GRM
Well-Known Member
IMO, a bunch of UCLA's situation is simply money. UCLA AD has lost $130M++ since 2019. Also, they had losses pre-Covid too. In 2016, things looked roses--when UCLA signed a 15yr $280M contract with Under Armour, the largest college sponsorship contract to that time--$18.9M/yr. 2020 UA terminated the deal, UCLA sued to $200M, UA counter-sued, 2 years of litigation later it settled for $67M, which is not that much when you take out legal fees + some damages. The new Nike contract is only $7.5M/yr. Overall, UCLA revenue fell off a cliff with Covid.
AD is described as mercurial--as reported in LA Times, he "gave no good reason why he kept Kelly in December." New Chancellor coming in, so the AD may be on thin ice. UCLA does not have a president. Not a good situation for any decent hired coach to jump into. I doubt LL or any P4 coach would jump, unless they are already on a hot hot seat. There is just not financial stability or a financial commitment. You could be hired by an AD that is gone in 1-2 years. IMO, that sort of rules out a big-name hire either. One thing to remember, if a head coach leaves now for UCLA, the portal does open for UCLA (UCLA guys will bolt) and his team, but those guys are in school for Spring ball, unless they enter portal and withdraw from school. They cannot enroll into UCLA until the summer. For a hot coordinator or NFL type, does UCLA have the funds/commitment to adequately pay a new staff + expand their football infrastructure?? That is a huge lift.
This sort of reminds me of CU's situation with Bohn/Hawkins, Midnight Smell and KD, all in one. CK put together a much better record than Hawkins, but going into this year it seemed he was a dead man walking, and knew it--just like Hawkins. Hawkins was losing AC's, not recruiting (his recruiting budget was low), and they really seemed flat-lined both as an AD and program. Hawkins had to bring in his old mentor from UC-Davis as an AC because he could not get one. Bohner did not fire him just because of the buy-out, and we kept him until after the Kansas game. Cash strapped . . . Butch Jones debacle at the time, then the Embo experiment . . . next, a slow build with MikeMac. Bohner finally resigned but CU still paid him $1M settlement. MM sort of fizzed out, as the admin was not bought into football--however they CU did make good on its facility promises. Rick George came in with a vision and revitalized some admin relationships and initially gets his guy with Tucker, but again CU the admin is not fully committed, thus he bolts for double the $$, at a terrible time. Thus, CU was forced into a KD due to bad timing--but that was a blessing in disguise too (Butch Jones just awful, Midnight Smell is out of football). Tucker's larger recruiting apparatus dwindled when Smell bolts, and KD sort of did things on a smaller budget. I think KD was a good man, placeholder coach, and never complained, as they lacked the resources, admin support or momentum then. This is sort of where I see UCLA, they need to get a placeholder until the get their financial house in order and a stabilize their entire AD. Jarmond may be over his head like Bohn was at CU.
We need to sit back and enjoy the Prime Time. George was able to garner the trust and support of the admin to make a big step with Prime. I don't think this is the case with UCLA.
AD is described as mercurial--as reported in LA Times, he "gave no good reason why he kept Kelly in December." New Chancellor coming in, so the AD may be on thin ice. UCLA does not have a president. Not a good situation for any decent hired coach to jump into. I doubt LL or any P4 coach would jump, unless they are already on a hot hot seat. There is just not financial stability or a financial commitment. You could be hired by an AD that is gone in 1-2 years. IMO, that sort of rules out a big-name hire either. One thing to remember, if a head coach leaves now for UCLA, the portal does open for UCLA (UCLA guys will bolt) and his team, but those guys are in school for Spring ball, unless they enter portal and withdraw from school. They cannot enroll into UCLA until the summer. For a hot coordinator or NFL type, does UCLA have the funds/commitment to adequately pay a new staff + expand their football infrastructure?? That is a huge lift.
This sort of reminds me of CU's situation with Bohn/Hawkins, Midnight Smell and KD, all in one. CK put together a much better record than Hawkins, but going into this year it seemed he was a dead man walking, and knew it--just like Hawkins. Hawkins was losing AC's, not recruiting (his recruiting budget was low), and they really seemed flat-lined both as an AD and program. Hawkins had to bring in his old mentor from UC-Davis as an AC because he could not get one. Bohner did not fire him just because of the buy-out, and we kept him until after the Kansas game. Cash strapped . . . Butch Jones debacle at the time, then the Embo experiment . . . next, a slow build with MikeMac. Bohner finally resigned but CU still paid him $1M settlement. MM sort of fizzed out, as the admin was not bought into football--however they CU did make good on its facility promises. Rick George came in with a vision and revitalized some admin relationships and initially gets his guy with Tucker, but again CU the admin is not fully committed, thus he bolts for double the $$, at a terrible time. Thus, CU was forced into a KD due to bad timing--but that was a blessing in disguise too (Butch Jones just awful, Midnight Smell is out of football). Tucker's larger recruiting apparatus dwindled when Smell bolts, and KD sort of did things on a smaller budget. I think KD was a good man, placeholder coach, and never complained, as they lacked the resources, admin support or momentum then. This is sort of where I see UCLA, they need to get a placeholder until the get their financial house in order and a stabilize their entire AD. Jarmond may be over his head like Bohn was at CU.
We need to sit back and enjoy the Prime Time. George was able to garner the trust and support of the admin to make a big step with Prime. I don't think this is the case with UCLA.
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