In Reply to: It's a gamble to extend/raise vs holding off posted by LakerFanForLebronNotKobe on November 02, 2026 at 13:39:55
You make the best decision you can with the information you have on hand. Waiting to extend after you've won something can be too late. The hiring of Chesney was itself a gamble. If we'd waited until he had absolutely proven he could win at the P4 level, it would have been too late as we would have been outbid by others. Penn. St. balked at hiring Chesney, and now they're regretting it.
What would be the hesitation? The questions going in about Chesney seem to have been answered in his favor.
Does his coaching translate to the B1G level? It would seem so, given that some of the hallmarks of his prior teams seem to be present at UCLA: run game, defense, surging in the second half, winning, etc.
Can he recruit at this level? Again, the answer so far is a resounding Yes.
It's always a gamble, and always will be. The only question is how good a bet you are making.
The fact is Chesney is the hottest coaching prospect in the country. Every school who wants to fire their coach has him high on their wish list, usually #1. There are at least two prominent B1G programs who have legions of fans who want to fire their first-year coach and hire Chesney.
If UCLA doesn't give him (and his staff) a big raise, someone else will. There's the real gamble.