Bob Connelly to UCLA

Former Tide O-line coach Bob Connelly has been hired for the same position at UCLA:

Now I know that plenty of calls for Connelly's head have been made here and elsewhere, but this actually makes a lot of sense for the Bruins and I really believe that he'll be far more successful out there than he did here in the SEC. So for the benefit of our friends out west, here are a few pros and cons on Connelly.

Pros:

1. Connelly came to Alabama with Mike Price from Washington State, so he's returning to the Pac-10 where he had plenty of success before.
   
2. His blocking schemes were designed more for a spread offense instead of the pro-style attack Shula ran, a big reason his lines performed so terribly here but reasonably well at Washington State.
   
3. I have a sneaking suspicion that the ridiculous personell decisions on the line were more Shula's doings than Connelly's, playing younger (and less talented) guys for the sake of continuity into the next season.
   
4. He's considered an excellent recruiter, being named to the Rivals Top 25 list of recruiters in 2005.

Cons:

1. When it was apparent his blocking schemes weren't working, he did nothing to change them.
   
2. As much crap as we've given Chris Capps, at some point the blame needs to go to the position coach for not teaching him what he's doing wrong and taking steps to rectify it.  Again, part of that may be that Shula insisted Capps was the starter even though Capps just couldn't do better, but I think a good line coach could have shown him how to at least hold his hands so that the defense couldn't guess if it was a run or pass play based solely on him.
   
3. Either he felt like his line and schemes here were sufficiently effective (which makes him an idiot) or he just didn't care if his players were performing on the field because Shula apparently had no inclination to fire him (which makes him lazy and not the kind of guy you want on your staff).  Either way, it doesn't speak well of him.

Honestly, I feel like this is a good move for the Bruins.  I think Connelly and his schemes and coaching will work better at UCLA than they did here, and want to wish him luck at his new job.  As much as I didn't like the guy here, he's another victim of the past decade at Alabama, moving across country with a coach that would be fired shortly thereafter and sticking around for another that was essentially a glorified (and highly paid) babysitter for the program.  So best of luck to you, Coach Connelly, I hope you get your career back on track with UCLA.