Decision 2007

With the recent notice from Al Golden that he is withdrawing his name from consideration (i.e. "I ain't gonna get the job, so screw you guys I'm going home") ... it is down to two. DeWayne Walker vs Rick Neuheisel. Defense vs Offense. Experience vs Freshness. It is decision 2007! And that much anticipated decision should be coming very, very, soon.

I guess, with all the heated exchanges during the Karl Dorrell years, that it is only fitting that the two candidates to replace him generate strong emotions as well. There are the Walkeristas and the Neuheiselistas. The respective supporters and detractors for each camp have waged war over Bruin message boards this week. No punches were pulled and no opportunity to shill was missed. When this is all over, I'm sure there will be a very angry and pissed off segment of the fan base. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I'm still solidly in the Pro-Rick camp. Of all the candidates seriously considered, I still think he is far and away the best choice. But really, I'd be pretty happy with DeWayne Walker as well. That probably puts me in the minority. Most fans seem to think that hiring one or the other (or both for that mater) will bring an end to the American way of life, speed up global warming, and officially cancel Christmas for ever.

Maybe I'm just a deep-down optomist at heart but I think both can be very good coaches for UCLA. They are definitely a big improvement over Karl Dorrell and the two finalists bring some much needed energy and enthusiasm to the position that was so lacking with the oh-so-stoic former head coach. So forgive me if I don't wait with baited breath, praying to the football gods, while hitting refresh on my browser every 5 minutes for any morsal of news on the coaching search. Whoever is chosen will be a nice breath of fresh air for a program that has had such a stale taste these last 10 years.

Coach Profile: Al Golden

With the rather unexpected news that another candidate had interviewed with the Chancellor yesterday, a new name has been thrown into the coaching ring. That name is Al Golden. He's been lauded as an "up-and-coming" coach. But who is this relative unknown that has made it to the UCLA coaching finals?

Background

Alfred James Golden played his college ball as a tight end at Penn State University. After graduation, he went to the NFL where he played one season with the New England Patriots. Soon after Golden jumped into the coaching ranks.

While getting his master's degree at Virginia, he served as the linebacker and special teams coach. In 1997 he moved to Boston college to coach linebackers there. In 2001, he became the youngest Div 1-A defensive coordinator when he accepted the position at Virginia. In his time withe Cavaliers, he took a team that ranked 108th nationally in total defense to 18th in total defense in 2004.

At the very green age of 38, Golden is the youngest candidate for the UCLA head coaching position. He has been the head coach at Temple for the last two seasons and his youthful attitude and energy have helped breath some life into a virtually moribund program. His four victories this season matches the win total from 2003-2006. That shows you how bad things had gotten for Temple before Golden showed up.

College Head Coaching Record

Year	Team	Overall	Bowl
Temle (Mid Atlantic Conference) (2006 — present)
2006	Temple	1-11
2007	Temple	4-8
Temple:		5-19
Total:		5-19
†Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season.

Positives

Golden is a young and energetic coach. He could relate well to the players. Even as a very young coordinator, he was able to command respect at his prior coaching gigs and Temple took a chance on him to give their program some much needed enthusiasm.

Al did a fantastic job turning around a terrible Virginia defense. In four years Virginia went from one of the worst defenses in the country to being in the top-25. He used a 3-4 scheme there and found success with his experience as a linebacker coach. He has coached a number of guys who went on to gain conference accolades and land in the NFL.

Negatives

Golden still has very little experience as a coach. Temple took a chance on him because pretty much nobody wants that job. Will he be able to handle a big time, BCS conference school like UCLA? The expectations and pressure are going to be much, much higher than at Temple.

Al has no West Coast ties. He has played ball and coached almost exclusively in the North East. It will take him some time to establish recruiting connections in Southern California.

Golden is a defensive coach. UCLA needs a boost on offense. Who will be his offensive coordinator? Can he attract a top name and will Guerrero be able to pay for somebody? It is hard to say. The Bruins already have a good defensive coordinator in Walker, so I don't see much of an advantage in bringing in another coach with experience on that side of the ball.

Verdict

I know most Bruin fans will look at this guy and say, "no way". Really, though, Al isn't all that bad of a hire. In many ways, he is a lot like DeWayne Walker 4-years from now. A great defensive coordinator who turned around a terrible squad at Virginia. He is young, a hot name among coaching circles, and a guy with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. If you like Walker for what he has done at UCLA then you can't be all that down on Golden.

Do I want this guy? Not really. I would much rather get a coach who can bring some life and attitude to the offensive side of the ball. The other guys who have been mentioned, Chow and Neuheisel, definitely have that in spades. He is also going to take some time to get up to speed on West Coast recruiting. With the positive momentum we have in that department the last two years, I don't think we want to start over with someone entirely new in that area. You can also kiss Walker goodbye if this guy gets hired, so his recruiting connections will be gone as well.

Silence was Golden

There's been talk of a mystery candidate interviewing for the UCLA head coaching job. The rumors said it was somebody we hadn't seen mentioned before. Well, the cone of silence was lifted last night and the mystery man was none other than Temple Coach Al Golden. Who? Yeah, exactly.

I don't know much about Golden but from what I've read he is a defensive coach and he helped Temple win 4 games last season. That's pretty impressive, if you've followed Temple at all over the last few years. They've been absolutely atrocious, winning 1 game in 2006, and being a perennial favorite for "worst team in the country".

Golden apparently has a past relationship with Chancellor Block. The two were at Virginia where Golden was an assistant coach. It looks like Block is throwing his weight around in this search. I just hope they weight the merits of all the coaches and don't just pick some guy because he is buddies with the Chancellor or because a group of former players are pushing for him to be coach.

The talk around town is that a new coach will likely be named sometime near the end of next week.