UCLA Football Coaching Staff Reset
by AHMB on Jan 7, 2012 12:00 PM PST
in Football
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PrintIt has been a hectic week for UCLA football in terms of the coaching vacancy search. On the positive front, UCLA has officially hired Noel Mazzone as OC after what seemed like weeks of slightly nervous tension. Along with Mazzone, Jeff Ulbrich has also been officially hired as LB/ST Coach. On the negative side of things, John Pagano decided to stay in San Diego after Norv Turner remained as head coach and Pagano received a promotion to DC. Fortunately, Coach Mora appears to have a "Plan B, C, and D" in mind.
We'll break down the current staff and options after the jump.
To date, the following names have been announced as Mora's assistant coaches:
Offensive Coordinator: Noel Mazzone
Offensive Line: Adrian Klemm
Running Backs: Steve Broussard
Tight Ends: Marques Tuiasosopo
Defensive Line: Inoke Breckerfield
Defensive Backs: Demetrice Martin
Special Teams/LB: Jeff Ulbrich
That leaves Defensive Coordinator and one position coach to fall under the nine assistant coach limit. A team can also have two graduate assistants, a strength and conditioning coach, and unlimited undergraduate assistants.
We'll take a look at some of this candidates to fill the slots after the jump.
Defensive Coordinator
Coach Breckterfield and Coach Martin have already shown their respective recruiting abilities, but it has yet to be seen whether they are refined in the technical aspects of coaching 18-22 year olds. Our defensive line was underwhelming last year, and Martin did not seem to make much of a difference at UW. Ulbrich may be a good asset here, but he's also going to be splitting his time as ST Coach. Needless to say, we do not only need a DC; we need a DC who can also coach technique.
Jim Leavitt - The current LB Coach of the San Francisco 49ers and former head coach at South Florida has a lot to offer. He comes from good pedigree, having coached under Bill Snyder at Kansas State. Snyder's coaching tree includes Bob Stoops, Brett Venables, and Bret Bielema, just to name a few. Leavitt has 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, and is undoubtedly aware of the nuances of the college game.
Ken Norton Jr. - Norton got his fair share of vitriol during his stint at USC, but the bottom line is that the guy brings energy, can recruit, and knows the technical aspects of the game. However, it's not clear if he is ready for a DC gig.
Greg Manusky - It would be a twist of fate if we were to hire the guy that cost us our initial hire. Manusky was fired by the San Diego Chargers and cleared room to promote Pagano to DC. Manusky previously served as DC of the San Francisco 49ers from 2007-10, and was LB coach of the San Diego Chargers prior to that. He also runs a 3-4 scheme and is very similar to Pagano. However, he does not have any collegiate coaching experience and will undoubtedly receive some NFL coaching offers.
Ed Donatell - The current Secondary Coach of the San Francisco 49ers previously served as DC under Coach Mora with the Atlanta Falcons. Donatell was also the DC for the winless 2008 UW Huskies, but that team was so gutted of talent that there is no way of telling how much of the blame falls on Donatell.
Kalani Sitake - Sitake is in his second year as Utah's DC and 6th year on the staff. Kyle Whittingham is a good defensive coach to learn under, and Sitake is also a good recruiter that has familiarity with the Los Angeles area.
Jeff Casteel - It appears that Casteel's decision is whether to stay at WVU or go to Tucson with his former coach, RichRod. Casteel runs a 3-3-5, which is probably foreign to Mora, but after watching how it slowed Clemson in the Orange Bowl, it's intriguing. In case anyone is wondering, Casteel did not follow RichRod to Michigan and was not responsible for the disaster in Ann Arbor.
Randy Shannon - The former Miami head coach seems to have escaped the scandal with minimal fallout. If anything, Shannon looks like the only guy saying "stop". There are rumors that he has been hired as Tennessee's DC, replacing the departed Justin Wilcox who left for UW.
