so well. FWIW, I’ll call the Chancellor’s office like any good Bruin would/should and make my pitch (hopefully not on deaf ears).
The only thing that makes this whole thing better is how you make me laugh with some of your lines in this post. Too damn good.
Los Angeles Rams and the UCLA Bruins!!!!!
by Minnesota Bruinfan on Dec 6, 2011 10:58 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Calling DG "Chianti Dan"....
… is embarassing to “Chianti”, which has done nothing to deserve the association. Sorry Tuscany!
Calling Dan
…is embarassing to all “Dans”, whom have done nothing to deserve the association. Sorry Dans!
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 11:24 AM PST up reply actions
He's embarrasing the Guerrero name...
I even hate “Guerrero” tortillas at the market now. SMH
I'm sorry but I'm starting to hate Vladimir Guerrero too
just by association. Forgive me Vlade.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 11:29 AM PST up reply actions
LOL I'm going to throw mine away tonight...
"Winners Then, Winners Now... Bruin in Madrid"
by uclaprofe on Dec 6, 2011 1:15 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
Is it just me or does Mora and Kiffin look like brothers
This should remove him from the job alone. Look it up. Something about looking at him was bugging me. I think this is it.
Mora and Kiffin are much more similar than looks...
both are coaches due to nepotism… they are both unworthy.
by beanandcheeseburrito on Dec 6, 2011 11:30 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe that's why Dan wants him badly
Hey you look kinda like the guy that beat us 50-0. By my excellent reasoning you must be a viable canddiate. Herp Derp
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 11:30 AM PST up reply actions
How about
Pat Hill at Fresno. Does anyone think he may be worth a look?
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