Editor’s note: In his first quote, Guerrero intended to reference coaches he had dismissed as Athletic Director at UC Irvine, not former UCLA coaches Steve Lavin and Bob Toledo. The Daily Bruin apologizes for the mistake.
Athletic Director Dan Guerrero loves to talk about the core philosophy he uses to lead the massive operation of UCLA sports. To explain it, he’ll point to John Wooden’s legacy, the pride he had as a UCLA baseball player, or a set of maxims like, “If you’re not gaining ground, you’re losing ground.”
But Guerrero’s actions have spoken louder than any of that talk.
When he returned to UCLA in 2002, Guerrero made an immediate impression on the UCLA sports landscape. Six months into his UCLA tenure, he fired Bob Toledo, the Bruin football coach who had led the team to a 20-game win streak. A few months after that, Guerrero dismissed basketball coach Steve Lavin.
“I replaced them not because they couldn’t win, but because they were rather flip about compliance and following rules,” Guerrero said. “And I’ve never had an issue since with coaches who felt that they could cut corners or look the other way on certain kinds of rules and regulations.”
That first year set a resonating tone for the department, and since then UCLA has had a nearly spotless record off the field.
But in the 2007-2008 school year, with that academic foundation in place, Guerrero made two significant personnel changes to move the football and women’s basketball programs into the national discussion.
He said it was the most difficult year of his career.
From Dorrell to Neuheisel
The rumors surrounding former football coach Karl Dorrell began to swirl even before classes started in the fall, when Dorrell’s team suffered a devastating 44-6 loss at Utah. A 20-6 loss to winless Notre Dame weeks later ignited more heated discussion of Dorrell’s job security.
The view from Guerrero’s chair was much different.
Dorrell was the first coach Guerrero hired at UCLA. And by all accounts, Dorrell had a solid understanding of the rigorous academics the school expects from its athletes.
Those academic standards limit the recruiting abilities of any UCLA coach, but the football coaches in particular because they must sign so many athletes every season.
Dorrell explained it himself, just four days before his firing, in an interview with the Daily Bruin.
“My competitors are able to take NCAA qualifiers,” Dorrell said. “I have a limitation of how many of those I can take. So when your competitors can take a whole class of those kids who just meet the requirements, and I’m limited to what I can do, it slows down the process of bringing up the strength of your program.”
Guerrero said he didn’t base his thought process on individual games because he is constantly looking down the road. He also said the influence of boosters was not as significant as the pressure he places on himself.
“When I receive phone calls from our boosters it’s not about what they expect from me,” Guerrero said. “It’s more about how they can help.”
On Dec. 3, two days after UCLA’s final loss of the season, a 24-7 drubbing at USC, Guerrero announced that he had fired Dorrell.
“Karl and I always had a great relationship,” Guerrero said. “The fact that I had to make that decision from a business perspective in my mind never changed my feelings toward him and my admiration toward him. I believe that continues to remain true today.”
The announcement, which came weeks before the Bruins’ matchup against Brigham Young at the Las Vegas Bowl, put Guerrero under a microscope. Reports surfaced immediately about potential replacements for Dorrell.
But Guerrero took his time.
It took almost a month before Guerrero found that replacement. His choice was a surprise, especially given the absolute emphasis on integrity he had shown earlier in his career.
Rick Neuheisel came to UCLA as a former Bruin quarterback, but also as a coach with a well-known history of NCAA violations. After Neuheisel left his coaching position at Colorado in 1998, the program was charged with 51 NCAA violations during Neuheisel’s tenure. Neuheisel was then ousted from Washington after he participated in a NCAA basketball tournament pool.
“It took me a good three to four weeks to really go through that search process, to do the due diligence that was necessary to speak to all the right people and to be convinced clearly without a shadow of a doubt that I knew what we were bringing in,” Guerrero said.
So far Neuheisel has exceeded expectations, Guerrero said.
Neuheisel brought back defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, added offensive coordinator Norm Chow and secured a highly touted class of incoming freshman.
Guerrero said he was able to accept Neuheisel’s prior issues and not worry about any more scandals because of the number of people he spoke to who knew Neuheisel very well.
“I look at our coaching staff and they’re all solid people ““ they all get what UCLA is about,” Guerrero said. “I feel good about the hire. I feel great about what the future looks like, and I think fans will as well.”
Olivier’s exit
As Neuheisel stepped into the spotlight early in 2008, the women’s basketball team slumped through a difficult, inconsistent season.