Position Coach
Eric Yarber - There have been a lot of rumors swirling that Yarber will be hired as the wide receivers coach. Yarber worked with Dennis Erickson from 1998-2009, minus a two year stint at UW under Tyrone Willingham while Erickson was on hiatus, and spent a year with Mazzone at Oregon St. in 2002. Yarber has been Tampa Bay's WR coach under Raheem Morris, but Morris and his entire staff was recently let go leaving Yarber unemployed. If Mora can land Yarber, he would be a great addition.
Angus McClure - McClure served as ST Coach last year, but he may be staying on in another capacity. Prior to last year, Coach McClure was the Director of On-Campus Recruiting for Football. He previously coached the offensive line at running game at University of Buffalo under Turner Gill and Nebraska under Bill Callahan. McClure is a recruiting asset, and this may be a scenario where Mora keeps McClure on the staff through signing day before he returns to the administrative role which he previously served. That way, McClure could be used to recruit off-campus for the next month and Mora could wait for Leavitt or Donatell.
Strength and Conditioning Coach
There are rumors floating that Sal Alosi has been hired as the S&C Coach. Alosi has an interesting past but he could potentially be a great get for UCLA. He had a promising career before he made a dumb mistake. He can redeem himself in Westwood, while in return Bruins will get a pro caliber coach, who for the first time in our program history will be an S&C coach exclusively dedicated to football.
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i can see it now
matt barkleys blows out his knee and ruins nfl career when he is tripped running down the sideline at the rose bowl
That wouldn't be that bad ;)
Get rid of Adidas and switch to Nike
Screw Dan Gurrerror
Nah
I don’t wish any player an injury. Wait…Barkley?…nah, still not. I’d rather he go and have a Leinart career.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Leinart Career
LOL. As someone who lived in Arizona during his tenure with the cardinals, I’m not sure if rooting for an injury isn’t more honorable than wishing a leinart career on him!
Recruiting Is Great But Someone Has To Be Able to Coach and Scheme
If we learned anything from our recent experiences with both CRN and CBH’s highly rated recruits — we’ve learned that getting them here is less important than developing them. We’ve yet to reap the rewards from any of the highly rated classes in bball or fball.
I’m concerned that to cover his lack of recruiting experience Mora has hired a lot of assistants who, thought they can recruit, don’t seem to have relevant success at coaching their positions.
Our D line was terrible. Our D had both technique and scheme problems. I’m not seeing a lot of good teachers on the D side of the equation.
Tui on tight ends? I thought he’d be coaching QB’s.
Honestly, at this point I’d rather have a bunch of lower rated players who are taught and coached well than a bunch of high school stars who never develop.
I think Mora has to bring in a very strong DC who can TEACH as well as scheme. If not, we will see more of what we’ve seen. Dashed expectations over players who never grow or achieve their full potential.
From where I sit, there is way too much talk about recruiting ability and too little on coaching.
Oh, and one last thing. The boxer’s son is dead to me. I originally defended his working for sc; after all, KD refused his offer to work here for free. But, when he lied about CRN and went after him in the press, I wrote him off. It’s one thing to work for sc and another to take on the traits of Cheatey. I don’t want any of that in our program.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Jan 7, 2012 12:34 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I am not as opposed to Norton as I would have been before
I am one of those who was as disgusted with Norton as anyone. However, may be I am getting old and soft but life is short. I think Norton under Mora could make sense because he’d be under supervision of a defensive oriented coach. It’s different than being under someone like Dorrell or Neuheisel who were offensive oriented and didn’t have any clue defensively.
I think Norton as a teacher did a good job with Trojan LBs and also now has NFL experience under his belt. Although we have an NFL caliber LB coach in Ulbrich now so we are covered there. But bottom line I am not opposed to Norton and I will be ok with him.
I love the idea of Kilane Sitake. He’d be a huge get.
I also think it may not be a bad idea to offer DC/DL position to Tosh Lopoi. He has done a good job with Cal DLs and is an ace recruiter. Doesn’t hurt to go after him at all giving him a promotion.
