UCLA's Diseased Culture of Mediocrity Under Gene Block, Dan Guerrero, Rick Neuheisel, and Donahue Sycophants

Today, Sunday, UCLA needs to change the HC. Why? Because the current HC has “lost” the players and they aren’t paying attention. You can see it in the myriad of coaching related penalties at the wrong time during the game, interceptions early and often, and a lack of effort borne of not following the coaching leadership (?) instilled in the players. This team is not paying attention, and DG must make a change. Then start the search for a new HC and call MIke Leach. If the administration has issues with Leach, get over it!!! This is a new landscape for college football and college sports since last year, and it is changing and evolving rapidly. In order for UCLA to keep up and succeed, they need to be on top of it. No more analysis, now is the time for action.

I’ve been following with great interest the career of RN here at UCLA. At first I thought it a genuinely striking move. The man had/has a winning record, a history of turning programs around, can recruit like hell and overall general success. Why this is in it’s 4th year and we still look like we’re surprised to be on the field is beyond me. The games are for REAL now boys. Play hard. The kids are not to be blamed. God bless them. They try their hardest to do the best they can. Somewhere along the way, we stopped playing the best athlete for the position and fell into what I call “recipe” football ( This situation calls for this type of player, so insert so and so etc. ). I say it’s time to play the best athlete for the position. If you want to be the starter, you gotta beat him out. The coaches seem to be on different pages. We need to contend with different opinions on our own sidelines. Get your act together, give the kids what they expect and give your fans what we deserve. There is a saying in the mexican culture which is simple and straight forward. “Todo sin miedo” which translates roughly to " do all without fear ".

It sure as hell looks like CRN is done, but unless we have a qualified, acceptable option to come in immediately we should wait. I think Leach would be a great get for us, but unless we have him under contract our recruiting efforts would be crushed. I guess it’s not like we have a top 10 class going right now so maybe it is an option. I guess my concern is that recruits don’t like uncertainty and we really need a good class, especially up front on both sides of the ball. We may be f**ked!

I’m not for firing Neu right now. Yeah, the Texas game was a disaster, but it would look HORRIBLE in the eyes of the season ticket holders, fans, recruits, and any coaching prospects.

My main concern right now is wtf is Neu’s sense of urgency? Same ol’ predictable plays, same players running them. As Bell mentioned, we have all this untapped talent on the bench. When is Neu going to realize that his job is on the line and put it all out there? UCLA alum or not, Neu is coaching like he doesn’t even want to be at UCLA anymore.

Tommy Prothro just had a rare losing season with the graduation of Gary Beban, our only Heisman Winner. He IMMED went to work and brought in Dennis Dummit from Santa Monica Coll. We had a great next season and were ranked in the top 10 all year. Pac 8 teams were only allowed to go to the Rose Bowl back then, so we stayed home. SC beat us. Today, that team would’ve been in a BCS Bowl for sure or at least a good bowl. THAT is a real coach! He would never have put up with the bulls_t we do now. EVER. Beban said he told the players he only needed them 2 hours every day, and the rest of the time he wanted them studying. And he won and won. At OSU, then UCLA. CLASS HC. Legend. Now??? After his replacement Vermiel left for the NFL, we inherited Donahue. Wonderful. Cheap.

Well, I need say no more. I DO remember the good times. We CAN get back there, but not with the mind set of the clowns in the headline. Great post.

Pepper Rogers replaced him and won too with Mark Harmon at wishbone QB. Now a TV star.

Now we are known as the Big Bruins with gutless HC and AD.

Even this line: Gene Block needs to wake up. He needs to be bold and make UCLA great, not just in the classroom (where he’s doing an admirable job)

… is being challenged by some who wonder the direction the school is going. Obviously a lot of things are out of his hands (the budget/economy situation for example) but it has been really tough as a recent alum who graduated in the latter half of the 2000’s and seen this culture of ‘mediocrity’ pervade the school. Not overall mediocrity – but instead, a sense that “its okay to just stay pat” and “continue what we do” without thinking of pushing ourselves even higher up. And sports are reflective of this nature.

I mean, the football program has just been so utterly mediocre this entire time, and so little has been (perceived) to have been done during this time. We do watch other programs – both within and outside the conference. We wonder, if other programs can do it, why can’t we? I think this satisfaction with being just okay with what we have is not good enough.

I would have been blackballed from this site for saying any of this, but I’ll say it again just for emphasis:

“FIRE RICK NEUHEISEL!!! NO MERCY!!!”

“FIRE DAN GUERRERO!!! NO MERCY!!!”

Thank you Bell for acknowledging the problem is not just the coaching staff, but the whole damn administration. Our school and us fans deserve better than this. It’s time for the Alumni and Boosters to take a stand and buyout Slick Rick. Also, initiate a real head coaching search. We, as fans, control the cash flow that goes into athletics. Why should our hard earned $$ go into supporting crap like yesterday?

If we can’t do that, then we really are a mid major school pretending to be a Pac 12 worthy school.

That’s quite the imagery right there.

there was a play (among many) that irked me the other day.. players were heading for their positions. Brehaut sees something on the defensive side and decides to audible to a new play. But the receiver didn’t even realize Brehaut was screaming at him. Brehaut tried to wave him down but the receiver was looking straight ahead. Everyone else knew the play was changed and had acknowledged it, but the receiver just kept looking forward. Brehaut, running out of time, had to run the play, knowing that receiver had checked out of the play and was a nonfactor. so sad.

it’s the little details that cause these players to make their constant mistakes. you can’t just turn things on on gameday.

