UCLA Football Moves Forward With a New Offensive Direction and Staff

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Nov 19, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora reacts in the second half of the game against the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl. USC won 36-14. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

UCLA Football’s New Direction and Staff (cont.)

The Bruins then had one last spot to fill when Eric Yarber took a position with the Los Angeles Rams, who are also reshaping their staff. Mora then plucked Jimmie Dougherty who had a cup of coffee at Oregon after just getting in from Michigan.

As for Rip Scherer, he is the only remaining offensive coach from last season. So there is some consistency here, despite the overhaul. But with that, there also a few other constants that the Bruins can benefit from.

With Dougherty coming to UCLA, he reunites with Fisch as both worked together at Michigan last season, so that is a plus for the passing game. The positive in the running game involves Foster who was mentored by Polamalu and is familiar with how Mora runs his program.

Hopefully that meshes with the consistencies on the roster. So far we have Josh Rosen coming back from surgery for his junior year and there are five running backs the Bruins can choose from, including three upperclassmen.

On the line, the Bruins only lost Conor McDermott, so there are four returning starters as well as a handful of back ups to work with. The receivers have depth with some talent, but as Bruin fans know, there is work to be done here.

The question now is “how does it all come together?” Fisch said he wants to have a multi-look offense which will work with several different positions and players. It should be similar to what Polamalu was attempting to do, but Fisch might understand his personnel a little better to make it work.

Whereas is seemed Polamalu tried to force a new philosophy on the offense, Fisch sounds like he wants to use all the talent that is available to him in multiple sets.

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We will get to see what his creation brings and how the new coaches develop their positions groups when spring practice comes around in a few weeks. Though there is reason for optimism, there is also a reason to be cautious. With this new system, it could be instantly successful, but the reality is that it might take time to mold into what Fisch plans to run.