Dohn's report card and other thoughts

Grok with another outstanding effort to give us a little sense of closure. GO BRUINS. -N

Of course the news of the day is the release of Karl Dorrell and I wish him well as a fellow Bruin. So the update on Dohn's report card is not particularly relevant, other than to put closure on the regular season.

My first post, following the ASU game, was intended to bring attention to Dohn's apparent inconsistency between him wanting Dorrell to be given another year and what Dohn's own report cards seemed to be saying about the coaching staff. My next post, following the Oregon game, seemed to indicate a case of grade inflation. No matter, as this past weekend's semi-regular pummeling by the trojies under the now defunct regime rendered this analysis insignificant, other than as objective evidence as to why the change has been made. On to the report card.

Though I could quibble about the sUc grades, it doesn't really matter anymore. The coaching staff ends the regular season with a 2.14 GPA and the overall GPA is a paltry 1.89. Remember, these grades take into account this season's injuries and that Dohn is no Dorrell hater. After five seasons, it's clear UCLA football is mired in mediocrity, which is not acceptable. As DG stated at the press conference, one of the two goals when Dorrell was hired was:

"...to build this program into a consistent winner, a program that would be in the national discussion on a regular basis."

further amplified:

"I believe UCLA could be a program that is in the national rankings every year, that can knock on a BCS door, that can win the Pac-10 Conference...And I believe that all of those things are possible; you cannot concede that they are not." (take that, Kurt Streeter!)

Source: Rich Perelman's blog
Why do I bring this up now? It's been an ugly time, with a lot of emotion thrown around. Now that we are moving forward, let's heal the Bruin Nation and come together. The goals are clear, as stated by DG and evidenced by his action. We want a clean program and to compete at a national level. Dorrell may have been a nice guy, worked hard, and had great character. But it's no different than being an athlete on his [former] team: if you don't perform, you get demoted or cut. If you can't take the expectations at a national program, transfer somewhere else. There is no shame in that: "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." - JR Wooden

So let's remember this in the days ahead as we debate the potential coaching candidates and next year when we have the decision and the new season gets underway. Let's not fight amongst each other when things get tough (it will be a rebuilding year) because "my guy" didn't get the job, or stubbornly hang on "my guy" that did get the job. It's not about blind loyalty to a person; it's loyalty to our school and its goals for success.