Chow/UCLA = In 'advanced stage'?

by bluestreet on Jan 16, 2008 12:56 PM PST

Take everything you ever hear from Scott Wolf with a grain of salt.

Remember, Caesar, Thou Art Mortal
By Scott Wolf on January 16, 2008 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

We hear UCLA is working on a deal with Norm Chow and things are reaching an advanced stage. If it gets done, the coordinator combo of DeWayne Walker and Chow will get Caesar's full attention. Who would have a better staff in America?

I don't think I have ever wanted a TrOJie to be so right about something.

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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Just a 'GRAIN' of salt?

I'll take it with the whole state of Utah.

I am trying to remain cautiously hopeful -- if CRN does reel in NC, then I will dance a jig and ask grok451 to help me set up a Kirk/ Spock/ McCoy graphic for our new coaching trifecta.

If it doesn't work out, oh well, I'll try to shrug it off with the thought that at least CRN aimed big, and I'll hope that CRN pulls in Scherer to add some big-time experience to our ever-expanding roster of coaching talent.

"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008

by Meriones on Jan 16, 2008 1:38 PM PST reply actions

I'm not going to second guess Coach N

but signing Chow as OC and Walker as DC is not the same as being undefeated going into the justsc game. I think Walker is at best ordinary, and it looks like Chow had some pretty good athletes to work with at justsc. (Probably a larger team payroll in South Central than at Tennessee.)

But if these guys were his number one choices, then I celebrate the upgrade in staff. Any coaching staff without CTS and Training Jay is an upgrade.

by Fox 71 on Jan 16, 2008 2:14 PM PST reply actions

Re: Walker

I really believe that retaining Walker was a condition that RN had to agree to, before DG would hire him.

I think back to the DG/DW meeting, where KD was excluded. I think some kind of deal was struck between DG and DW at that meeting. The deal: UCLA would not hire DW as headcoach, but DW would be retained with a fat raise if DW didn't publicly make a stink, and DW would convince the recruits to remain committed.

I agree that DW is just average, and Utah scoring 44 on him bears that out.

by bluegold on Jan 16, 2008 2:27 PM PST up reply actions

I think average

doesn't do DW justice. Is he amazing? No, but the turnaround he helped orchestrate from '05 to '06 cannot be forgotten. He has put together some amazing gameplans and has brought in some good recruits to the defensive side.

That said, he's certainly had some bad moments. The Utah game stands out as well as spotty tackling on a regular basis, but the numbers don't lie. Top 40 in defense in his 2 years, especially after the atrocity of 2005 makes him better than average.

He's an above average DC, who has done a good job for us. He's also only had 2 years of experience so he's going to get better. Some of his mistakes were a direct result on being inexperienced and he would have been helped by an assistant who has DC experience, but that would have been logic far beyond that of KD. DW is a good DC and while not great, he is an asset and as he continues to gain experience, I think we can expect him to improve.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jan 16, 2008 3:21 PM PST up reply actions

Walker/Dorrell

I think part of the angst expressed toward Walker is spillover from being the percieved number 2 to KD. The frustration we all had with the KD run program tainted those who were closely associated with him. Follow that up with the real concerns that he might get the HC job, even though he had no prior HC experience, brought a lot of additional criticism (some valid, some not) his way.

He has been DC for two years. He inherited one of the worst defenses in the Country and made it respectable. Not great, but respectable. He has had major successes ($c game in 2006) and major failures (Utah - 2007). We really won't know his full potential for a few more years. But, the evidence to date is this is an experiment that is working.

Finally, and most importantly, he is now RN's guy. Since RN gets a honeymoon, so does the staff he has selected to surround himself with.

One final comment on DW: He did take responsibility for the disaster at Notre Dame. When asked after the game what he would have done differently to prevent the last minute comeback he said, "I would have gotten out of the prevent defense one play earlier." He did not blame the players, though there was some atrocious tackling. At least for this game, he admitted it was his fault that he had called the wrong play.

by Bruin77 on Jan 16, 2008 4:30 PM PST up reply actions