UCLA Football Coaching Staff Shaping Up Fast

The new UCLA Bruins’ football coach, Jim L. Mora, is working very fast in building a coaching staff.

And to this point, it looks like he’s starting fresh as he has preferred to go with people who are not on the Bruins’ current staff so far, hiring Noel Mazzone to be the new offensive coordinator.

Like Steve Broussard, Mazzone comes from Arizona State. He has experience at several programs, including Auburn and Oregon State.

Along with new defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin, who comes to Westwood from Washington, Broussard has talked to UCLA players already and seem to be hitting the ground running as they prepare for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, being played on December 31 with Rick Neuheisel’s assistants in charge, including current offensive coordinator Mike Johnson in charge.

Mora and his new staff will officially take over on January 1.

“We’ve been curious about who is going to be our assistant coaches, the type of direction we will take when they come in,” Johnathan Franklin commented.

Johnson hopes to be retained by Mora, saying “I have to wait and see what happens.”

He, defensive coordinator Joe Tresey, and run-game coordinator Jim Mastro are under contract for 2012, with Mastro planning to take a job at Washington State after the bowl game.

A little advice that I would give the new Bruin head coach is to add someone on his staff with UCLA ties, someone like James Washington, who has been and is an outstanding representative of UCLA and would make a great recruiting coordinator.

Otherwise Mora would risk alienating the UCLA football alumni and the alumni in general, which he definitely does not want to do.

I think he understands that, and I’m confident that someone with Bruin roots will be a part of his new regime.