The Scoop On Al Golden

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 19, 2007 7:39 PM PST Comment 19 comments

Al Golden's name is being throw around a lot lately and Dohn has reported that he interviewed with Chancellor Block today so I figured we should take a look into his resume and credentials.

Al Golden, 38, played tight end for Penn State from 1987 to 1991 and played one season in the NFL with the Patriots. Golden first got into coaching as a graduate assistant at Virginia under George Welsh where he worked from 1994 to 1996. Welsh credited him for working with linebackers James Farrior and Jamie Sharper, who were both named to the All-ACC team and drafted in the 1997 NFL Draft.

In 1997 Golden was named the outside linebackers coach in 1997. In 1999, he was promoted to linebackers coach and while he left after the season, in his 3 seasons at BC he coached All-Big East and NFL Draft picks Frank Chamberlin and Eric Storz. Golden spent the 1999 season at his alma mater where he was served as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. After only one season at Penn State, Golden was appointed DC at Virginia by Al Groh, becoming the youngest DC in the country.

Golden was the DC at Virginia from 2001 to 2004 and his 3-4 defense improved greatly during that time. In his first season, Golden's defense was 108th in total defense, but by his final season (2004) his defense was 18th in total defense. In the same time, Golden's defense went from 74th in scoring defense (27.6 ppg) to 17th (17.7 ppg). 2004 was certainly the best season for Golden's defenses as the Temple website his entire defense was fabulous and the linebackers he coached were honored.

In 2004, he oversaw a defense that featured the nation's best group of linebackers, according to Athlon, The Sporting News, and ESPN The Magazine. Under his guidance, Ahmad Brooks blossomed into a finalist for the Butkus Award. In 2003, Brooks and Kai Parham earned Freshman All-America honors. Golden was responsible for recruiting Brooks, the USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year--the highest ranked recruit to ever attend UVA. Golden signed the Virginia High School Player of the Year in both 2002 (Brooks) and 2004 (Olu Hall).

In 2006, Golden was hired as the head coach at Temple, taking over a team that had gone winless in 2005. Golden's first season was a struggle as they manahed only 1 win to their 11 losses while playing 22 true freshmen (the most in the country) againast the nation's 3rd toughest schedule. Despite taking over a winless team, Golden's first recruiting class was ranked #1 in the MAC by CollegeFootballNews.com and his second recruiting class was ranked #1 in the conference by Scout.com despite having only won a single game the season before. This season, Temple went 4-8 and 4-3 in their last 7 games. This was the first Temple team since 2002 to win 4 games and his defense went from 118th to 49th in the nation.

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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Biggest questions

How can a New England guy with absolutely NO TIES to Southern California be expected to recruit here against the likes of Pete Carroll?

What will happen in 2-3 years when Paterno calls it quits and alma mater Penn St. comes a callin'?

Golden may end up being a great coach, but again, why do we have to be a training ground for "up and coming" coaches?

Please, dear God, put an end to this misery!

"This is not a place for just any coach" Dan Guerrero

by godblesstyus95 on Dec 19, 2007 7:49 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn't consider

Golden the guy to replace Paterno. He may be in the mix, but I've heard a few names in the mix from Golden to Schiano to a couple assistants still in Happy Valley. If Golden comes to UCLA and wins, making him Penn State's man, then he was certainly the right hire and we have to hold onto him then.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 19, 2007 8:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Paterno looking for extension...

My Penn State coworker was telling me they are in talks for a 10 year extension...absurd, i know.

by kidro2001 on Dec 19, 2007 10:22 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

He Is An Avowed East Coast Guy

I just read some stuff about him. He's a self-proclaimed Jersey shore rat and claims to belong in Philly.

He might just be saying that because he took the Temple job.

But, I agree with others.

We've had enough coaches who are on their way to "hit their stride".

I want one who is striding his stride.

Golden may be good.

But, he's not as good as the other established coaches on our list.

Also, we don't know that he is the mystery meat of the day.

It's Dohn, after all.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Dec 19, 2007 7:56 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Deinhart

also reported that a non-BCS guy was to be interviewed today, so now it all seems to makes sense.

But now that I think about it, Guerrero just might be "clever" enough to get everyone riled up about Chow, Walker, Harbaugh and now Golden, and when the dust settles, it's his pick all along-Neuheisel-and everyone exhails. Pathetic, really.

"This is not a place for just any coach" Dan Guerrero

by godblesstyus95 on Dec 19, 2007 8:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Rumor

Rumor. It's a rumor. And the source is Doh! That means that Golden is on the short list for DC at Washington. Or that Golden is OK with Chow as long as Walker is DC. Or some such crapola.

I propose that nothing emanating from Doh! be posted. It's just not worth getting riled up about.

by Fox 71 on Dec 19, 2007 8:25 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Perfect

He sounds like he'd make a great DC

by Ajax on Dec 19, 2007 9:20 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Not being a jackass

I'm just confused who it is you want.

