On Wednesday we got the first press conference from UCLA’s new interim head coach Tim Skipper. The new Boss Bruin is taking over an 0-3 team after DeShaun Foster was fired on Sunday, ending his UCLA tenure at 5-10.
Skipper began the press conference by letting everyone know that they’re free to call him Skip and even in his first few moments speaking to the media with UCLA, Skip showed more energy and enthusiasm than we saw from Foster in his final weeks with the team. Before being named as the interim head coach, Skip was the special assistant to the head coach, he elaborated on what that entailed for him.
“Everybody asks me ‘what do you do?’ from my parents on down. Just keeping the head coach organized, planning practices, those sorts of things,” Skipper said. “Staying out of the way was a big part of it and just trying to help.”
Skipper didn’t elaborate if “staying out of the way” was part of the job description or something instilled from the previous head coach. It’s interesting that UCLA named Skipper, who’s only been with the team for about three months, as the interim head coach over other coaches who have been with the team longer but Skipper has served as an interim coach before, giving him experience on what’s needed in a time like this.
The public didn’t find out that Skipper was taking over as the interim head coach much after he did, with him getting the call from Athletic Director Martin Jarmond Sunday morning.
“Every Sunday I actually watch college football clock situations, so I was in the middle of doing that, had a conversation with Martin,” Skipper said. “It’s kind of a blur because my life changed a little bit once that happened but that’s kind of the order of the day, kind of how it went.”
UCLA was in need of a fresh voice to lead the program and Skipper plans to do just that, even if it’s only on an interim basis.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Interim head coach Tim Skipper breathes life into UCLA Bruins football program
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
