With some decent coaching Mac could be a good third stringer. He gave it a decent try with a team without a plan. Bronco looked more like a horse’s a$$ with his play calling, but he won anyway.

GEEZ, DG make the announcement now, so we can get some sleep.

The last three weeks we have spoken about, around and over the important subject of UCLA football. It all comes back t a crucial point.
In the 40 years since I graduated UCLA we have had only one coach that is a graduate of our fine university. Of all the players who have gone through the program in 40 years and have gone on to coaching careers, only one HC has been a graduate of the university.
I find this strange. Every other program in the country has coaches that are alumni drooling to coach at their alma mater. Not UCLA.
The one alumnus that wants to come back and coach at his school is getting a ration of shit. What is there about UCLA that it desn’t take care of its own. Doesn’t have football coaches dieing to coach their Alma Mater. WTF!

If not for the fumble and our score before halftime, this game would have been long over well before the half. DW is not HC material yet…bring in Rick! Keep DW as DC, and get Ken Norton back from SUC as linebackers coach to add some more toughness to our team. Rick, admittedly with his past issues, will bring back excitement and offensive imagination that we haven’t had since the Toledo era! There will be a NEU era…a NEU excitement…a NEU dawn will begin on Monday morning! Just announce already, so we can go to sleep in peace and quiet. It’s like watching my Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at 1am, and it’s still early in the 4th quarter in Hawaii:) Just make the announcement, and let’s start a NEU generation in Bruin land!

Nobody’s mentioned the irony that BYU scored the same - just that we couldn’t.
Not a DW fan by any means (had a chance to promote BruinsNation and DD on ESPN 710 while calling out that hack Doh!n yesterday and logical choices for HC), BUT our offense has been decimated. Here’s looking forward to exciting times for Bruin football - and less heckling from the teachers and students where I teach!
I agree BM didn’t look great - feeling better and better about RN (brings me back to my Freshman year at UCLA ‘83).
Help me with one thing - who/what is CTS?

BTW - Thanks DD for all your input, wisdom, and insight. I work closely with a Double T grad desparately afraid of losing ML - even he considers DD his major source of info.

Our defense played well today no question. But this was a MWC team that we have beaten 8 out of 9 times, and should beat EVERY time. The only time we didn’t beat them is when they had an NFL Hall of Fame QB. Training Jay has got to be the worst OC in our history. The worst.

BruinFan thank you. Tell your TT friend that it looks like he has nothing to worry about … unfortunately.

CTS is “Coach Toledo’s Successor.” First, I stopped calling him “Coach …” because that denigrated the word “Coach.” Then I couldn’t bring myself to even say or type his name, so I kept saying Coach Toledo’s successor. Eventually, I started using the abbreviation “CTS” and it sort of stuck. And it’s the same for me with Coach Howland’s Predecessor, or CHP.

Thanks Fox!
A couple things CTS and CHP have in common -
1. Not ready to be HC
2. Great guys!
I was outside CHP’s office years ago with my daughter who was about 5 talking up UCLA. He came out of his office without any prompting, stopped us, and brought us a rubber bball signed by him and others. She’ll never forget it, I’ll never forget it. I’ve heard stories of KD doing the same type of thing.

I wonder what our special teams coach said to our offensive line prior to the last play. Maybe it was something like, “Hey guys this is the LAST play, so they’re gonna come at you real hard. Nothing fancy, just a hard bull rush, so block hard, don’t allow any penetration–stand your ground…” Nah, probably not.
That guy should be FIRED. Special teams were a disaster all night–dropped punts(TWICE), short punts, short kick-offs with lousy tackling, and that horrible last play. This program needs a total housecleaning. Everyone is making too much of Walker. I started attending UCLA football games in ‘66 and can honestly say that I’ve never witnessed a more poorly prepared and marginally coached team during that time period. I don’t know who should be the next HC, but it shouldn’t be anyone on this staff. One of the comments on ESPN was that “the Bruins played BYU closer that a lot of people predicted.” That is the state of UCLA football–moral victories over WAC opponents. Let’s face it–this was another step backwards for the program.

that game was a microcosm of the dorrell era, frustrating, no offense, as soon as im willing to give up, i get drawn back in and to the brink of thinking we’re gonna pull something off and then, heart ache. the dorrell era was a horrible run-on sentence… ugh. sorry to the players that really laid it on the line, especially guys like bruce bruce and the o-line, RUN LEFT!!!! training jay is a putz, RUN LEFT!!!! bethel was horrible as always he made 2 nice passes all game, jeez 2007 what couldve been

I don’t doubt CTS and CHP are great guys, but that and 10 cents might get you a cup of coffee. With all of its NCAA championships, UCLA shouldn’t be a practice ground for assistant coaches to see how they’ll do as head coaches.

