In Reply to: The next coach: What are the odds? posted by mh on October 28, 2025 at 10:04:28
In no particular order:
Gruden is a non-starter, beyond his lack of significant experience coaching in the college ranks and even allowing that he's an obnoxious blowhard, while being openly racist may be seen as something akin to providing qualified bonafides for many prominent roles in our current society, within the context of coaching a football team, I think it's still (and rightfully so), enough to merit indefinite pariah status, particularly at an image conscious locale like UCLA. I would be very surprised if anyone from UCLA even reached out to measure his potential interest in the job.
I similarly don't think anyone amongst the powers that be at UCLA is seriously interested in bringing Circus Deion to Westwood. While he admittedly succeeded in marginally elevating the floor of another program that had cratered, while also re-energizing the fanbase and bringing a ton media attention (and scrutiny) to every facet of the football program and its individual player's lives, CU's trajectory appears to have already peaked short of ever even reaching the base of the Flatirons. Aside from putting a Heisman in the trophy case, Deion's tenure has been largely characterized by a whole lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. LA already has more than enough Reality TV shows. UCLA needs a legitimate program builder who is a capable of quickly developing and sustaining consistent, high-level competitiveness.
I have a hard time seeing Dillingham leaving his alma mater for anything that isn't any obvious, immediate step up from ASU.
Brian Kelly is kind of like Chip, but with a fake southern accent and no accusations of being a genius on either side of the ball.
Jonathan Smith is starting to look like something you might find sitting on the clearance shelf at a Walmart.
Beyond him arguably being the best football coach currently in the UC system, not sure how you make a case for Justin Wilcox as anything more than the program's next recipient of a lucrative contract buyout.
Dave Aranda had one really good year at Baylor, and that was back in 2021. He is currently sitting at a total overall record of 35-34, which I suppose makes him the heir apparent to Chip.
James Franklin was just recently badly outcoached by Jerry Neuheisel. Not sure there is anything more that needs to be said, though his pitiful record against ranked teams is certainly worth a footnote.
I don't see a single thing in Tommy Ree's resume that screams "MAN FOR THE JOB." I'd put him on the same shelf as Jonathan Smith, a product that similarly doesn't perform or sell that well.
Sumrall is almost certainly going to the SEC
Monken is a solid if not particularly exciting coach, but not convinced that building a program at one of the service academies will translate to doing so at UCLA.
Ryan Silverfield, while doing well to return Memphis to the level it was at when he inherited the program from Norvell, is a southerner who I suspect has designs on moving to the upper echelon of southern football.
This leaves us at Frisch or bust with this group.