Karl Dorrell hasn't been mentioned much around the country as a coach on the hot seat, but if you talk with a Bruin fan for longer than 3 minutes you'll come to find out that a strong portion of the fan base wants him gone. I was taken aback a little, so I decided I'd look further into the issue. Bruins fans probably already know most, if not all, of what I'm about to outline. Still, they might like some outside reassurance.
In Karl Dorrell's four seasons as head coach of the Bruins, he's amassed a 29-21 record (.580 win %), 19-14 in the Pac 10. He's 1-3 against cross-town rival USC, 1-3 in bowl games, and hasn't won a Pac 10 Championship.
His predecessor, Bob Toledo, was fired after a 7-5 regular season in 2002. His achievements? 49-32 overall (.605 win %), 32-24 in the Pac 10. He was 3-4 against USC, 1-2 in bowls, but missing a bowl 3 years, but won 1 outright Pac 10 Championship, and tied for a Co-Championship.
Toledo was beaten by more than 2 touchdowns 12 times during his stay in Pasadena, or 2 times a season. Dorrell has been beaten by more than 2 touchdowns 9 times during his current tenure, or 2.25 times a season.
Bob Toledo took over a program that was 35-23 over the 5 years prior to his arrival. Karl Dorrell took over a program that was 35-24 the 5 years prior to his arrival.
With just these simple facts, I can see why some UCLA fans think Dorrell should be canned like Oscar the Grouch. So, what does Karl Dorrell need to keep the fanny from being warm?
From afar, I'd say he needs to beat USC (again) and finish 1st or 2nd in the conference. They have the returning starters (20!), the expectations , and the schedule to finish in the top 2 of the Pac 10.
Maybe Bruins Nation will chime in on what they need Dorrell to do to win them over.
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this, along with the reference back to our site.
As a regular on BruinsNation.com, I think I'm right in line with many over there when I say this:
To win us over for this year, we expect a PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP. No less.
(If UCLA wins the Pac-10, but follows up with another .500 season, we may be back to the drawing board...)
We have TWENTY returning starters, TEN on both sides of the ball.
Most pre-season depth charts have us bringing back 17 SENIORS in the rotation.
We have TWO capable quarterbacks, including a backup who scrambled effectively enough to flummox the U$C defense last year and keep the chains moving.
We have a schedule wherein we play only TWO teams on the road that finished with over-.500 records
last year.
If this were U$C, Cal, or Oregon, or any other Pac-10 team, with all of these positive signs heading into this upcoming season, one would allow their fanbase to have the reasonable expectation of winning a Pac-10 Championship.
WHY NOT US?
WHY NOT NOW?
We don't hate Karl Dorrell. We think he's a decent person. We appreciate the fact that he's done a solid effort in running a clean program, and re-opening local recruiting.
However, we also think that winning seasons and a running a clean program are NOT mutually exclusive.
Again, many of the die-hard fans of BruinsNation are expecting a Pac-10 Championship.
WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?
MIM
No problem man! I talked to Nestor (I think) over at Bruins Nation a few weeks ago about doing a UCLA v. Cal debate with him and a Cal blogger, but as we spoke, I realized UCLA >>>> Cal overall. Then he said Dorrell stunk, basically, and I started to peek around. I don't necessarily think Bob Toledo got a raw deal, but if he was fired for not doing well enough, then Dorrell has got to go post-2007 unless he has a great season.
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