If the boxer's son wants to work at UCLA, he first has to come clean
He needs to start by telling what he knows about the cheating that went on. He needs to tell what he knew about whom and who else knew it and why he didn’t do anything about it. As far as I can determine, no one on the inside at just$c* has admitted to anything. They’ve voluntarily thrown their basketball team under the bus, but to this day, no one connected to the Cheatie Petie coaching staff has ever admitted to any wrongdoing.
I really think that any trOJie has to be disqualified from coaching at UCLA until after the confession.
The public mea culpa is definitely essential
I’d also accept him back if he got a Mike Tyson face tattoo with the UCLA logo and a thousand 8-claps up and down BruinWalk =)
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Jan 7, 2012 4:16 PM PST up reply actions
I played Little League with Ken back in the day...
He was the largest 13 year old I’d ever seen.
Lawrence Ross
Interesting idea on Kilane Sitake
He has certainly made an impact with his stout defenses and record of excellent player development. He would be a good fit plus he is a good recruiter.
"I love the idea of Kilane Sitake. He’d be a huge get."
Looks like a tough get. Unless he is tired of the scenery in Utah, he may be tough to pull from there. He played ball at BYU and has been in Utah ever since.
Been a Bruin since birth
Nate Sudfeld de committed from arizona
He is interested in ucla. What a get that would be with mazzones offence. 6’5 220.
by Bruinsmash on Jan 7, 2012 2:19 PM PST via mobile reply actions
How dare you mention Norton, Jr. around here?
I know I’m late to the party and largely echoing 66 and Brendon’s comments, but I feel this is something that administration needs to be hit over the head with to understand. In this case repetition is king.
Ken Norton Jr should be stripped of his Bruin Card. As 66 pointed out, it was one thing to take a job ‘over there’ we all have to make a living. It was a whole ’nother level when he actively tried to undermine Rick Neuheisel and UCLA Football in the press.
The only way I take him back is if he offers up a huge Mea Culpa and reveals what he knows about the Cheaty era over at the University of Sanctioned Cheaters. He was ‘in the lockerroom’ he has dirt he can reveal. For example, we all know what head hunters their LBs where. Was that by instruction? Whose instructions?
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 start a fanpost and do it up
Don’t expect to be spoonfed. I don’t really care all that much to be worked up about this. Thanks.
Honestly, the 'How dare you' was for comedic effect
while the rest was serious.
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
There are much more respectful ways to be funny.
I knew Norton Jr would raise some eyebrows, but you can enter into discourse a little more tactfully next time. See Class of 66’s and Fox 71’s comments if you need a guide.
Formerly AllHailMightyBruins
by AHMB on Jan 7, 2012 7:52 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Another DC option
What about Tom Bradley, the Penn State DC? Is he staying at PSU?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Excellent DC
PSU’s defense has been great lately, and I’d definitely take him.
Formerly AllHailMightyBruins
by AHMB on Jan 8, 2012 7:49 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I would think he'd be retained
If nothing else as a token gesture of appreciation by the PSU administration for how he conducted himself during the whole firestorm of controversy.
I wish CRN would've hired Randy Shannon when he had the chance.
Primarily for recruiting in Florida, and his highly ranked Defenses, during his stay at Miami.
But, then again, maybe Randy would’ve just got fired here too, with everyone else, for Mora’s staff.
Seems like Leavitt would be hard to get.
Probably a demotion of sorts for him. But He’d be great. And can recruit in Florida.
Norton would cause a hell-of-a stir, both good and bad, but intensity is a strongsuit we could use.
Leavitt strikes me as a college guy.
I disagree that taking a major college coordinating position is a demotion from an NFL position coach, but irregardless I think Leavitt is on the road to becoming a college head coach. He left USF disgraced, so getting back in the college game would be a good step for him.
Formerly AllHailMightyBruins
by AHMB on Jan 8, 2012 1:05 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Unlimited Undergraduate Assistants?
I know it’s a minor topic in this thread but at the end of each Coaching Staff Reset it is mentioned that Coach Mora is allowed to have an unlimited number of undergraduate assistants. Any idea how many are normally used and how to apply for that somewhat unofficial position?
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