In Reply to: This is going to be a long road. posted by BluBlood on May 09, 2026 at 19:42:03
Slow incremental improvement is a fantasy, something that sounds right in your head but is completely impractical. In reality, you get a short period of time to get your ship headed in the right direction and if you miss your window, you're cooked. You think Cignetti at 62 years old came in with a 5-year plan?
Right now the buzz (true or untrue) among recruits is that UCLA is building something special. Those are the literal words coming out of their mouths. That will last about 1.5 seasons if we don't find some early success. Chesney is a great salesman, so maybe his mojo can withstand a couple of 6-win seasons. But if he's not winning 9-10 by year 3, he's cooked. He may not get fired, but for all intents and purposes, he's done. Missed his window.
One could argue Chip improved things slowly and incrementally. The problem is that by the time he left all excitement, buzz, and hope had left the program. Everyone knew it was never going to get any better. You can try to walk across a freeway slowly and incrementally, but good luck getting to the other side.
UCLA has a favorable schedule in 2026. No Ohio St, no Indiana. Seven home games. A returning starter at QB. We basically get a free win vs. Nevada. Heck, we won three Big Ten games last year with Skipper just making sh!t up as he went along.
We need to be looking at 6-8 wins this year and 8-10 next year. The rise has to be fast and decisive.
Not sure what news feed you're following but UCLA is on fire recruiting right now and there is increasing evidence UCLA has significantly stepped up its NIL game. The portal alone allows for massive overhaul and improvement year over year. The days of watering the bamboo are over, if they were ever real to begin with.
Good coaches win early and often.