October 18, 2007
Dorrell Getting More National Press
Two more articles on the Dorrell madness we are dealing with. First up, Ted Miller of Seattle Post Intelligencer, writing for ESPN.com, has an entire article on the reduced expectations we now have this season for our team:
Already stressed Bruins fans expected a breakthrough in Year 5 of the Karl Dorrell era. With 20 starters back from a bowl team that ended rival USC’s 2006 national title hopes, the general belief was UCLA was a Pac-10 favorite and, perhaps, a dark horse national title contender.
Yet, on the cusp of a top-10 ranking after a pair of easy wins, the Bruins threw up on themselves in a humiliating, inexplicable 44-6 loss at Utah, a team that was missing its starting quarterback and running back, on Sept. 15.
Some almost were willing to write that off as an unfortunate hiccup following two decisive wins over Washington and Oregon State. When winless, woeful Notre Dame came to town on Oct. 6, the Bruins were back on the brink of a national ranking. Splat. After that 20-6 loss, a fan mob, including many allegedly sane ones, called for Dorrell’s head to be delivered on a platter.
The rest of the article talks about injuries and how we are still 3-0 in conference so Miller basically takes it easy on Dorrell. And he fails to point out that we still have the toughest part of our schedule coming up. The main point is not lost however, that Dorrell has once again not lived up to expectations and that the faithful want change. In a sort of companion column on his own paper’s site, Miller puts Dorrell on the warm/hot seat:
From hot to warm: Karl Dorrell, UCLA: Are Bruins fans satisfied averaging five-plus losses a season?
Obviously, no. Finally, Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated continues his frank assessment of the Dorrell era by naming Karl Dorrell as a coach who has “one foot out the door“:
It’s these egregious crimes that separate those four from guys like UCLA’s Karl Dorrell, Clemson’s Tommy Bowden, Arizona’s Mike Stoops, SMU’s Phil Bennett, Duke’s Ted Roof and Marshall’s Mark Snyder, all of whom are also hanging by a thin thread but could still theoretically save themselves (as Bowden has done countless times before). We’ll put them in the “One Foot Out the Door” category.
The word continues to spread. Keep getting the word out, politely, every email helps.
4 Comments on Dorrell Getting More National Press
October 18, 2007
dana @ 1:32 pm:
After reading all the coaches on the hot seat, I’m worried that there’s going to a game of musical chairs and UCLA will be the last one standing. I just can’t see UCLA going out as aggressively as some of those other programs that are also looking for new coaches. Michigan, Nebraska, Texas A&M, etc.. will all probably need coaches. And, if Michigan hires Miles from LSU, then LSU would need to find a coach and etc..
If anything, I think last year would have been the better time to find a coach but then UCLA had to pull off that upset of SC… We had so much talent and starters returning this year that it would have been tempting for a potential coach to sign with UCLA.
DumpDorrell @ 3:45 pm:
Dana … that is what we were saying last year, it was better to fire Dorrell then. Yes, there most likely will be higher profile jobs available this year, and more of them. Last year there was Miami and Alabama. But the thing is, UCLA has advantages that all those other programs do not have. The guy who would take the LSU job is not the same guy who would take the UCLA job, even with double the money that LSU offers. We know of at least 4 high profile names that would come to UCLA, a couple of them on the relative cheap ($1.2 to $1.5). So, although DGs job is tougher this year, it is certainly not impossible to find a proven successful head coach.
Diego @ 4:48 pm:
I concur, but we’re going to have pay the money. No more bargain coaches. KD makes, what? 600K? Lavin made 580K. Toledo made 560K. Howland has been the exception, but that’s more because he’s in love with UCLA. That was just a natural match.
dana @ 11:01 pm:
Who are the four high profile coaches who would accept the job at UCLA over another vacancy? And, why? I remember Riley turned down Alabama for a shot at UCLA cause his children were still going to school in SD.
With all the possible vacanies and chain reaction that will set off where one college will lose its HC and thus need to swipe another HC from another college, I think its really imperative that UCLA acts decisively before the coache it wants is swiped by another college.