Can't be an assistant. Can't be an up and coming coach. Who is it you want?

I see attractive candidate after attractive candidate gunned down around here, and the biggest reason is because UCLA has had bad hires with candidates with certain profiles before. But the leap from Your Coach who had that profile to Every Coach who has that profile is illogical.

I understand wanting a guy with head coaching experience, but it's unclear who it is that you want. Neuheisel has a LOT of unattractive baggage; maybe you guys like him, but I certainly wouldn't want him. Mike Leach? Trust me: he's as risky as 95% of the guys that are shot down here without a second thought. Mariucci? Has never coached at the college level; I fail to understand why there's no reason to be nervous about his abilities in that capacity.

Again, not to be a jackass, but this is as disorderly a campaign as I've seen. I haven't the foggiest idea what it is you guys want. Or where you've asserted who you want, it's contradictory with many of the objections which rule out others. At other times, there's just plain wishcasting about the caliber of coach who would leave his current school to come to UCLA.

I wish you guys good luck, but based on what I'm seeing in general around here, there are a lot of unrealistic expectations and contradictory standards. It's worth noting.

by HornsFan on Dec 19, 2007 10:05 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

My take..

The reason why it is unclear whom we want is because we are at the point of discussing the "leftovers" of the coaching search. As I recall, coaches like Petersen and Paul Johnson were the ones that most people desired. Basically, IN MY OPINION, coaches that have had some success as a head coach. The most realistic market for this was non-BCS conference/lower BCS coaches.

What we are left with is Neuheisal, Chow, and Golden. Those are the official names that have been confirmed. Now which of those did you refer to as an attractive candidate?

And btw, Mariucci was an assistant for a number of years and a head coach for one year.

by kidro2001 on Dec 19, 2007 10:33 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Very Simple

A head coach with previous head coaching experience. Several years work in a program, that is to say a significant body of work from which to judge.

Unrealistic is Spurrier, Miles, Mack Brown, Urban Meyer. Nobody is talking about that. I don't really understand what you consider unreasonable about "A head coach with several years experience and a solid track record of success."

Care to elaborate?

by Sweetbreads Bailey on Dec 19, 2007 11:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Mariucci was the Cal head coach

So he does, in fact, have college experience.

by Sweetbreads Bailey on Dec 19, 2007 11:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Mooch -

One year in college. 6-6 record. He doesn't look attractive to me until the competition is guys with zero head coaching experience (or in the case of Golden, two years and a horrible record.)

by Fox 71 on Dec 20, 2007 12:11 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

horns

you been around for a minute. Let me help you out: Start Here. Read up then give me a 1-page write up on "what we want". Winter quarter's here. Get crackin'.

GO BRUIN BLUE.

by theREAL_LOGAN5 on Dec 20, 2007 12:29 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Horns, Let Me Help --

No disrespect intended but I view the passionate disagreements in this nation as a plus, not a minus. The fact that we do not agree does not bother me. I would be more upset if we simply accepted what was going on, did not question anything, and followed along. In that sense, I wish our nation, or my current home state, were more like BruinsNation.

Also, do some reading here. There are very strong favorites and people have been staking out their positions with substance and fact. I prefer Leach. Others Mendenhall or Jones.

We are not "confused". We are actively debating. We may disagree on candidates, but we all agree on our love for UCLA and our desire for excellence in football.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Dec 20, 2007 7:06 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I think the discussion's good, too

The community here is top notch.

I'm traveling today but then get a much needed vacation. Gonna look more closely at these candidates, and the reasons for and against them, before weighing in further.

by HornsFan on Dec 20, 2007 7:17 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

why not give me the job

I have no HC experience, but i turned around a junior high flag football team, am young, and an alumnus. DG should fly out here immediately to interview me, as i do have the requisite HC'ing experience. I took over a terrible team, and won 4 games, I am your guy DG. I will pick you up at the airport in my toyota and we can talk K's. I am looking for around 100,000 to start,considering my rise at the flag football level. My K should be for ten years (with several extensions) considering i will be learning on the job.

big dog

by Sc is full of scumbags on Dec 19, 2007 10:09 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

his defensive turnarounds...

Are more impressive than Walker's, based on stats and rankings.

by njbruin on Dec 20, 2007 6:17 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

So what happens

to Walker if Al Golden is hired? Will he have any use for the most awesomest DC? And who would be the offensive coordinator? I thought that DG was going after someone with more of an offensive mind...but I still would take Golden over CHOKER or Walker or WTF Harbaugh.

My guess is, tomorrow or Monday, Rick Neuheisel will be announced as the new UCLA football head coach. DeWayne Walker will stay on as defensive coordinator. The offensive coordinator will be whoever is standing closest to Rick when he takes the podium.

by tasser10 on Dec 20, 2007 10:12 AM PST reply actions 0 recs