Sunday, November 11, 2007

Coaching Profiles

The hot topic these days on pretty much every UCLA message board and blog is who might replace Karl Dorrell as the head coach of the football program. There's been a lot of names bantered about and everybody seems to have their favorite candidate. I thought I'd spend a little time over the next week and write some articles that look a little deeper into some of the coaches that seem to be drawing the most interest. But before we get into the details, let's first take a look at what Dan Guererro would be working with if he decides to replace Dorrell this off season.

Right now Karl Dorrell is making right around $800,000 - $900,000 a year. That's not exactly an enticing salary, especially if UCLA wants to lure in a coach with some experience. You also have to factor in the cost-of-living on the west-side of LA, so Guerrero is going to have to seriously up that figure. There has been talk on the Bruin Show that UCLA might be able to afford somewhere around $1.2 - $1.5 million for a new coach. With that kind of pay range, it opens up a lot more options.

The other thing to consider is that UCLA isn't the only team potentially shopping for a new coach come January. There might be at least one other PAC-10 team looking for a coach as Bill Dobba of WSU is on a very hot seat these days. Mike Stoops looks like he'll be back at Arizona next season, but things can change dramatically in just a few weeks, so you never know. There are also persistent rumors that Jeff Tedford up at Cal could be lured away to another big time program.

Those are just the changes in conference. Nebraska, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Indiana, and almost a dozen other schools keep popping up in the news of teams looking for new direction. Of course, if those jobs get filled by current head coaches then that leaves another opening to fill somewhere else. Last year close to 20 head coaches were changed in the off season. The Bruins will have to compete with all of those programs in their search.

So why would a coach want to take the job in Westwood? Well there are definitely some positives. UCLA is in a major media market and any coach with even an inkling of going to the NFL would jump at the chance to have major media outlets just down the road. The Bruins also play in a BCS conference, which might be a draw for an up-and-coming coach or coordinator. UCLA is also smack dab in the middle of one of the hottest recruiting areas of the country. You could field an amazing team without ever leaving Southern California.

On the flip side is the coast of living. You earn less, in spending power, when you have to live in the LA area. UCLA hasn't historically payed it's head coaches or assistants very well either, which compounds that problem. Along with that low pay comes very high demands from the fans and it doesn't help that the football program plays a distant 2nd fiddle to the basketball team. As much as we hate to admit it, the football program doesn't exactly have great fan support and this isn't a fanbase that really travels well outside of California. The other big downside is that you have to live in the shadow of USC, which throws almost all of it's athletic resources into it's football team.

Still, a head coaching change at UCLA will draw a lot of interest. Guerrero might have to go courting some coaches and others may be banging down his door, but there will likely be a pretty big pool of candidates to choose from. Let's see if we can narrow down that list during this next week. Look for a new article on a different coach each day this week. Also, shoot me a name if you're really interested in somebody. I'll do my best to include them in my analysis.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please start your list with Rick Neuheisel. He is a Bruin Alum who has been successful in the college ranks. He has the personality to recruit against Pete Carroll. He also knows how to speak in complete sentences when talking to the media. Rick is the man!

hiltigger said...

Neuheisel has also been know for corrupting every program that he's been associated with. Doubtful that DG will be too comfortable with that, unless he takes another risk...

Anonymous said...

Definitely not Neuheisel and all of you to take a look are the state of the football programs at Washington and Colorado after he left. Even after 2 change of head coaches at both Universities and they are still in shambles. If things didn't work out with Neuheisel, we may see the same path of those Washington and Colorado.

Anonymous said...

Greg Robinson, head coach at Syracuse would also be an excellent candidate.

Greg coached for Denver Broncos when they won 2 Super Bowls. He was coaching at Texas, when Texas beat USC in the 2004 Rose Bowl. Greg also was a coach at UCLA during 1982-1988 where the Bruins won 3 Rose Bowls and 7 Bowls in total. And I'm just scratching the surface here.

So Greg might be arguably the best fit as the Bruins head coach for 08, unless someone can find a better candidate. Please feel free to top my selection.

Let's find the very best for the Burins!!

CPBruinFan said...

Your wish is my command anonymous #1. Actually, I had already planned to start with Neuheisel simply because he generates so much controversy.

I'll look into Robinson, as he wasn't on my original list, but he does sound very promising.

Anonymous said...

Please try to research 1-AA coaches too...didn't Jim Tressel come from Youngstown State?

Whittier Anonymous

Anonymous said...

Here's my list...
1. Chris Peterson - Boise St.
2. Paul Johnson - Navy
3. Skip Holtz - East Carolina
4. Brian Kelly - Cincinnati
5. Joe Glenn - Wyoming

This is based on their head coaching experience, and for the most part, at schools not really football power houses.

REQUIREMENT: HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE NEED ONLY APPLY. THIS IS NOT A TRAINING COURSE.

P.S. I was off today, so I actually researched 1A & 1AA coaches.

Whittier Anonymous

Anonymous said...

Neuheisel-Failed twice I dont know how anyone can call his stint at UW anything but.

Brooks-We can do better, he is not exactly tearing it up. He has a special talent in Woodson that has bumped them up.

Chow-It has to be a red flag that he has been looked over so many times. Also he is not emotional and dont many fans here snap on KD for this?

Mooch-Not exactly a great track record either.

How about Brian Kelly, Bo Pelini, Chris Peterson, Chip Kelly, and Jimbo Fisher as options?

Anonymous said...

Without question, the smartest choice for the Bruins wouyld be to hire Rick Neuheisel. The guy is a proven winner and a UCLA alum who would die for the job. He won at Colorado, as well as winning a Rose Bowl title at U-Dub. People forget that RICK WAS ACQUITTED OF ALL WRONG DOING in the court of law regarding his job at Washington. It just seems he would be the best fit for a program the needs a change of direction in the worst way.