Dave Roberts may need simply contributed to a different monumental steal.
UCLA landed what could possibly be the coup of the school soccer teaching carousel with some help from the celebrated Dodgers supervisor and Boston folks hero whose stolen base within the 2004 playoffs sparked the Pink Sox’s run to their first World Sequence title in almost a century.
This time, Roberts got here out of the advisory bullpen to assist his alma mater snag what it hopes is a championship coach in Bob Chesney.
“I just see him as a guy that failure’s not an option,” Roberts informed The Occasions of the coach who has agreed to a five-year, $33.75-million contract. “He’s gonna win. I think I have a pretty good gut and read on people and I couldn’t have more conviction in coach Chesney.”
Dave Roberts makes an attempt to bunt whereas enjoying for the UCLA baseball group.
(UCLA Athletics)
Although he wasn’t formally part of UCLA’s search committee, Roberts was enlisted to talk with candidates and provides his perspective. And it’s a helpful one contemplating Roberts’ standing as a outstanding Bruins alumnus and supervisor of the two-time defending World Sequence champions.
“I went to UCLA, I’m proud of that,” mentioned Roberts, an outfielder who graduated as the college’s all-time stolen bases chief, “and I just felt that with my role in Los Angeles, there’s some opportunities and I’ve also got some experience and understanding of the university, understanding of the city of Los Angeles and felt that as an alum, I could add some value. I’m all in on trying to revive this football program, and I feel like I want to do my part to help out in any way I can.”
Roberts mentioned he spoke with Chesney on three events and exchanged textual content messages a couple of instances per week throughout UCLA’s courtship of the outgoing James Madison coach who has guided his group to the School Soccer Playoff. The Twelfth-seeded Dukes (12-1) will face fifth-seeded Oregon (11-1) in an opening-round recreation on Dec. 20 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
Bob Myers, the previous Golden State Warriors common supervisor who was on the search committee, mentioned Roberts contributed enter even whereas the Dodgers have been within the playoffs.
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts, proven waving to the group whereas attending a UCLA basketball recreation in 2021, is a proud Bruins alum.
(Michael Owens / Getty Photos)
“Everybody’s busy,” Myers mentioned, “but for Dave to even take the time to jump on a Zoom, it showed that he cared.”
Like everybody on the search committee, Roberts mentioned he was impressed with Chesney’s historical past of reviving applications and imaginative and prescient for the same turnaround with the Bruins, who’ve achieved nothing of nationwide significance in additional than 1 / 4 of a century.
However their conversations weren’t solely rooted in promoting each other; Roberts mentioned he requested pointed questions as nicely.
“I also challenged him on, ‘Does he have the bandwidth to not only recruit to get his players to perform at a high level but also reintroduce the student body and the alumni back into and get us all excited about UCLA football?’” mentioned Roberts, alluding to sagging attendance at dwelling video games. “And he didn’t bat an eye. … He was really adamant that he has enough energy and motivation to do that and understands the value of all of that together.”
Throughout his introductory remarks this week, Chesney talked about the significance of partaking college students and followers, suggesting the potential of neighborhood service initiatives and appearances at elementary colleges.
“Wherever I have to go and speak, whoever I have to go and talk to,” Chesney mentioned, “we will be a, you know, a ‘yes’ program, where, the majority of the time, if someone comes to us and says, ‘Can you help us with this?’ My answer will be yes, and then I’ll figure out how to do it and how to manage it after that.”
UCLA has dedicated to offering its new coach with a heightened degree of assets. Myers mentioned Chesney could be given monetary assist that ranked within the prime third or prime quartile of Huge Ten groups.
“It’s crucial because he’s not a magician,” Roberts mentioned. “He’s a very good football coach, he’s a tremendous individual, but he needs the resources, the support of the university, especially when you’re talking about the Big Ten. So I know Casey [Wasserman] and Bob were really letting him know that we’re going to stand behind him as a university and exhaust whatever resources we need for him to be competitive.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wears a UCLA while watching the Bruins play in the 2022 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
(Sam Wasson / Getty Images)
“But I will say this: I hope Bruin Nation doesn’t take a wait-and-see approach with coach Chesney and his staff. My encouragement is that we kind of go out there and take a leap of faith and support the program and let that momentum build into what he’s going to do.”
Roberts mentioned he was keen to go to spring practices, doing his half to again a brand new coach whose hiring has Roberts so elated that the onetime highschool quarterback wished to start out throwing the ball once more.
“He’s a worker and I think he’s a motivator and I’m all in,” Roberts mentioned. “He got me excited to get back to playing football, but I got some bad knees.”
