Attempting to Judge UCLA Football Coaching Candidates Objectively

by Odysseus on Dec 7, 2011 1:36 PM PST

We've already pointed out that incompetent lame athletic directors like Chianti Dan often fall victim to the Warren G. Harding effect, hiring a bad coach because he looks the part, or he wears a nice suit. While Bruins Nation is not officially endorsing any candidates at this time, some of our community members have come up with some good lists, like Seahawcla's list.

Let's look at some of the candidates and see how they stack up on the Coaches By the Numbers ratings (feel free to propose other ratings or criteria).

Mark Dantonio (Mich St), 3.5*, 53.88

James Franklin (Vandy) 3*

~~Larry Fedora (Southern Miss~~ UNC) 3*, 46.55

~~Hugh Freeze (Ark. St~~ Ole Miss) 3*

Mark Hudspeth (ULL) 2*

Butch Jones (Cincy) 3.5*, 49.57

~~Mike Leach (TTU~~ WSU)

Dan Mullen (Miss St), 3.5*, 51.49

~~Chris Petersen (Boise St)~~, 5*, 78.84

Charlie Strong (Louisville) 2.5*

~~Al Golden (Tha U~~) 2*

Coordinators

Paul Chryst (OC Wisc) 4.5*

Manny Diaz (DC Tex) 3.5*

~~Gus Malzahn~~ (OC Auburn) 4.5*

Kirby Smart (DC Alabama) 5*, 93.36

Brent Venables (DC OU) 5*, 89.19

Let's add:

Gary Patterson (TCU) 5*, 71.25

Mike London (UVa) 2*

Kyle Whittingham (Utah) 4.5*, 63.57

Bronco Mendenhall (BYU) 4*, 61.97

Art Briles (Baylor) 2.5*

Troy Calhoun (AFA) 3.5*, 54.30

So, if we were to rank the remaining candidates based on these criteria, it would looks something like this:

Tier A

Patterson, 5*

Whittingham, 4.5*

Mendenhall, 4*

Dantonio, 3.5*

Mullen, 3.5*

Calhoun, 3.5*

Tier B

Franklin, 3*

Strong, 2.5*

Briles, 2.5*

Tier C

Smart, 5*

Venables, 5*

Chryst, 4.5*

Diaz, 3.5*

London, 2*

Hudspeth, 2*

Again, these rankings are not definitive, it's one website's attempt to insert objective measurements into the process. There is definitely room for subjective measurements as well, my personal rankings would not look exactly like this, but this is a good add to the discussion.

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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Comments

Awesome list

If DG can’t pull in one of the Tier A, he has no business running UCLA’s athletics program.. Wait.. he doesn’t have any business running it now :-(

by impaulv on Dec 7, 2011 1:39 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

I love CBTN.

I’m looking for a rule of thumb run down on how not to hire a coach which was, not kidding here, an almost blow by blow description of our last two hiring processes.

I’m glad to see Mullen up there. I would like to take a run at Mendenhall and surprised to see Briles as low as he is.

PS: did everyone notice Pat Hill was fired from Fresno State. I like the guy. I know he would never fly around here. But, I think he would make a great coordinator. Under the right HC.

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 7, 2011 1:54 PM PST reply actions

pat hill

would be a great guy to have on staff to recruit the central valley kids that were keeping fresno relevant…offensive line coach or some such post would be kinda nice.

by South Campus is for Lovers on Dec 7, 2011 2:02 PM PST up reply actions

Really like the idea

Great job O. Obviously we all won’t agree on all the ratings but for the most part it’s spot on. We should be able to get somebody in Tier A such as Mullen or Calhoun or reach down into Tier B for Strong or Briles. I’d put in a call to Dantonio and Patterson to see if there’s anyway they’d come but I doubt it. Although I do think Mendenhall and Whittingham are both overrated by these rankings

by themichael21 on Dec 7, 2011 1:57 PM PST reply actions

+1

Patterson’s an absolute no-brainer
Suggested Adds:
Pat Fizgerald (53% win-pct at Brain-Heavy Northwestern) probably deserves a look
Bobby Petrino (however unlikely given our AD’s a non-closer) for all the obvious reasons.

GO BRUIN BLUE

by logan_5 on Dec 8, 2011 9:23 AM PST up reply actions

Thanks

Nice to see the list return, I left many of those names you added because I don’t believe we have a legitimate shot at them/they do not want to leave. I dont see anyone past Mullen in tier A leaving their current job.

All I know is Hudspeth has been HC at two locations and radically changed both programs for the better quickly. If that gives him a 2 in coach by the numbers so be it. All I see is a coach who knows how to win. Looks like Brian Kelly’s path up the coaching ranks.

I have not seen Malzahn formally accept a position quite yet let us not cross him off quite yet.

We do not need a name, we need someone who knows how to coach. Winning will come from good coaching and recruits like winning.

by Seahawcla on Dec 7, 2011 2:01 PM PST reply actions

Wittingham and Mendenall

I really like CBTN. Their rating system is by no means perfect, but they are objective measures for rating the jobs of coaches and coordinators. Thanks for posting up O.

I’m a little surprised that both Wittingham and Mendenhall are rated pretty high, yet their names haven’t been really mentioned here or elsewhere as possible candidates. I remember their names were mentioned when we hired Rick, but this time around, they’ve been largely ignored.

Wittingham has continued to win at Utah after taking over for Urban Meyer. This year was his first in the Pac-12 and he went through some struggles. Yet, he still managed a winning record. Can you imagine Wittingham coaching in Westwood, with a potential return of Norm Chow as OC?

by Kerckhoff405 on Dec 7, 2011 2:04 PM PST reply actions

I was with you until

the Norm Chow part.

by Odysseus on Dec 7, 2011 2:05 PM PST up reply actions

Not really...gack.

by GemCityBruin on Dec 7, 2011 2:11 PM PST up reply actions

Just delete that last sentence

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Dec 7, 2011 2:11 PM PST up reply actions

Their names haven't been mentioned,

because they aren’t candidates.

Andy Wooldridge, andy_wooldridge@yahoo.com
BuildingTheDam.Com
Go Beavs!

by AndyPanda on Dec 7, 2011 8:47 PM PST up reply actions

I say we rec this up.

Make it a long term coaching talk thread. I would like to avoid seeing and/or having to click through the stuff on the sidebar;

"I have one word for you...Be careful."
-Jose Guillen

by IE Angel on Dec 7, 2011 2:49 PM PST reply actions

Loving the list....

but why is Malzahn crossed off? Also, Calhoun stated that he won’t be leaving AF….

Calhoun texted Colorado Springs Gazette reports Frank Schwab, informing him that the Air Force Academy was where he wanted to be and that he hadn’t spoken with anyone.

by NorCalBruin on Dec 7, 2011 3:11 PM PST reply actions