And sure it’s nice to have a real Bruin return as HC, but that mortally limits our options if we’re serious about destroying the culture of mediocrity.

Twothphry,

Why does it matter if a coach is an alum or not? If you go back and look at the records for coaches who’ve won NCs, about half did better at their non-alma maters than their alma mater. Sometimes, I think programs are too stuck on finding a coach that comes from the ‘family’ and it only ends up narrowing the pool of possible candidates.

Or, take a look at the basketball program and how well it’s done with alums as the coach.

Excellent points made above and in the other comments sections as well.. I try to mention DumpDorrell.com whenever I have called into Post-game Bruin Talk with Tim Cates as I also mentioned it on Joel McDonnell’s program as well (Tim and Matt Stevens didn’t seem to care much for dumpdorrell.com, but I stuck up for you by mentioning that you were willing to take the site down whenever Dorrell won a PAC-10 title which he never did!).

I think you have done the Bruin nation a real service.. Seriously.. If Dorrell was still in place after the USC game this year, I was going to get a huge banner made up with DUMPDORRELL.COM on it for all the cameras to see at the Las Vegas Bowl (because it would have been a sure bet that Dorrell would have lost it too). I posted the following already in the comments of an earlier post, but it seems to fit here as well:

Hire Neuheisel as the HC and make Walker an assistant coach with a raise in pay (see if Neuheisel can swing getting Norm Chow in as the OC). Now the only thing to worry about is if this neoconned government of ours takes US to war with Iran more than likely resulting in a military draft in the process when it gets out of control (see the following message thread):

So will college football be suspended (next year) when all those 18-26 year-old players get drafted after Iran is attacked…?

http://tinyurl.com/29mwza

To me it would seem like a huge mistake to hire anyone other than Rick Neuheisel. He’s a perfect fit, and I think would be like a UCLA Pete Carroll.
He’ s a proven winner as a head coach and has all the right attirubtes: successful head coaching experience, charisma, football knowledge, recruiting ability, and allegiance to UCLA. I think the issues from his past are overblown, and I would be truly surprised if there were any such problems in the future. With Rick the positives are very real while the negatives involve image and perception and will evaporate into irrelevance in a short time. The fact that he was a great UCLA player is of course not enough in itself but becomes an additional positive given that he is already so well qualified. The one difference between Rick and Pete Carroll is that no one knew in advance how good Carroll would turn out to be.

Dana I agree with you but you must admit Rick Neuheisel has the experience and a good recod as a head coach. I believe Rick will help UCLA get to a different level that they have not been able to reach since 1998. Give the guy a chance to put UCLA back in the map where people talk how good a football program we have. Instead of mentioning how we almost won again. It has been the same story for the past 8 years.

The problem with UCLA and the fans is we are ok with saying we almost won instead of saying we should of won. In the case of Walker the players played hard. Everybody plays hard, not just the UCLA players. You don’t get reward because we lost a close game. Was it a tough lose? Yes. But we lost again. We had a lot of game this year that we should of won but guess what? We lost. UCLA fire a coach that was a great guy and every player love him and played hard for him. But we lost. It seems to be a pattern of UCLA and the fans.

I heard someone on the radio mention why we as UCLA fans accept a hiring of a coach with no previous head coaching experience but when it comes to UCLA basketball; we expected UCLA to hire a coach with head coaching experience. UCLA fans want to have a great football team on the field that could challenge for a National Championship but are willing to settle with an assistant coach as the next head coach. I like Walker and I know he will be a good head coach in the future but he is just starting out.

UCLA is going to hire a head coach with no experience and the fans will say “he is learning to be a head coach and UCLA fans need to be patient”. Didn’t we already heard that before with Dorrell. I am just fed up with the newspaper writers, UCLA fans and administration. Nothing has change. If Walker is hire, I will just say to UCLA fans “This is why nobody takes UCLA football serious.” Everybody expects UCLA to be a basketball school and you know what? They are right.

I will see everybody in the UCLA basketball games since we are just a basketball school. If you don’t think so, think again.

Hey, last night was not the bottom for the program. Remember, 3 years ago we lost to Wyoming. WAKE UP!! I said Wyoming! We should have made a coaching change right after that incredibly embarrasing loss.

