WATCH: UCLA defensive playcaller Kevin Coyle addresses arrival for first time
The circumstances were far from ideal, but the challenge and a chance to reunite on a staff with one of his former players was too tantalizing to pass up.
It’s been exactly a month since Kevin Coyle left his position as an analyst at Syracuse to join interim head coach Tim Skipper and run the defense at UCLA.
Coyle was Skipper’s defensive coordinator when the latter played at Fresno State in the late 1990s. Most recently, Coyle was the defensive coordinator when Skipper was the interim head coach at his alma mater last season.
This particular situation was so unusual that he coached against Clemson on a Saturday and headed to his next destination the following day.
“This is quite a unique situation. No, it’s been, it’s been a challenge, as I told the players in the very first meeting that I was here, that first Sunday,” Coyle said after Wednesday’s practice in his first comments since joining the staff on Sept. 22.
“When I flew in, I said, ‘You know, great challenges like this, you know, present great opportunities. So now it’s, how far can we take it? And let’s just roll our sleeves up and go to work every day.’ And fortunately, players said they were willing to do that, and as we’ve had a little bit of success that has grown exponentially over the last few weeks.”
Since taking over for ex-defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe, the Bruins have allowed just 21.0 points per game under Coyle’s direction. In the three of the four games, opponents have scored 17 or fewer points.
Now, the Bruins will face their toughest test to-date Saturday when it travels to face second-ranked Indiana. The Hoosiers’ 43.9 points per game is tied for fourth nationally.
“This is a really impressive, well-coached football team,” Coyle said of Indiana.
Watch the full press conference below:
