The labeling of DeWayne Walker as an alleged backstabber, and, as some folks are speculating, that there may be plotting going on that he will replace the Doofus (now calling Dorrell a Doofus is not an allegation, it’s an observable truth that can be substantiated by 4+ years of incompetence), has generated a lot of passionate disagreements in our comment thread. Specifically the most cogent disagreement with this labeling has come courtesy of our Class of 66. I told 66 in response to his eloquent diary that I would put all the info out there that is leading to this kind of labeling in one place.
First, let’s revisit the Sporting News story again. Ever since TSN took down a post written by Tom Dienhart, which reported that "Dan Guerrero met with Bruin defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker … during the team's off week to discuss the possibility of Walker taking over as interim coach this season if Dorrell is let go early," the perception developed that the meeting never happened. However, I happen to think what Fox 71’s email exchange with Dienhart which generated this response, supports not only that a meeting took place, but also that the story was being passed around by Walker himself (emphasis mine):
His reply puts all this back on the front burner:
"I had a good source, believe me. But, I should have cleared things with DeWayne.
If things go south the next few weeks, things will get interesting. The defense is fine. UCLA was HOT that I posted that nugget. They do admit there was a meeting, but they say it was for "personal development." Yeah, whatever.
I am not sure how else to interpret the sentence that Dienhart "should have cleared things with DeWayne." To me, that sounds like it was DeWayne who was doing all the talking to Dienhart."I had a good source, believe me. But, I should have cleared things with DeWayne.
If things go south the next few weeks, things will get interesting. The defense is fine. UCLA was HOT that I posted that nugget. They do admit there was a meeting, but they say it was for "personal development." Yeah, whatever.
Second, we also have this post from dustball in the diary section:
As i have previously stated, Osaar's family is friends with my family, so i hear what is going on in his world from them in addition to being a current student with him. Osaar is respectful and wouldn't say anything to hurt the staff, but there are things that can be surmised from conversations he has with his family. One such conversation is very important given a recent report by Dienhart that Dwayne Walker was called into DG's office to discuss the possibility of taking over on an interim basis for Dorrell. Immediately, the Morgan Center refuted the report, but it seems there may be something to the story.
Osaar received a surprise phone call in recent days from Dwayne Walker. No... it wasn't to test his interest in playing the D side of the ball. It was to tell him to be patient. DW called Osaar to offer him encouragement and make sure he wasn't leaving the program.
I understand that some of you are apprehensive about taking a post in the diary from this blog as significant. And this may turn out to be insignificant. But I am not ready to dismiss that post unless I hear a definitive statement from Walker that indicates his strong and unquestionable support and loyalty to his current head coach.Osaar received a surprise phone call in recent days from Dwayne Walker. No... it wasn't to test his interest in playing the D side of the ball. It was to tell him to be patient. DW called Osaar to offer him encouragement and make sure he wasn't leaving the program.
Lastly, it is not just dustball who is talking about Walker "preparing" for an interim position. Check out this long thread (subscrip. req'd) initiated by a poster named "lawman222" on BRO's premium message board (subscrip. req'd) last week:
Obviously I cannot cut and paste the content of those posts from behind BRO's subscription firewall. However, the title of the posts in that thread are pretty self-explanatory. Lawman222, who has been one of the biggest pimpers of Walker on BRO premium board, is openly campaigning for Walker for the HC position. Moreover, the guy doesn’t refute the perception that he is, uhm, well "connected." If you scroll down from the top of the thread, you will see the subthread under EZBEACH4’s response entitled, "If ALL that is true … .you’re right …" In that sequence, EZBEACH4 ponders "You sound like you KNOW something?" Again, those of you who have access to the premium boards can look up the content of these posts, and will find that Lawman222 is providing information that leads one to speculate that there is lot more than just rumor mongering going on in terms of Walker being already considered as the "interim HC" auditioning for the permanent position at UCLA.
Again, for anyone who wants to discount all of this ala Brian Dohn, dismissing it as gossip, I don’t need to provide laundry lists of how so many times stories have appeared in the new media of blogs and message boards first.
To me it seems like something is definitely up. People are talking. And I don’t believe all of these are just dramatic coincidences. If all of this is just BS, and Walker indeed has no part in any kind backstabbing effort to replace his current boss (which is our Doofus), then I believe he has a responsibility to publicly clear the air and pledge his support and his confidence in the current head coach. If he doesn’t, not only would it be telling, but I think it would also could lead all of us to speculate that the work environment around this program is toxic since there is no sense of trust among the staff.
And if anyone here thinks that we are being too difficult on Walker, and are wondering why we aren’t giving him the benefit of the doubt, I will respond by saying (as I have already said in the comment threads), I am not going to cut a guy a lot of slack who was dumb enough to think it was a good career move to get himself into a position where he would find himself answering to a doofus like Dorrell.
So with all that on the table, I think based on the info we have floating around the interwebs, it seems reasonable to speculate Walker may be an alleged backstabber. Of course, he can change all of that by coming out and clarifying his loyalty and confidence in his current boss. If he doesn’t, then I think this labeling is a fair game. However, all that said I want to keep an open mind about this. If you strongly believe we shouldn't keep calling Walker as Backstabber (A) despite all the information that is floating out there, please let me know why in a respectful and constructive way in the comment threads. I am more than confident we can have an interesting discussion and find the best way to move forward and reach a consensus why we need a clean break from the Dorrell regime (which means no one from his staff should be considered for the next HC) at the end of this season. Thanks.
GO BRUINS.