UCLA football has sunk so low as to actually have some folks saying we should be proud…we played hard. What the hell? We lost to B fricking YU. We should be hiding our faces or laughing……the way a little old lady might laugh after farting at a church social. What else can you do BUT laugh? After all, our football team is a joke. Let’s laugh. Everybody else is laughing at us. Let’s join in and laugh. Hahahahaha.

There was a time when UCLA football teams could just “go through the motions” and kick BYU all over the field. Now we lose to them and we should be proud?

I was at the Wyoming loss a few years ago, and we should have fired Dorrell that night. What a cluster *uck! BYU though an excellent second tier program, is just that, a second tier program. UCLA should be an elite program, but at the moment it just is not. I read the LA Times article dated 12/19 and the writer said DG was over his head in this hiring process. He was right on the money, DG is over his head. I feel bad for our kids. They played their hearts out, but came up short. Poor leadership will kill you every time. Bonnie (what’s her face) from ESPN said DG told her he would have a coach in place before the new year. Today would be okay with me. When does Neuheisel start?

Trey Brown was interviewed by Wayne Cook on 570 after the game. What he said was really excellent. To paraphrase: “We need to stop accepting that PLAYING HARD IS GOOD ENOUGH. The guys in this program need to play hard. But we need to win too.” As far as I’m concerned, that says it all. Think about it, before the season, we were all talking about the USC game on Dec. 1 being for a BCS game, maybe MORE than the Rose Bowl. I sense that SOME players, some fans etc. are now taking heart in “playing hard” and losing such a heartbreaker vs. BYU in the Vegas Bowl. I am proud of and thank Trey Brown for not only his outstanding effort over the past four years, but also understanding that it takes more than “Playing hard” to win games. It’s my feeling that the Coaching staff- especially the offensive staff and KD- let down Trey.

Considering our offense hung in there with BYU, has anyone considered Jay Norvell for the HC job??

This is the schedule for next season. It is time that Dan Guererro take it seriously and get a coach in that can prepare the team to win. Not a promoted assistant who needs some time management and game strategy education, not an up and comer either, we need to get the guy in there that can do the job to save the program from obscurity.

Fresno St Bulldogs Aug 30
Tennessee Volunteers Sep 6
at BYU Cougars Sep 13
Arizona Wildcats Sep 27
Washington State Cougars Oct 4
at Oregon Ducks Oct 11
Stanford Cardinal Oct 18
at California Bears Oct 25
Oregon State Beavers Nov 8
at Washington Huskies Nov 15
at Arizona State Sun Devils Nov 22
USC Trojans Dec 6

Hill, Mendanhall, Bellotti and Erickson, are all on the schedule. We are at BYU, Oregon, Cal, Washington and ASU.
Sure we have seven home games, thats a good thing, but each of those road games will be tough to win there. Even Willingham is gonna be at his best for us because his butt is on the line at UW.

A new attitude is needed, playing hard is not good enough.

The new coach needs to teach the players to play smarter, play harder, be humble and to play with more heart than the opponents.

DG, get Rick in there now, he has work to do.

L.A. Times is trying it’s best to get DW. No more affirmative action. DW has to work his way up someplace else to become a HC at this level. Big deal, losing a close one to BYU which beat a bunch of patsies is no sign of improvement. Come on AD and Chancellor, pick Rick

Mark how does “hung in there” . . . qualify as excellence __ to Hung in there, is the bare minimum __ norvell can’t coach q-b’s and is lousy at play-calling , which is why plays don’t work ___ If the right play is called, the play works and gains the required yards __ If a play fails, then it was the wrong play to call __ every off. coordinator dud-rell has hired , was a lousy off. corr. _ It is that simple __ besides any coach who was stupid enough to “join” dud-rell’s sinking ship, is just that . . . S T U P I D

what is the hurry?? Assume, just assume that June Jones (and other HC’s that are still playing) is high on DG’s list. It would be classless for Jones to acknowledge interest prior to his teams biggest game in the history of Hawaii football. Think about it and lets give DG the benefit of the doubt. pls. If he does give in toconsiderable pressure then it will be Neu (fine) or Walker (god forbid). The best canidates are, of course, still coaching!
What is the hurry?? Lets wait this out…it is too imp. to rush.

