SMQB: Not So Fast, My Friends!
Yesterday's win was the first time an 0-4 team has defeated a Top Ten team since BYU did it in 1985, but now is not the time for hasty decisions.
Before last week’s game, I noted how Tim Skipper’s positivity was infectious and a breath of fresh air. After yesterday’s win, it was even better.
Let’s just start with the video from the postgame press conference, courtesy of UCLA Athletics on YouTube:
But what you didn’t see in the postgame press conference is what you can see here in this Instagram video from @UCLAFootball:
This video of Jerry Neuheisel using the phrase “It’s a great day to be alive and be a Bruin!” reminds me of the first time I remember Rick using that phrase. It was when he was head coach and it was very early on National Signing Day. In fact, it was still dark and the video showed Rick arriving on campus and heading to the football office in the Morgan Center and Rick saying “It’s a great day to be a Bruin!” I don’t remember which year that was or who signed that day, but it definitely made an impression.
Yesterday was a great day to be alive and be a Bruin, indeed!
Now, comes the hard part. And, when I say that I mean the hard part for UCLA football and for UCLA fans.
For UCLA football, it means getting back to work in preparation to travel 2,200 miles to East Lansing, Michigan, where the Bruins will take on the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday. It means continuing to work hard in order to pick up win #2. It means not having a letdown after a big emotional win like they had yesterday.
For UCLA fans, it means continuing the same things we were doing last week to support the future of Bruin football. Just because UCLA became the first 0-4 team to defeat a Top Ten team since UTEP did it to BYU in 1985 doesn’t mean that suddenly all is right with Bruin football.
It doesn’t mean that Tim Skipper should have the interim tag removed, and it certainly doesn’t mean that Jerry Neuheisel should be considered as the team’s next head coach either.
And yet, believe it or not, there are, in fact, Bruin fans out there suggesting that Jerry should be our next head coach.
Now, I like Jerry. Always have. I wish him nothing but the best.
But if Martin Jarmond were to offer Jerry the head coaching job tomorrow, I wouldn’t blame him if he turned it down. And, I would be angry if he didn’t turn it down.
There is no doubt that Jerry loves UCLA. I am pretty sure that Jerry’s dream job is to be the Bruins’ head coach.
At the same time, he’s just not ready to be a head coach yet. He needs to be an offensive coordinator first and prove himself as one before he can be considered as a possible head coach.
The fact of the matter is that Jerry may have to leave Westwood in order to take that step.
Why? Because whomever our new head coach is needs to be given the freedom of choosing his assistants.
Most of us can remember what happened when Rick was hired by Dan Guerrero. During Karl Dorrell’s last season, DeWayne Walker was our defensive coordinator. When Dorrell was fired, Walker interviewed for the head coaching job but Rick was the guy who got the job. According to the rumors at the time, Rick was required to keep Walker as his defensive coordinator, even though he had someone else in mind.
That decision certainly affected Rick’s tenure at UCLA.
The fact of the matter is that, when you hire a head coach, the head coach should be the hiring manager for each of the assistants on his staff. Forcing a new head coach to keep someone he doesn’t want can affect staff chemistry as well as the entire program.
So, regardless of what happens the rest of the season, UCLA simply cannot require the next head coach keep Tim Skipper, Jerry Neuheisel or any other coach currently on the staff.
That doesn’t mean that some of the current coaches cannot or should not be retained for next season. They just need to interview with whomever the new head coach is and earn the job just like anybody else.
If that means that Jerry or Tim are not coaching in Westwood next season, then so be it.
The fact of that matter is that, from what I’ve heard, Jerry was an absolute sponge when Chip Kelly was in Westwood.
Personally, if Tim does a good job for the rest of the season, I’m pretty sure someone will make him their head coach next year, and I’m pretty sure that Jerry will have an opportunity to become an OC somewhere as well.
But it both cases, it has to be earned. It would be unfair to the new head coach for the Athletic Department to force any assistant coaches on him.
And, don’t forget, it’s frequently better long-term for someone to get away from what is most comfortable.
We probably won’t know who the new UCLA head coach will be until after the Southern Cal game.
After all, Coach Wooden said, “Be quick, but don’t hurry.”
For now, let’s just enjoy watching the Tim & Jerry Show, and see what happens without making hasty decisions.
And, it’s certainly not the time to back down from the fact that Martin Jarmond needs to be fired.
Go Bruins!!!
(Ed. Note: This article has been corrected to reflect the fact that UTEP beat BYU in 1985. It was not BYU who beat a Top Ten team that year.)
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Having an 0-4 team beat a top 10 is incredible, but we never can forget it is due to Jarmond's ineptness that we were 0-4 in the first place...
Some are suggesting that Tim and Jerry should be considered for the "top spot" if they take UCLA to a bowl. I respectfully disagree. Joe made the case very well and a lot of us here believe that a flamethrower should be taken to the athletic department and, after consideration, all of the lackey drones should be driven from the shores of our Blue Pacific's rolling waters!
Of course, Both Tim and Jerry have wrought a miracle and this has altered the minds of the young men who work for them. How those kids comport themselves fore the rest of the season will tell the tale.
Tangentially, there tend to have been teams that earned a place in my heart in all of the sports I enjoy. With UCLA, I don't have to mention the considerable victories, championships, and bowl wins. However, there are other curious entries there as well. For example, Larry Brown's 1979-80 basketball team that slogged it's way past a snotty December 1979 SI "Bruins in Ruins" article and into the NCAA championship where it lost to Louisville in the last minutes. There's even the immortal Willie Banks who delivered a "walk off" triple jump first place to win one year's USC-UCLA dual meet.
Yeah, those arcane memories!
So this team, by dint of what they did last Saturday, could earn a place in our hearts by playing over their heads an snagging a few victories in the toughest football conference in the nation.
Joe amply described what has to be done and these kids were given a tremendous gift by "The Tim and Jerry show": they were provided with a glimpse of what is possible if they put their minds and wills to it.
I'd say, making the rest of the BIG 10 ("B1G", whatever) sweat the Bruins on their schedule as being a lot more than a scrimmage with some crosstown JC team goes a long way.
If these kids can do what they did last Saturday, they will surprise the opponents and rewrite what might have been a dismal chapter in their youthful lives.