Make California Post a Preferred Source Dear President Beong-Soo Kim,
I wrote those same words less than a year ago to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, and look what’s happened since.
The Bruins snagged the hottest coach in college football – maybe all of football? – dismissed their underperforming athletic director in favor of a sharp, business-savvy replacement and are on the verge of fulfilling their commitment to remain at the Rose Bowl through the end of a long-term lease.
Fortunately, all of my suggestions are on the house at a time when you’re paying your football coach eight figures for eight wins a year.
Oh, Lincoln Riley’s team will beat Maryland at the Coliseum next week, but do you really think it’s going to take down Bob Chesney’s Bruins at the Rose Bowl? None of it matters anyway at the end of a season that will once again fall short of the College Football Playoff.
Speaking of Chesney, you really should spend a week on the other side of town to see what a high-performance culture looks like.
There are coaches’ kids flitting in and out of the football facility, reporters allowed access to practice and a vibe that makes even those not associated with the program want to stick around. I’m betting even you would be welcome.
Contrast that sort of openness with what’s happening on your side of town. Reporters can’t watch practice and are herded like cattle into a media room to speak with players who appear afraid to say anything of substance.
As you know, the aura around any organization always flows from the person in charge.
That would be the smug and uptight Riley, who initially said he was unaware of linebacker Desman Stephens II’s vile celebration after delivering a hit that sent Oregon quarterback Dante Moore to the hospital in late September.
If that’s true, it means Riley both wasn’t paying attention and wasn’t informed by a legion of staffers and athletic officials that one of his top players was making a fool of himself – and his team.
This is a coach who has given you little besides excuses in his five seasons. He was at it again Saturday after the Trojans were eliminated from CFP contention with a 27-13 letdown against Indiana that left them with three losses.
“This game came down to a couple of plays,” Riley said.
“We know how close we are as a group and we know how close we are as a team,” Riley said.
Close doesn’t cut it when your own messaging announces that the time is now.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in this program and this deserves to be a championship-level program,” Riley said after his record dropped to 42-21 with no major bowl victories or CFP appearances.
Certainly not Riley, whose teams are loaded with talent but always fall short in big moments because they fail to maximize it. That was on display once again Saturday amid dumb penalties, bad mistakes and failures to execute when it mattered most.
Check out what Chesney’s teams are doing in those same moments – always finding a way. Even with a replacement quarterback starting the last five games, the Bruins are 10-0 in part because the players feel free and are having fun without the manufactured energy of hoisting giant juice boxes on the sideline.
Unlike the Trojans, the Bruins have dominated in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents by a 120-46 margin. If they can beat Michigan next weekend – a high probability – they will lock up a berth in both the Big Ten title game and the CFP.
How’s it going to feel when Chesney heads into his second consecutive CFP – including an initial appearance at James Madison – before your beloved Trojans have made it once?
Across town, Frenk set this dream sequence in motion. He gave his blessing to the firing of DeShaun Foster and the hiring of Chesney before deciding that the athletic director who presided over those moves – Martin Jarmond – needed to go because of his own missteps. Now the Bruins are on the verge of locking up Chesney with an extension that will ward off even the richest suitors.
Here’s suggesting that you get together with your own athletic director, Jen Cohen, and the big donors who are going to need to pony up for Riley’s massive buyout. Maybe you’ll get lucky and he’ll bolt for Baylor – it makes some sense considering he’s a Texas native and has enjoyed his greatest success in the Big 12 – but don’t count on it.
Having hosted a podcast called “Trojan Talks” and commenced an “Open Dialogue Project” meant to welcome differing perspectives, you seem like someone open to uncomfortable conversations. You undoubtedly had some back in 2023 when you served as part of the athletic department’s interim leadership team as it transitioned from the embattled Mike Bohn to Cohen.
Now it’s time to have another one with your football coach the day after the UCLA game.
It should go something like this: “Hey, Lincoln, we really appreciate everything you’ve done, but we’re going to move in a different direction. Here are some boxes to start packing your things.”
Anything close to that will do just fine. If you want some help massaging your script, I’m here for you.
