Head coach Karl Dorrell, wide receivers coach Jon Embree, and
running backs coach Eric Bieniemy have their hands full with
UCLA’s football recruiting period now in full swing.
Confused?
Following the firing of Bob Toledo on Dec. 9, UCLA football saw
the birth of a new era with an overhaul of its coaching staff.
Dorrell, a former UCLA wide receiver and, at the time of his
Dec. 19 hiring, the Denver Broncos’ wide receivers coach,
became just the fourth black head coach in Division I-A
football.
But while questions about his race playing a role in his hiring
came up again and again, Dorrell insisted that it was his
qualifications and passion that earned him his “dream
job.”
His six-year contract is worth $600,000 a year plus
incentives.
“I’m glad that I got to be the fourth black head
coach in Division I football,” Dorrell said at his
introductory press conference. “But by no means was that the
issue,” Dorrell added. “The issue was getting the right
man for this institution, and I believe I’m the right man for
this job.”
Dorrell’s first order of business was hiring his staff,
and he had to do so quickly, with potential recruits visiting UCLA
during the weekend of Jan. 10. He’s halfway done, luring
Embree and Bieniemy from Colorado. Both have ties to Southern
California, and they are animated coaches expected to help UCLA in
recruiting wars.
Among the current staff, tight end coach Gary Bernardi,
defensive line coach Don Johnson and offensive line coach Nate
Weber will be retained.
Still open are the coordinators positions. Idaho head coach Tom
Cable and Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave have both
been offered the offensive coordinator position, but both have
turned it down.
For defensive coordinator, University of Texas defensive back
coach Duane Akina appears to be the leading candidate. Akina, whose
hiring was called a “done deal” by a source of the
Austin American-Statesman, will interview sometime early this week
and likely will be offered the position if the interview goes
smoothly.
Since he was Arizona’s offensive coordinator at the time,
Akina is one of only a few coaches who can properly teach the
unique double eagle flex formation that was the calling card of the
Wildcats’ “Desert Swarm” defenses of the early
1990s.
A downside is that Akina has yet to have experience at defensive
coordinator, although he does have offensive coordinator
experience.
In Dorrell, the Bruins inherit a coach who has 15 years of
coaching experience, and while he will be taking on his first head
coaching position, he has seen time as offensive coordinator at
Washington and Colorado and has spent the last three years as the
Broncos’ wide receiver coach.
Dorrell has received endorsements from former UCLA head coach
Terry Donahue to Bronco head coach Mike Shanahan and Washington
head coach Rick Neuheisel.
“I’m a grassroots kind of coach,” Dorrell
said. “I believe in my players, and they will believe in me.
My goal is one thing: re-establish the tradition and integrity in
our football program. I believe in UCLA. We’re a family here,
and we’re going to find a way to get it done.”
The Bruins finished 8-5 and exceeded preseason expectations, but
it wasn’t enough to save Toledo’s job. Dorrell takes
over a young team that will be expected to compete for a Pac-10
championship next year, and he knows it.
“My goal for next year is to win the Pac-10
championship,” Dorrell said. “And for the following
year is to win the Pac-10 championship. And the succeeding year,
the same thing. Winning the Pac-10 and beating your crosstown
rivals, those are the biggest issues on my mind.”
When told of the high expectations, freshman tight end Marcedes
Lewis simply nodded his head.
“Those have always been the goal of this team,”
Lewis said. “This is UCLA. You always expect to compete for
championships. He can take us there, and I think these are signs of
things to come.”