Should Guerrero get the chance to hire next UCLA football coach?
by Achilles on Apr 21, 2011 11:26 AM PDT
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PrintIf you have not noticed lot of our posts are now increasingly targeting Dan Guerrero. It's not an accident. Morgan Center has given us the message that they have no interest in listening to UCLA alums and students rising from the concerns around student seating fiasco. We are going to return the favor now by keeping the focus on DG. We don't care how long this takes. This will probably not be fun for many readers on BN but the state of UCLA athletics hasn't been fun DG.
With that ... let's talk about Rick's hot seat. Scout.com ranks Rick among his Pac-12 peers:
7. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA
Career Record: 81-52
For some reason it's just not working. There might have been scorched earth when he was done at Colorado and Washington, going 3-0 in bowls with the Buffs and winning a Rose Bowl in Seattle, but he was a success at both places. After paying his penance, he was supposed to make UCLA a power again, and now in Year Four and after two eighth place Pac-10 finishes and a ninth, everyone is left scratching their heads. He has recruited well, USC has hit the skids, and the window should be wide open for resurgence in Bruin football. Now he has to show he can really coach and has to come up with a big year to stick around.
Hot Seat Status: The heat shield has been deployed, but it's not working. 15-22, a bowl win over Temple, and bottom-feeder Pac-10 status isn't exactly what the Bruins thought they were getting.
The Coaching Change Will Come ... Next year. He's only 50 and he has a great offensive mind, but the results aren't there. His 2011 team will be good. It won't be good enough.
The Orlando Sentinel has Rick on the "hot seat":
Buzz: Neuheisel's hiring was meet with much fanfare as the fiery coach was determined to change the culture at UCLA. He created a marketing campaign claiming "The Football Monopoly in L.A. is officially over," a shot at rival USC. He even hired former USC offensive guru Norm Chow to run his offense. However, things haven't gone as planned. In three seasons under Neuheisel, UCLA is 15-22, with the only bright spot being in 2009 when the team went 7-6 including a win in the EagleBank Bowl. The Bruins have gone 8-19 in the Pac-10 and have finished no better than eighth in the conference standings. That includes an 0-3 record against cross-town rivals USC. This past offseason, the 50-year-old coach made major changes to his coaching staff firing Chow and defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough. With back-to-back top 20 recruiting classes, you would think the Bruins would be ready to make a surge but that hasn't been the case. Now, with the addition of two more teams in the conference, things could only get tougher for Neuheisel, who has two years remaining on his current contract.
Slight quibble with that blurb. It was Dan Guerrero's non-existent marketing department that came up with the infamous monopoly ad. But the main point here is the writing is on the wall for Rick. If we don't win 8 or more games and beat USC, UCLA will have to look for a new coach.
The question for everyone is why we should trust Dan Guerrero to make the right hire? If Rick fails next season and/or Ben Howland doesn't produce an elite season in Westwood, change at Morgan Center will probably need to take place at the top.
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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I wouldn't trust
him with hiring someone to take my order at McDonalds. UCLA deserves so much more than what it currently has in the Morgan Center.
hell no
and without season tickets for football in the toilet this year, Dan’s balanced budget act is going to be a problem.
Unless Neu wins 10 games, you are going to see huge revenue problems for Dan, even if Neu wins 7-9 games.
by silverlakebruin on Apr 21, 2011 12:15 PM PDT reply actions
Not only "hell no" but
it is starting to look (to me) like the athletic department is more of the problem than CRN. I have more reason to believe in CRN & Chow than DG.
If one has to go I’d rather fire DG and keep CRN
That monopoly thing pisses me off.
Everyone gives Rick crap for it when he wasn’t even involved. Really stupid.
"Every day was a good day at UCLA." -Coach John Wooden
Don't feel too bad for Rick
He may have had nothing to do with the ad, but he’s had everything to do with making the ad look comical at this juncture.
C'mon that is not fair ...
