Before getting to this post, let me say I am with Meriones in hoping that the rumors we have been hearing in last 24-38 hours are resulting from DG "playing things REALLY close to vest" in a total super-secret and leak-proof search process. Believe me, I would like nothing more than for that to be true. However, given our history during last three decades, I am also feeling the same anxiety experienced by Bruin Blue and others in BN. I also believe in the axiom that we have to speak up and let our views known before it is too late. I have it from pretty good authority that the UCLA athletic department pays pretty close attention to what we have to say. And I feel like when we hear or sense any possibilities or scenarios (even though if its a rumor) we have to speak up whether that would be acceptable to us. It's the classic case of powers that be floating trial balloons and the interested parties (constituents) responding in kind. Well, if this Chow/Walker scenario is 'a trial balloon (?)' on the part of powers that be, it is up to us voice our objections now.
So, with that in mind, I cannot emphasize enough what a joke it would be and what a huge FU it would be on the part of DG to entire BN if the following scenario (which is being rumored out of multiples sources) re Chow/Walker turns out to be true:
Rumor has it that Walker would accpet Chow as HC
Posted by Bruinbalssy on December 10, 2007 at 23:23:07
One of the authors of a pay site says that Walker would like the situation where Chow is the head coach for a few years, and Walker would be groomed to be the next HC. THis would almost get everyone what they wanted. Our offense would be upgraded, our recruiting pielines would remain in tact, and the Trojans would really be pissed off.
At this point, if Chow were to be the next head coach of UCLA and he just happened to keep DeWayne Walker on his staff, it would confirm (in our mind) the suspicions we have had for a while. That it is really Walker who is calling the shots by maneuvering his position through the beat reporters, message board shills and Dorrell loving losers within the Morgan Center, and is using the aberration of a 13-9 victory against the Trojans over a bunch of morons in the Morgan Center to scheme himself into the head coaching position at UCLA.Posted by Bruinbalssy on December 10, 2007 at 23:23:07
One of the authors of a pay site says that Walker would like the situation where Chow is the head coach for a few years, and Walker would be groomed to be the next HC. THis would almost get everyone what they wanted. Our offense would be upgraded, our recruiting pielines would remain in tact, and the Trojans would really be pissed off.
It would be tantamount to Walker forcing a new head coach to enter into an arranged marriage scenario by essentially forcing his hand to retain him as the defensive coordinator on the next staff. Well, Louisville Cardinals (as I mentioned in my post last night) tried out this arranged marriage scenario with a new head coach - Steve Kraghthorpe - this season by forcing him to retain "popular" assistants from the Petrino staff. As my SBN colleague Mike from Card Chronicle (great blog covering all things Louisville Cardinals) sent me in an email early this am, that arrange marriage scenario led to a culture clash essentially destroying Lousiville's promising season this year (emphasis mine):
It's true that Kragthorpe was basically forced into keeping some of Petrino's assistants, and it's true that last season ended up being a disaster of epic proportions, but I'm not sure I would look to our situation as a basis for taking a side on your issue, seeing as how our two situations are so extremely different.
Kragthorpe achieved mild success at Tulsa, and if he had come in and gotten rid of all the assistants who had overseen the most successful period in the history of Louisville football, it wouldn't have played real well with the fan base. Plus there's also the little issue of a Brohm being on the staff, and in Louisville the Brohms are about as untouchable as you can get. [...]
What ended up happening here (according to various people who would know) is that the Petrino holdovers viewed Kragthorpe as "amateurish," and when things started to quickly go bad they let the players know how they felt. Kragthorpe went to AD Tom Jurich and told him that the holdover assistants were the reason that no one on the team respected him, to which Jurich basically said "tough shit."
I think if Kragthorpe had his way he'd get rid of all the Petrino guys and bring in all his people, but the fan outrage at getting rid of the proven winners and keeping only the people who guided the program to its worst season in ten years makes that impossible. In the end Kragthorpe did the only thing he could do: got rid of one of his guys (OC Charlie Stubbs), got rid of one of the Petrino guys (DC Mike Cassity), and promoted Jeff Brohm to offensive coordinator.
