Bruins take aim at Steve Sarkisian

Move over, Discovery Channel. It’s officially “Sark Week” in Los Angeles. After bouts with rejection, and plenty of thumb twiddling, the Bruins have contacted Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian about the vacancy in Westwood.

Washington football Coach Steve Sarkisian, a former assistant coach at USC, has been approached by UCLA, according to people familiar with the situation who are not authorized to speak publicly on the subject.—Los Angeles Times

I was first alerted of a possible connection between UCLA and Sarkisian on Wednesday, after reading the unconfirmed report by Bob Condotta of the Seattle times, who was repeating a post made by The Big Lead on twitter. I felt it was a long shot for the Bruins then, as I still do now, but firing wide of a target is better than not squeezing the trigger at all.

Sarkisian is currently in a better situation. He received a UW contract extension in January that guaranteed $12.75 million over five years. There is a gradual rise for each year of its existence, eventually topping off at $2.85 million in 2015. The current buyout is 70 percent of the remaining compensation—$2.5 million.

Under Sarkisian, the Huskies are big risers in recruiting. After landing a 2009 class ranked 9th in the Pac 10 by Rivals.com, Washington has climbed the ladder in each season that followed. It overtook other members to become the fifth-best class in conference in 2011. UCLA is among the programs leaped by the rebuilding Huskies, going from a 2009 class ranked second only to USC, to seventh overall in the Pac 12 last February.

Aside from recruiting prowess, what UCLA may find most attractive in Sarkisian is his 2-1 record against more talented USC teams. The Bruins have lost 12 of the last 13 games to their crosstown rival, with Neuheisel finishing 0-4.

It will take monetary incentive, and lots of it, to pry Sarkisian from a cozy gig. That alone makes it possible in this world of “money makes the coach go-round”. But with an Athletic Director under fire, and a program that often hesitates to loosen the wallet for football, the odds are heavily stacked against it.

Sarkisian severed four years as a USC assistant under Pete Carroll, before accepting the Washington head coaching position in 2009.

Song of the Day: For the love of money–O’Jays

[Los Angeles Times]