Rick didn’t injure his 1st & 2nd string QB’s during practice
(and about a third of his Oline at any time)
He didn’t tell Kevin Prince to dive head first into Tennessee’s line without his mouth-guard
He didn’t send his best lineman on a religious mission
He didn’t tell 3 of his recruits to steal a laptop
… well, I dunno, maybe he stole a jewel from a Gypsy wagon and all this really is his fault.
by KnudsenRockne on Apr 21, 2011 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions
The Kevin Prince injury at Tennessee
was a dirty hit. He took a helmet to the chin in the end zone. It was an illegal hit.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Let me reword that then
Rick has had ample opportunity up to this juncture, despite some unfortunate adverse events beyond his control, to back up and prove the ad prophetic. He has yet to do so. Don’t feel too bad for him.
I agree that CRN made some very bad decisions
but I don’t see how he could have backed up that ad campaign. That ad was laughably premature. With the condition of the football team he inherited, there was no way he was going to challenge SC by now. KD left the cupboards bare. Pete Carrol and Lame Kiffin did more to end the USC monopoly than Neu could do with what he’s had so far.
That silly-assed ad probably hurt Rick’s career because it set the bar insanely high (they need to administer drug tests in the Morgan Center). Those expectations and his second season’s minor success made his 3rd season’s implosion a near mortal blow to his job. Without all the hype and if his 2nd & 3rd seasons were reversed CRN would not be on the hot seat quite yet. He would have one more year to turn around a program which has been in decline for 5 to 10 years. Finally, his recruits have matured and are filling the roster of his team, and it is make or break for him.
by KnudsenRockne on Apr 21, 2011 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Hindsight eh?
Maybe Chow realizes Cal had 10 men on the field
Maybe ATV picks Canfield off and goes back for 6
Maybe Paulsen doesn’t get a Personal Foul late in the 1st half against SC
Maybe we have a 10 win ball-team two years ago
Maybe we keep the Pro style offense
Maybe Chow grows a pair
Maybe we compete for a PAC 10 Title last year
Some small mistakes could have ended up yielding very large rewards
by Josh Schlichter on Apr 21, 2011 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I got more
Maybe BP stays in for one more play @ Stanford
Maybe we tackle Barner on the kickoff return
Maybe we adjust to the damn end around
Hell we could have been undefeated two years ago…
by Josh Schlichter on Apr 21, 2011 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions
and maybe a taxi hits WInston Churchil in NYC before WWII
by KnudsenRockne on Apr 21, 2011 5:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Uh. Oops
[Posted without the body.]
Agreed that you can take the bad luck excuse too far, but how many times in football history have QB’s gone down in virtually back-to-back plays during practice?
I think it is reasonable to conclude that not all of our Football woes were caused by Neu or any of his staff.
by KnudsenRockne on Apr 21, 2011 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Don't take that the wrong way
I am just adding to your point. Some seriously terrible luck or some sort of curse is seriously hurting UCLA FB aside from the conservative/passive mindset
by Josh Schlichter on Apr 21, 2011 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Its the curse of JP Losman
Our QB situation has been a mess since 1999. Ironically, it was that same year that the Losman fiasco occurred, Kyle Boller went to Cal, and we’ve never had a QB better than Drew Olson since. Check wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.P.Losman
That's what I said before
Dude went to Louisiana and got some bad voodoo against us somewhere in the swamp.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Wow
never really knew the story or JP Losman. I wasn’t really following CFB as much as a H.S. Sophmore. Man, was that guy freaking dumb. He transfered from UCLA to Tunlane because Toledo wouldn’t make him the starter only to be a bench player for two years at Tulane…WTF?
He wanted
to be the de facto starter, without having to compete. It would have been a competition in name only, the job was his. Dumb ass. It’s one thing I don’t blame on Toledo, he actually showed some integrity there.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
There is more to it than that.
Losman was stupid for transferring, but there was some truth to his argument.
Losman came in just after Cade McNown left. For some unfathomable reason, Toledo named some Schmuck named Corey Paus the starting QB. Not Drew Bennet who had been McNown’s understudy for years. He moved Bennet to WR, where he was good enough to go pro and build a ten year career. Corey Paus never panned out, and when it became obvious he wasn’t going to work out, there was nobody to turn to.
