The UCLA Bruins football coaching staff under new coach Jim Mora is beginning to take shape, officially. However, one thing that seems clear is that current interim coach and offensive coordinator Mike Johnson won't be a part of that staff.
Johnson, who will coach the Bruins through the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on December 31, spoke with Mora late last week. "You've got to see the writing on wall. They hire Noel Mazzone and make him the offensive coordinator, you got to see that," Johnson told Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times. "Jim and I have been around a long time. He doesn't have to tell me, 'No you're not going to be part of the staff'."
Mazzone, who was the offensive coordinator at Arizona State, hasn't yet been officially added to the Bruins' staff, but Devils Digest reported on Sunday that Mazzone and UCLA had agreed to terms on a contract.
Johnson has been linked to the head coaching position at Akron, his alma mater, though that isn't his only coaching opportunity. "There's a couple things out there that I'm looking at, and probably some time next week I will now," Johnson said after practice on Saturday.
The staff we do know that will officially join Mora in Westwood are:
- Demetrice Martin, Passing Game Coordinator / Defensive Backs
- Adrian Klemm, Running Game Coordinator / Offensive Line
- Inoke Breckterfield, Defensive Line Coach (returning from 2011)
- Marques Tuiasosopo, Tight Ends Coach
- Steve Broussard, Running Backs Coach
Martin and Klemm are already helping Mora on the recruiting trail, while Breckterfield and Tuiasosopo are on the UCLA bowl coaching staff. Broussard, like Mazzone, will join UCLA from Arizona State after the Sun Devils' Las Vegas Bowl appearance on December 22.
For more UCLA football news and information, be sure to read Bruins Nation.