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How did the UCLA basketball job become so radioactive?

By Brad Berreman

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 19: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts in the second half of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on December 19, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati won 93-64. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 19: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts in the second half of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on December 19, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati won 93-64. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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After missing out on their top three candidates, how did the UCLA basketball job become so radioactive?

UCLA is one of the proudest college basketball programs so why did they have such a hard time finding someone who wanted to be the head coach?

The Bruins hired Mick Cronin to a six-year deal worth $24 million on Tuesday morning after striking out on their top three candidates. This is not supposed to happen at a place like UCLA who should get the coach they want when they want him. This is a marquee, blue blood program with a history no other school can match.

Steve Alford entered the season on the hot seat and was fired after a 7-6 start and was replaced by Murray Bartow who went 10-10 to close out another disappointing season in Westwood.

UCLA hoped they could make a big splash with their next hire, but struck out after offering Kentucky coach John Calipari $8 million per year. But he would have been taking a pay cut to make the move, leaving aside the increased cost of living in California. That was a non-starter for Calipari who signed a lifetime extension to stay at Kentucky.

When Alford was let go, TCU coach (and Los Angeles area native) Jamie Dixon was deemed the top candidate but UCLA reportedly balked at paying an $8 million buyout and TCU wouldn’t drop the price.

UCLA was suddenly 0-for-2 and getting rejected by the coach of TCU. My how the mighty have fallen.

Out of nowhere late last weekend, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes surfaced as the new favorite to take the Bruins’ job. But that interest could have been all about leveraging a new deal at Tennessee, which he was successful in receiving.

After such an ugly coaching search, UCLA is hoping they won’t have to do this again in four years.

Cronin has a .668 winning percentage (296-147) over 13 seasons at Cincinnati, with nine straight NCAA Tournament berths. But the Bearcats have advanced past the second round of the tournament just once in his tenure, back in 2012 with a run that ended in the Sweet 16. In Alford’s five full seasons, UCLA made the Sweet 16 three times.

It’s now pushing toward 25 years since UCLA last won a national title. After Jim Harrick, Steve Lavin, Ben Howland and Alford have patrolled the parquet in Westwood. Howland’s three straight Final Fours stand as the best results for the program over that time, and a regular season conference title in 2013 got him fired for a slicker-looking candidate in Alford.

UCLA seems to be suffering from serious nostalgia for the Wooden era, with expectations that are hard for any coach to meet in today’s far different college basketball landscape. History and mystique have not been enough to get a good, big-name coach, or scare a coach’s current school off trying to keep their guy.

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Bottom line, if Cronin can lead UCLA back to national prominence, the desperate coaching search will be a footnote. What’s important to remember is Cronin could be the first candidate who wasn’t using UCLA to better their current situation. He genuinely wants the job for better or worse.