Call it the Curse of JP Losman, I call it the curse of Bob Toledo
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Considering
how well Bennett did as a WR in the pros, was it really a bad move by Toledo to move him there? I don’t think so. Corey Paus was supposed to be Losman’s backup, and he wasn’t some scrub recruit…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
But as Mexi said
The “curse” is that no QB ever really panned out after Losman (technically McNown), regardless of starting Paus or Bennet
by Josh Schlichter on Apr 23, 2011 8:04 AM PDT up reply actions
I see the angle
Even McNown’s backup goes on to become…a wide receiver…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
@03rdn9 oops. *totally misread you*
The voodoo curse of JP Losman is as plausible as anything.
We need to get a preist to do an exorcism or something.
by KnudsenRockne on Apr 22, 2011 10:00 AM PDT up reply actions
in a word...
NO.
although i’m still behind CBH and (to a lesser extent…) CRN… dg needs to go. now. quickly.
my only concern is who else (besides N) could we get?
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." --John Wooden
No.
And if DGs job hinges on the performance of our football team next year, he may want to start buffing out that resume right now. CRNs firing/replacement search will presumably need to take place prior to the conclusion of the 2011/12 mens basketball season.
Well...
Let’s kill two birds with one stone. Let’s fire DG, replace him with CRN and have him be in charge of finding the next football coach. I think CRN would be a great AD, personally. Not sure if he wants to put up with the admin BS though…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I want you to consider this sincerely.
Dan Guerrero earns $465K per year with a potential $75K on top of that. You could pay me (or any of the fine litigators on this forum) one fourth of that amount and get 10 times the results.
Hell, you could pay me one eighth of that amount and get an instant impact in Student marketing improvement. The remainder could easily go to coaches salaries, improvements in facilities, what have you.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
His fball hires thus far
Haven’t been spectacular. He wanted to hire Mike Riley but couldn’t convince the good old Chancellor to forget his man crush for CTS. We all know how that turned out. His next chance he hired CRN. We all have seen the results so far.
Neither hire has been a showcase for Guerrero’s leadership or wisdom. Will the 3rd try be any better? It is absolutely a fair question to ask, so thanks Achilles for highlighting the issue.
DG has screwed up plenty but it's hard to blame him for CTS & CRN
CTS was basically a done deal when he started – if Dan’s boss, the chancellor, wanted him Dan wasn’t in much of a position to change that.
CRN had a pretty good reputation before he got to UCLA. Go back and look at BN posts when they announced his hire. The BN community was almost universally excited by it. His bowl record was pretty good and UCLA was his dream job so you knew that he was going to be dedicated. [BTW: Chow had a great reputation before he got here, too.] With the information at the time, CRN looked like an excellent hire.
by KnudsenRockne on Apr 21, 2011 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes he should hire any new coaches
He’s the athletic director and that’s his job. If he can’t do his job then he should be fired. if he can’t do his job, isn’t fired and you don’t want him picking the new coach then the people who have made the bigger error in not firing him will be picking any new coach.
Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I tweeted my followers to ask which I should take
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Apr 21, 2011 3:45 PM PDT reply actions
Other teams achieve better with less talents over the last few seasons than
our Rose Bowl winning quarterback turned coach.
Now, I wouldn’t use any word nor phrases stronger, harsher than what BN already saw. My own opinion about the guy unfortunately sank precipitously after last season. At the same time, I am also about to arrive at the same conclusion as everyone here. No, Guerrero is not the person I trust in making any hire for our football program.
Case closed
He did well with the last and I think the next Woman's bball coach.
However, listening to the presser today, it didn’t sound like he had anything to do with it. Everyone else was doing the interviews and telling him what to do! Seemed like he barely had any contact with the new hire…and I’m guessing that is for the best. She might have decided not to come.
Go Bruins!
The hiring process
for the WBB Coach probably went on while he was hanging out at the Final Four.
Or
maybe he always hires based on the results of surveys he sends around to all the morgan center employees. I can imaging one of the questions…
1. Do you prefer a coach who wins games OR a coach who can remember your birthday?
we all know how that would be answered by the morgan center. SMH
I am still behind CRN
Hopefully, this season we will turn the corner and make our BRUINS great again!
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