Yeah, so Rick has been out 10 days and Chianti Dan has managed to completely flounder with a coaching search that has been a total joke. Of course, for those who have been following Chianti Dan's every-increasing tone-deaf stupidity, it is hardly asurprised that our coaching search feels sloppy and half-ass. The fact that the chianti-sippin', tone-deaf bureaucrat in charge has already been rejected by a handful of coaching candidate (Petersen, Sumlin, and Golden) is just funny in a morbid, sad kind of way.
So while Chianti Dan has been busy chasing down lame NFL rejects (Jim Mora) or retreads (Bellotti, June Jones), realistic and promising coaching candidates like Larry Fedora at Southern Miss (who spanked former Chianti favorite Kevin Sumlin last weekend) are being snapped up by programs run by competent athletic directors who actually know how to conduct a coaching search. Never mind that dynamic coaches who would have been solid hires (certainly better than uninspiring "candidates" like Mora, Bellotti, and Jones), like say Mike Leach, Rich Rodriguez, or Hugh Freeze are already off the board because Chianti Dan was too busy planning wine-tasting trips in Tuscany rather than, you know, doing the job he is paid $600K for.
And of course, let's not forget that Chianti Dan forced Rick Neuheisel, a true Bruin who loves everything about UCLA, to try to do his job on the cheap, forcing coordinators on him, and then hampering his ability to bring in replacements with an Ebenezer Scrooge budget and piss-poor facilities. Oh, but now he's willing to hire some NFL reject for a multi-million dollar salary, let him spare no expense for assistants, and promise him improved facilities. So, Chianti Dan is willing to go the extra mile for a NFL reject, but screwed over a true Bruin who bleeds blue-and-gold. Seriously, f**k this guy.
Anyway, in this past Sunday's edition of Bruin Bites, I wrote:
But knowing Chianti Dan's bumbling stupidity, we'll end up with some retread failure like Herm Edwards, a guy who the closest he's been to a football field the last few years has been Coors Light commercials.
Wow. I didn't know how close I'd come: sure, it's not Herm Edwards, but another NFL reject: Jim Mora.
On the plus side, Chianti Dan's bumbling stupidity makes this one last thought easy (since it's the same as last edition): if Chianti Dan hires Jim Mora, especially with other more viable candidates in play (Dantonio, Mullen, Pellini, Hudspeth Manny Diaz, etc.), we will call for nothing short of a scorched earth full-on war against Chianti Dan and will not stop until he is fired.
So, before we get to the Bruin Bites for this Wednesday afternoon, don't forget to sign up at the Fire Dan Guerrero Facebook group. With that, let's take a look at the bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse after the jump.
- Let's start with football news. As mentioned in Sunday's Bruin Bites, Brett Hundley is committed to staying at UCLA, noting that he committed to the university, is sad that Neuheisel is gone, but understands that it happens. Unfortunately, talented but never used freshman WR Devin Lucien doesn't feel the same way. Unlike Hundley, who is solid with staying, Lucien, who has indicated he wants to stay in Westwood, is adopting a wait-and-see approach, seeing who UCLA brings in to replace Neuheisel. Just another reason that UCLA needs to make a solid coach rather than a NFL reject or retread who will do nothing to inspire confidence into the players or fanbase.
- Sticking with football, the Los Angeles Times has a story that builds on Hundley's status with UCLA: the commitment of Paul Perkins of Chandler High School, a former high school teammate of Hundley. Perkins' comments, committing to UCLA because of Hundley and noting that he is in it for UCLA, not necessarily for a specific coach, is a pretty good reassurance that Brett isn't going anywhere soon. Let's just hope we can give him a coach who will know how to use the talented soon-to-be redshirt freshman QB.
- Turning to non-football news, the New York Post had a piece in memory of UCLA great Walt Hazzard, talking about his road to UCLA and the legacy he left behind.
- Finally, following up on this Monday's non-revenue round-up, Golf Digest talks about the unusual position the LPGA put UCLA senior Stephanie Kono in and how, despite losing the All-American senior leader of her national title winning squad, UCLA women's golf coach Carrie Forsyth has been supportive of Kono as she accepts her place on the LPGA Tour, forgoing the balance of her senior year at UCLA, negatively impacting the Bruins' shot at repeating this upcoming year. Interesting read by Golf Digest and good piece on how the LPGA ended up short-changing the Bruins (but of course, Chianti Dan is nowhere to be found when one of our teams gets the short-end of the stick).
Alright folks, that is your Bruin Bites round-up for the middle of this week. We're going to keep it short and sweet as we anticipate another hectic few days as we keep eyes on the ongoing joke/debacle/disaster that is Chianti Dan's third football head coaching search in his less-than-a-decade tenure. Ten years, and he's on his third football coach.
Seriously, can someone tell me why UCLA is paying this buffoon over $600K per year?!
Fire away with your thoughts, comments, additions, etc. in the thread.
GO BRUINS