Kathy Olivier, the team’s veteran coach, still hadn’t been able to guide the Bruins to a Final Four after 15 seasons in Westwood. Olivier was revered in the department for her personality and the type of program she ran on and off the court.
Olivier reported directly to Associate Athletic Director Petrina Long, although she and Guerrero had a close relationship. On March 11, two days after the Bruins’ season ended, Olivier announced her resignation. She initially said she would take a position in the UCLA athletic department, but she later accepted the head coaching position at UNLV, her alma mater.
“I personally thought very highly of Kathy. She brought a lot of enthusiasm and was a great Bruin while she was here,” Guerrero said. “But clearly I feel that this is a program that can be more of a national player on a consistent basis.”
Guerrero and Long found a candidate with that type of success in mind.
Nikki Caldwell accepted the job as women’s basketball coach on April 17. She comes from a Tennessee program, which, as Guerrero said, “Knows nothing other than winning.” Caldwell is known as an excellent recruiter and a crafty game coach who focuses on defense and team rebounding.
Caldwell said Guerrero and others in the UCLA athletic department have made her transition to Westwood a seamless one.
“What has made the transition so smooth is that the people here have been very warm and giving,” Caldwell said in a May 23 interview with the Daily Bruin. “You can’t ask to be in a better situation than that.”
The women’s basketball team has a particularly young nucleus of players ““ six freshmen played significant minutes last season ““ and it will lose only one senior this offseason.
With Caldwell’s recruiting prowess, a solid staff of coaches already assembled, and a highly touted pair of freshman guards on their way in, a quick turnaround could be in store for the program.
“I believe that Nikki feels she can come in and make a difference. How soon? I don’t know, but I believe we’ll be able to see progress,” Guerrero said.
What’s next
The one thing Guerrero doesn’t like to talk about is any prediction for the future.
“It’s the one thing that you don’t do,” Guerrero said. “You never promise anything that you can’t deliver, you never make prognostications based on assumptions.”
Even with those words of caution, it seems that the Bruins are poised for a tremendous string of successes over the next few years, with Neuheisel and Caldwell rebuilding programs and coach Ben Howland guiding the men’s basketball team to what Guerrero called an iconic level of success.
Guerrero said “the big one” for his administration as it heads into the next school year is the Pauley Pavilion renovation project. The pace of that project should pick up this summer, when UCLA receives the first design plans.
Because the project is so important, Guerrero said, he and his office have sought out the advice of community leaders and worked very closely with Chancellor Gene Block.
“He’s part of the executive team that meets with the vice chancellors,” Block said of Guerrero. “I’m extremely impressed with him.”
Guerrero also said that, in a general sense, his job becomes more and more difficult every year.
He said he was disappointed to see the issues at USC, which have been scrutinized over separate cases involving football star Reggie Bush and basketball star O.J. Mayo. Many have called for USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett’s resignation.
“These are very difficult jobs, and there are very few of them,” Guerrero said. “It’s difficult to see that ““ you don’t like to see that or wish ill will on anyone. Unfortunately it does occur in our business.”
UCLA, in Guerrero’s six years, has not faced those types of issues. That begins with Guerrero, who sits at the intersection of UCLA’s unrivaled athletic success and world-renowned academics.
And it’s a pretty remarkable success story. Guerrero made a career change at 33 after studying public policy at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He got his first athletic director job 20 years ago, at Dominguez Hills. From there he worked his way up to UC Irvine, a Division I school without a football program, and returned to UCLA ““ what he called the pinnacle of the profession in 2002.
“My philosophy has always been the big time is where you are,” Guerrero said. “When I first started my career at Cal State Dominguez Hills, I felt that was the most important job in the world for me because that was the job that allowed me to take care of my family.”
Guerrero’s drive, his unwavering commitment to success on the field and in the classroom, and his resounding success as an athletic director have truly placed him in “the big time.” He is one of the most recognized athletic directors in the country, and he has had a serious level of participation in various NCAA committees.
That visibility has left many wondering if Guerrero may one day be a potential replacement for Myles Brand, the 66-year-old president of the NCAA.
That suggestion got a laugh out of Guerrero.
“I have no aspirations to move on to other situations; my whole focus is on what we can do here to make this program better,” Guerrero said. “It’s flattering to know that there are people talking about commissioner situations, going to the NCAA and things of that nature. But this is my home.”