Obviously our two situations are very different given the manor in which our respective coaches left, but if I were you all I would be advocating wholesale coaching changes, both because of the ineptitude of your current staff, and because of the culture clashes that can occur between new and holdover assistants. Obviously, a lot is predicated on who you all end up bringing in, but that's just my two cents.
And I couldn't agree with him more. Despite the differences in the situations, how can we not worry that the minute Norm Chow or a new head coach (who retains Walker in his staff) doesn't do something right, the snickering and back biting will not begin via Walker and his shills. His shills, who are now out on message boards advocating his hire, were leading the charge against Dorrell all season. And given Walker's posture post-firing, in which he didn't waste any time to project the image of bringing "new vibes" and "energy" in the program, didn't exactly paint the picture of a loyal soldier. How do we know that a new coach will be secure in his status, when he will have to deal with what appears to be nothing short of a disloyal, scheming, self promoting defensive coordinator in his staff?Kragthorpe achieved mild success at Tulsa, and if he had come in and gotten rid of all the assistants who had overseen the most successful period in the history of Louisville football, it wouldn't have played real well with the fan base. Plus there's also the little issue of a Brohm being on the staff, and in Louisville the Brohms are about as untouchable as you can get. [...]
What ended up happening here (according to various people who would know) is that the Petrino holdovers viewed Kragthorpe as "amateurish," and when things started to quickly go bad they let the players know how they felt. Kragthorpe went to AD Tom Jurich and told him that the holdover assistants were the reason that no one on the team respected him, to which Jurich basically said "tough shit."
I think if Kragthorpe had his way he'd get rid of all the Petrino guys and bring in all his people, but the fan outrage at getting rid of the proven winners and keeping only the people who guided the program to its worst season in ten years makes that impossible. In the end Kragthorpe did the only thing he could do: got rid of one of his guys (OC Charlie Stubbs), got rid of one of the Petrino guys (DC Mike Cassity), and promoted Jeff Brohm to offensive coordinator.
Obviously our two situations are very different given the manor in which our respective coaches left, but if I were you all I would be advocating wholesale coaching changes, both because of the ineptitude of your current staff, and because of the culture clashes that can occur between new and holdover assistants. Obviously, a lot is predicated on who you all end up bringing in, but that's just my two cents.
Of course, no self-respecting individual would get himself in this situation in which he has no familiarity with the current staff. Just take a look at why Grobe apparently turned down the job at Nebraska:
* Scuttlebutt: Wake Forest's Jim Grobe dropped out of the running at Nebraska after being told he would have to hire certain assistant coaches. If a guy is going to make a career move like that, he ought to be able to hire his own staff. Bo Pelini, though, will hire several old Nebraska assistants.
Grobe was a smart guy. He didn't want to get into any kind of "arranged marriage" in a situation he was not familiar with. In the case of Pelini, I guess it makes a little sense because he did work under Frank Solich in Nebraska, who was a disciple of Tom Osborne. But someone like Norm Chow, who is apparently desperate for a head coaching opportunity, will not have the luxury of familiarity in Westwood.So you think we are going to believe any BS coming from Morgan Center (if a Chow/Walker scenario comes into fruition) that Chow will not feel insecure and not look over his back? You think we are going to believe the feel good BS coming from the Morgan Center explaining away how DeWayne Walker is not the defacto head coach who is calling the shots?
This kind of arranged marriage wouldn't even pass the smell test and will forever eviscerate Dan Guerrero's credibility. Right now, all we can hope for is that these rumors are not true and DG cannot possibly be dumb enough to take this kind of stupid plunge and expect us to buy the subsequent BS. I don't have high hopes for rest of the pencil pushers in Morgan Center, but I am holding on to hope that DG doesn't have this kind of contempt for his peers - UCLA alums and students - who have hung on to hope that he would be the agent of change in the rotten mediocrity promoting culture of Morgan Center that has so jaded the Bruin Nation.
GO BRUINS.