The meandering search for a UCLA men’s soccer coach
appears to have hit another snag.
A panel of UCLA Athletics Department officials headed by
Associate Athletic Director Ken Weiner interviewed three candidates
for the job on Thursday; however, none of them have been offered
the job. Multiple sources close to the program have indicated that
UCLA may still hire one of those coaches, but that the committee
has begun looking into the possibility of interviewing other
candidates later this week.
Weiner did not return phone calls Monday, but an Athletics
Department spokesman indicated that the search is
“ongoing.”
The three candidates who have already interviewed for the job,
UCLA assistant coach Jorge Salcedo, Loyola Marymount coach Paul
Krumpe and Los Angeles Galaxy Director of Youth Development Ralph
Perez, each indicated that they found Thursday’s interviews
to be extremely thorough.
Salcedo, a UCLA alumnus now in his third year with the program,
said his meeting with the search committee went smoothly, but would
not speculate about his chances of being offered the job.
“Am I confident? No,” Salcedo said. “But I
feel good about the interview. I think they got a good feeling for
me as a coach.”
Krumpe, who interviewed for the UCLA job twice before in 1999
and 2002, said this year’s interview process was decidedly
different. Whereas Krumpe had spoken with individual Athletics
Department officials in the past, this year he met with a panel
that included Weiner, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero and Associate
Athletic Director Betsy Stephenson.
Both Krumpe and Salcedo did not seem to be alarmed by
UCLA’s apparent plans to interview other candidates later
this week.
“They’re not going to rush to any judgment,”
Salcedo said.
“They’re just looking for the best person for the
job,” Krumpe added.
Weiner had hoped to have a coach in place by Wednesday, the
first day of the men’s soccer recruiting period, but it seems
unlikely that UCLA will be able to meet that deadline.
Both Krumpe and Salcedo said they did not expect to hear from
UCLA until the end of the week, and Perez is out of the country
until Wednesday morning.
The UCLA job became available last month when Tom Fitzgerald
announced his resignation to take over the program at the
University of Tampa.