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A Decisive Dismissal

Something to keep in mind if Dorrell doesn't win at least 1 out of our 3 road games against opponents with winning records. NY Times has a great article on Florida football program, which fired Ron Zook in the mid-season after it became clear it was not headed in the right direction:

Two years ago this month, the Florida football program was in crisis mode after a loss at Mississippi State.

Things had become so bad that in less than three seasons under Ron Zook the Gators had lost six home games, more than in Steve Spurrier's 12-year tenure.

So the athletic director, Jeremy Foley, fixed his own mistake by firing Zook the Monday after the Mississippi State debacle. The move, considered unusual and controversial at the time because it was so early in the season, looks ingenious two years later.

Now, under Urban Meyer, Florida is 6-0 for the first time since 1996 and is ranked No. 2 in The Associated Press poll for the first time since 2001. In two years, the Gators have gone from a complete mess to the elite team in this football-rich state, rocketing past Miami and Florida State, both unranked for the first time in 24 years.

One of the legacies of this swift and stunning Florida revival may be a blueprint of how to fire and hire a head coach.

"I don't want to advocate firing coaches, but if someone is headed down that road, I think it does help," Foley said of a dismissal early in the season. "You need to do your due diligence, especially in a high-profile program where the scrutiny is going to be very, very high. I don't think I'll have to, but I would not hesitate to do it again."
Again Dan Guerrerro should take note.   Will he exercise his due diligence at a high profile program like UCLA?

If the Bruins do not win 9 regular season games and beat Southern Cal, it will be very clear Bruins are not headed in the right direction. And we will know by the end of the Cal game whether we are on track to meet the minimum expectations for this season. If we are not perhaps it will be time to call on Dan Guerrerro to exercise his due diligence and take bold action. The decisive dissmissal at Florida is a pretty good example of what a good athletic director would do. Hope Dan Guerrerro is taking note.

GO BRUINS.