It's down to Dorrell

As the new face of UCLA football, first-year coach Karl Dorrell came back to his alma mater to reinvigorate a team that had lost its way.

But with the honeymoon quickly coming to end and the team facing a new set of struggles, many have come to question if Dorrell was the right hire – if he is the man to lead the Bruins back to glory.

Always stoic, Dorrell has shrugged off the criticism he has encountered since being hired in December to replace Bob Toledo. From the outset, he was seen by many as the wrong choice, a first time head coach who came at a cheap price. Even when the Bruins started the season 6-2, Dorrell faced questions about an underachieving offense and his sideline demeanor. Now, as UCLA suffers in the middle of a three-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s matchup with national championship contender USC, the already-restless Bruin fan-base is growing impatient. Many have blamed Dorrell for the team’s perceived lack of improvement as well as his lack of emotion on and off the field.

“It doesn’t bother me; people that are making those reactions don’t really know me,” Dorrell said. “Though I am very reserved in a way, I am really strong-willed and probably as strong as anyone I know. They don’t sense that in me because of what they see on the outside. They don’t sense the passion in me, but it’s there.”

“Even though I have to get egg thrown on my face in the times of the dark cloud, I’m still moving through it and will continue to do so,” he added.

To the public, Dorrell has continued to keep to a static persona – rarely altering his temperament. His tunnel vision is focused so much on the elusive ideal of perfection, that even when UCLA has won, Dorrell sees room for improvement.

Behind the scenes Dorrell offers a quiet sense of humor, an energetic spirit and most importantly, inspiration and guidance for his players.

“He has great character,” wide receiver Ryan Smith said. “I have nothing but respect for him because of his approach, knowledge and his passion. His presence alone commands attention.”

While the team has been supportive of Dorrell, satisfying UCLA fans’ thirst for wins has been more difficult. With a mediocre 6-5 record, the Bruins appear to have taken a step back in the past weeks, raising questions about whether Dorrell was indeed ready to take over the program.

After a three-year stint as the wide receiver coach for the Denver Broncos, Dorrell came to UCLA with 12 years of collegiate coaching experience. He started coaching as a graduate assistant at UCLA in 1988 under then head coach Terry Donahue and later went on to coach at Colorado twice, first as the receiver coach and later as the offensive coordinator.

But because Dorrell’s resume lacks any previous head coaching experience, athletic director Dan Guerrero has come under fire.

“The day that I hired him, there were fans saying, ‘Get rid of him’,” Guerrero said. “They need to be patient. He’s an outstanding leader. You don’t win big in any program unless you have that characteristic.”

Also problematic in the eyes of critics is UCLA’s struggling offense. Dorrell’s West Coast offense has been unproductive all season as the Bruins rank 100th out of the nation’s 117 Division I-A teams. But while Dorrell’s reputation has suffered because of these problems, he says snags are to be expected in a year of a coaching transition.

Things haven’t always been smooth thus far, but Dorrell does have a talent in teaching, a characteristic in which he and his players take pride.

“I believe I am a teacher when it comes down to it,” Dorrell said. “To me I want to make sure one way or another I want to be an influence on someone in a positive way. I knew this was my calling – to help men grow up to be great men one day.”

“He shows us, and especially the younger guy, how to be good.” Smith said. “Not just on the field, but as a person.”

Dorrell’s desire to teach is admirable, but it will likely be his ability to recruit that makes or breaks him. With less than a full year under his belt at UCLA, he has not yet had a chance to prove himself in this arena, but Homer Smith, his former coach and offensive coordinator under Terry Donahue, believes recruiting is one his strong points.

“My first thought when I heard UCLA needed a new coach was that whoever it was had to beat (USC coach) Pete Carroll in the recruiting game,” Homer Smith said. “I think that Karl could do that. I can imagine him matching Carroll and beating him.”

As the team prepares to go against rival USC Saturday, Dorrell understands the importance of winning the game, not just to lift the status of the program, but because it was part of the reason he was brought here.

“There is no doubt I was brought here to beat USC. That’s the biggest game of the year, and the challenge that I’m going to have and every coach after me,” Dorrell said. “It is always a measuring stick of who you really are and how you define yourself in Southern California.”

As the clock winds down on Dorrell’s inaugural season, UCLA fans’ patience is already wearing thin. Dorrell will have to prove he measures up quickly, or his tenure in Westwood will continue to be engulfed by criticism.