RULE OF THUMB.

Right off the bat…consider a coach if he looks or acts like he would or have coached in the NFL.

Dan Guerro looks like a security guard at Ralphs.

Neu looks like an all girl highschool soccer coach.

Dorell looked like a computer tech repair guy at my local Frys electronic store.

However it’s a disservice to compare FA football to college football, Manu to ucla, and most certainly Fergie to Neu. …. But point taken. No doubt new talent needs to be given the opportunity especially when it is quality proven talent. I’ve always despised coaches that went with whatever politics drove them to choose players to tart or play over those teammates I knew could get the job done. I don’t think I could add to anything that hasn’t been said. I feel somehow vindicated — albeit in a bad way — as I was shelled on this board for vehemently opposing the hiring of Neu based on what my contacts at uw had told me… It wasn’t that he didn’t win, but over time somehow the talent level and play quality was sucked dry during his tenure… And those tied to the program knew it…. Not unlike what we are seeing in westwood. It’s unacceptable for a veteran team of presumably finely tuned athletes to demonstrate the mental mistakes a 6th grade team would not replicate, leading to an on field demonstration someone here so aptly described a clown show. I’ve never had a drink of the kool aid from the passion bucket but have been repeatedly disgusted by neu’s repeated ra ra speeches that belong in a high school gymnasium — so Neu better get it figured out quick because as we all know, this is not what ucla athletics is all about.

“Now, think about what would have happened if United adopted the UCLA approach: play the senior guys, regardless of talent level. We play Kevin Prince for reasons that are beyond me. Brian Poli-Dixon Nelson Rosario and Taylor Embree still get regular action, despite having done nothing noteworthy in their UCLA careers and not providing any kind of big play threat. Justin Edison sometimes starts on the defensive line despite a career of being destroyed on the Division I level. Sean Westgate still starts despite consistently being targeted by opposing offenses since he’s not a Division I, BCS conference level linebacker.”

I really am at a loss. I really believed in CRN. Every Saturday, week after week, for the last three years, I could not wait for the game. I read BN, ESPN LA, etc., even the Trogan Times, in great anticipation for the game because regardless what happend the week before, I always believed in CRN and that the next week would be the week that he would right the ship. After I watched the SJSU game last week I gave up hope because he just does not get it. The above paragraph sums up CRN’s problems as a coach – he will not step up and make the (not so bold) changes needed and take risks. I love most these players if for nothing than they are bruins. But come on, Prince is glassman – I have said it before. Embree and Rosario look the part but are not. They are like having 2 Poli-Dixon’s on the field at once. If I was the opposing team I would scheme toward Westgate all day – sorry but a 5’10 – 210lb – our running backs will not suffice. It should not have taken a shellacking like the one Texas gave us to start Breahuat. After a season and two games of dropping balls and uninspired play, Embree and Rosario should not have been starting. Westgate, love the kid, but he is blown back play after play, week after week. When inserting Josh Smith, an electric player who is a little reckless, is CRN’s big change/risk I knew he just did not get it as a coach. Everyone on BN clamored for playing time for this kid in the kicking game – that he finally got a shot 3 TDs down against a weaker Texas team is the final straw. I am Bruin faithful, I will continue to watch, support, hate those $CUM, but I am no longer a believer. I no longer have faith. Not when we here BN see some obvious changes needed but yet to be made. I would not have cared if we lost to Houston or SJSU as a result of players being held accountable. You get a stupid penalty, benched, you drop a pass benched, you cant shed a blocl, benched – hell bench em’ all as long as you change the atmosphere, perception and attiude. But if you let players continue playing who drop passes, take routes and plays off, get stupid penalties, and make avoidable mistakes, you tell the team it is acceptable, mediocrity is acceptable, losing is acceptable. Sorry for the rant, just a broken-hearther die hard.

Don’t renew and see what they do!!!

Money talks etc etc etc.

But the fact is our starters aren’t very good to start. Don’t get me wrong because I love the kids we have and think the world of their dedication, but what’s the use of depth if we have failed to develop and make players better to the point that our starters and backups are all below pac 12 standard? Yes we can point to personnel and say why don’t we start this guy and bench this guy, and I admit I get caught up in it too (calling for anybody but Westgate at LB because he is simply not physically capable of doing it) but the fact is we haven’t made our players good enough to make it matter. Pull Westagate in favor of who? A redshirt freshman LB in Eric Kendricks who shouldn’t have to be called upon yet. Pull Aaron Hester when he gets beat for who? Andrew Abbott (who I love to death) but is 5’9 and a former walk-on. The list could go on an on but that is not the point.

The fact is that we have not coached our players whether they be starters or not, to be good enough to play. Yes we have had a grand total of three players under Neu to go to the NFL and actually play in Ayers, Rahim, and Price, but let’s not forget that Neu didn’t recruit them. Despite the lack of resources and support from the Chancellor and Morgan Center, we can still be a good football team. You think Boise State was getting money and resources when Chris Peterson first started? Or when Urban Meyer turned Bowling Green into a top 25 team? The answer is no. We have lots of good athletes, but have failed to develop them and teach the game the way it should be taught to young men. Simple as that. The way that we have continued to lose is the worst part of it all, we are undisciplined and just poorly coached in all aspects of the game outsides of special teams (thank you Jeff Locke and Kai Forbath). Rick Neuheisel is not the guy who will play disciplined and hard like the way we want them to, and it is time for us to end the marriage with him.