Fred, how about feeling sorry for the kids , who for the last five years , had their time effort and athletic years Wasted, because dud-rell is a Failure as a head coach __ If you hire walker, again someone , who has no idea , how to run a football program . . . means most likely , 5 mores years, just like Dud-rell ___ how about getting someone who already knows , what he is doing _ how about getting someone who has been a Head coach , for 10 years __ how about no more learning ‘on the job’ __ how about no more wasting ALL these kids time effort and what should be their Best Years , of their life __

Mark,

What are you smoking this morning? Who is your doctor, I need that prescription.

The San Diego State Spaztecs but up 27 on BYU, would that bring Chuck Long into the picture. Long is getting his car “keyed” on a regular basis down there, and he has to wear a disguise to go out in public.

After the disappointing offensive season the Bruins had Jay Norvell would be lucky to keep his job even if KD was still at the helm. Norvell is supposed to be the eyes and ears for the head coach from his position in the booth, how many times was clock management an issue this year. Too many times is the answer and as little as one time is too many if you want to be a national contender. Clock management starts with the opening kickoff, if you are ahead you get it over; if you are behind you draw it out. It’s that simple. Better clock management could have given the Bruins more scoring opportunities all season long. KD managed the clock like a JV high school coach would, never thinking ahead only thnking of the immediate. Jay is a KD clone and thats it.

colonybruin,

I agree with you! My comments were in regard to “IF Walker is hired.” Emphasis on the word “IF.”

Personally, I wanted Brian Kelly as the next coach. When that didn’t happen, I hoped for Bellotti. At this point I think it’ll be Rick but if Walker gets the job, I don’t think a campaign against the guy AFTER he’s named HC is what’s needed.

I sure hope you are joking Mark. Did you see any games this season? Ben Olson can thank Norvell for his injury. That naked bootleg call on our 12 yard line against Notre Dame was a brillant call!!

It’s not always how hard you play, it’s how smart you play.

If UCLA hires Leach, Jones or Mariucci, the program will be spinning it’s wheels for the next several years. In fact, bringing in a heavily pass oriented offense, ala Hawaii or Texas Tech, will signal a desperation move. If you can’t run the ball in the PAC-10 you are DEAD. Offensive passing stats don’t mean a damn thing unless you have balance. To run the offense at Hawaii, you recruit pass blockers not drive blockers. If you run that offense in the Pac-10, defenses will pin their ears, run zone blitzes at you and kill your QB. Texas Tech averages the big numbers they do because they schedule teams like Sam Houston St, Stephen F. Austin and Florida International. This is tantamount to UCLA scheduling Claremont Harvey-Mudd, LaVerne College and Occidental. Are you going to buy a ticket to see UCLA score 70 points and pass for 700 yards against teams like that? Are we that desperate to see the team average among the leaders in PYG?
And, Mariucci? That is a joke. My stomach hurts too much to even expound on why that is a crap idea.

Hire Neuheisel and bring in Al Golden as DC for starters. This represents a nice blend of dynamic offensive philosophy and nose in the dirt, linebacker mentality defensive philosophy.

About to Puke makes a good point:

“If you can’t run the ball in the PAC-10 you are DEAD.”

Look at all the National Championship teams over the past 20 years. ALL of them had a strong running game! Even this years match up of O.State & LSU, both have a solid running attack.

The reason Illinois spread attach was so effective this year is because of Mendenhall running the ball. Oregon’s Dixon got all the press, but their running game was tough with Jonathan Stewart.

As the Lions HC, Mariucci refused to run Kevin Jones, who was a pro bowler his rookie year! Week after week, the media pressed Mariucci to answere as to why he refused to run the ball! Pray that he’s not the next coach!

Just to accentuate why hiring Jones is not the answer, a little earlier today guys were saying that New Mexico’s shut-out win over Nevada was no big deal. Nevada is nothing, they said. Well, Hawaii beat Nevada this year 27-24 in a nail biter. Hawaii is not the same team when they leave the islands. When you play at Hawaii it is next to impossible to keep your team focused. Then, you get on the field at Aloha Stadium, it is 85 degrees, your team has had some beach time after a 5 or 6 hour flight and, come game time, Hawaii comes at you with a quick tempo all-out passing game. You lose.

I remember when UCLA switched to the wishbone. John McKay laughed at us. He said, “I have a defensive end that can cover both your Qb AND your pitch guy at the same time. Go ahead, run the damn wishbone at us.” The same thing would happen if we went to an offense that is 85% pass. We’d beat the WSU’s and Stanfords (maybe) but get killed by the SC’s, Arizona State’s and Oregon’s.

i think the jay norvell comment was meant as sarcasm… easy tigers