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Dohn on (Dan Guerrero's) Expectations For Football

By Nestor

Yes, I know. Its not a new topic. But whenever new tidbit comes up on this this theme we will keep hammering on it through the off season.

Dohn has another Q&A post up this weekend and he has this poignant response re. DG's expectations from the football program:

Do you have a sense for Dan Guerroro's expectations of Karl Dorrell this season? (Not just for this season, but years to come as well.)
First and foremost, I think Guerrero expects Dorrell to run a clean program without kids getting in trouble off the field. Although Guerrero would prefer Pac-10 titles, I believe Guerrero would be fine with a second- or third-place finish in most seasons. I do know not too many fifth place finishes will be tolerated.
That actually jives perfectly well with the points we have been making every since we started writing on BN.

I'd think our expectations are fairly in line with DG's expectations re. the football program. We are not expecting championships from KD "every" season (as some Dorrell apologists would like you to believe). And in fact this is the first year we have laid out expectations of a Pac-10 championship from Karl Dorrell. If you recall we called for 9 wins and victory over Southern Cal the year before (which now looks like a perfectly reasonable expectation for the 06-07 season).

All we expect from Dorrell is to keep UCLA in contention every season and at the very least finish 2nd or 3rd in the conference in the seaons he comes up short or facing a "rebuilding" project at UCLA. Here is what I would call the ball park expectations from a competent UCLA football coach in his first 5 year period:
  • 1st Year: 8-5 (at least a Sun Bowl appearance)
  • 2nd Year: 9-4 (victory over SuC at home, a bowl game win)
  • 3rd Year:10-3 (at least a Holiday Bowl win)
  • 4th Year: 9-4 (victory over SuC at home, at least a Sun Bowl appearance)
  • 5th Year: At least a Pac-10 Championship and an appearance in the Rose Bowl (no questions asked)
I strongly believe if a football coach at UCLA puts together seasons alone the expectations outlined above, he would be able to establish a marquee program, which during a 10 year span would be able win at least 2-3 Rose Bowl caliber (Holiday Bowls don't count) games. That's the kind of program we expect at UCLA.

What we don't tolerate is 4th or 5th place finishes and losing more than half of our games against the program from cross town. We also don't tolerate disgraceful and humiliating losses the program has gotten accustomed to under Karl Dorrell.

Again read closely what Dohn is saying. DG doesn't expect titles in "most seasons." However, you have got to believe he is expecting a title in the fifth year of a head coach, who came into Westwood making a proclamation he was all about winning Pac-10 championships and beating Southern Cal. It hasn't happened yet. Its time for it to happen this season. A 2nd or 3rd place finish (which Dorrell has only pulled of once - 3rd place in 05-06) is not going to cut in 07-08. And we can reconcile that expectation with Dohn's comment on DG's expectations in his latest post.

KD is not going to have anywhere to hide in 2007. We can't wait.

GO BRUINS.

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