Months of speculation were finally put to rest Thursday when
UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell announced that offensive
coordinator Steve Axman has been fired.
Axman will be replaced by offensive line coach Tom Cable, who
was brought onto the UCLA coaching staff last month after serving
four years as head coach at Idaho.
“It became obvious to both of us during our on-going
discussions that it would be best for all concerned for Steve to
pursue other coaching opportunities,” Dorrell said in a
statement. “I respect Steve’s abilities as a coach, but
we both came to the realization that this is not the right fit for
him.”
The much embattled Axman was widely criticized for UCLA’s
anemic offense this past season. UCLA’s West Coast offense
ranked No. 110 out of 117 Division 1-A schools, averaging just
294.92 yards per game.
Fans and local media were critical of UCLA’s offense,
which was often termed as conservative and boring. Dorrell has said
he would stick with the West Coast offense of last season, which
relies on slants and timing routes. Some contend the offense may be
too complicated to run at the collegiate level.
Cable, who will also continue to coach the offensive line, was
the offensive coordinator at Colorado in 1999. Cable’s Idaho
teams ran an offense similar to that of UCLA, and the Vandals
ranked sixth nationally in 2001 (464.8 yards per game) and eighth
in 2000 (453.2 yards per game) in terms of offensive production.
Cable, who enjoyed a brief stint with the Indianapolis Colts as an
offensive lineman, should be able to lend his wisdom to
UCLA’s beleaguered offensive line.
“Tom is well-versed in our offensive system and is
extremely familiar with its blocking schemes,” Dorrell said.
“I expect us to be much improved and much more efficient with
Tom at the controls.”
Before his firing, it was rumored Axman would be demoted to
quarterbacks coach, but now that he is gone, Dorrell will search
for a new coach to fill that role.
Prior to his 2003 stint at UCLA, Axman spent two seasons as the
offensive coordinator in Westwood in 1987 and 1988.