A Couple of Bits on UCLA

I’ve mentioned being a little plugged in at UCLA, so wanted to offer a few nuggets on where things stand along with some speculation on what’s next.

On Chip

I’ve mentioned this before, but UCLA power brokers have REALLY wanted Chip gone for a while. Many wanted him canned in 2020, but admin decided against making a covid-year transition. But since then the guy’s been winning too much to justify firing him (it feels worth noting that S&C coach Thump Belton earns Ben Herbert-levels of praise around these parts). It almost stands as a counterfactual to how Michigan fired Rich Rod at just the right time, before he got a chance to deliver a fourth straight year of improvement while coming off of a bowl season.

The impediment has really been a confluence of factors, including 1) everyone expected Jarmond to have left by now for “greener pastures,” 2) there’s a campus-wide push to keep the powder dry on big decisions until there's a new chancellor in place, and 3) there’s still some residual hard feelings in the booster community related to how the AD handled the 2021 Holiday Bowl. 

FWIW, Jarmond is generally well-regarded for his handling of the financial mess he’s inherited. At the same time, someone in the near future is going to have the unenviable task of announcing sports cuts. That announcement isn’t as imminent as it otherwise would have been w/o that sweet, sweet B1G tv money. But it’s coming, and some people (read: idiots) will almost certainly blame the B1G move for this result.

But make no mistake - the energy around UCLA football is more akin to what you’d see from a program that just went 0-12. Recruiting is worse than dead, and USC made them look small by poaching Lynn. Chip was a lame duck, and he almost certainly has better job security now in Columbus.

What’s Next?

Now this section is total speculation. That said, I fully expect them to hire a placeholder coach. They could elevate the DC, but I suspect they’ll go the Baylor 2016 route and try to secure a steady hand who can stabilize the program and reset the foundation so that someone can come in next year with more of a buzz and begin building things back up.

I know Deion’s name gets tossed out for nearly every major opening, but I’ll just say this - this year’s Homecoming game-day experience certainly left some impressions. Consider this - it was UCLA’s home game, but there were vendors out in streets selling COLORADO gear. Also worth noting, Black LA really showed out for that game at a time when UCLA football is completely irrelevant in Black LA (terrible for recruiting ofc). Don’t quote me on this, but he’ll probably be a top target assuming they go the placeholder route and he has a good (i.e., bowl eligible) 2nd season in Boulder.

One more note to make good on my promise to offer insight on the UCLA football stadium situation: The TLDR is that none of us are likely to live long enough to see UCLA play anywhere other than at the Rose Bowl. Moving to Sofi has too many logistical hurdles, and would horribly affect weekend foot traffic for local businesses. The new metro system upgrades would make an on-campus stadium more viable, but there’s simply nowhere to put it. The Rose Bowl is sorely in need of renovations, but there’s no discernible momentum to do so even with the Olympics coming up in 2028.

Well - we just had a pretty bitching set of earthquakes as I was typing this, so I’m going to head out and go drink. Cheers!