It was officially
announced on April 18th that head coach Donny Daniels quit the program to
take an assistant's position at UCLA.
Once the job is posted on the NCAA and Cal State Fullerton websites (expected
to be done today), the school will then wait at least two weeks before starting
the interview process. A committee will also be formed during this timeframe.
TitanCentral.com Spin: Obviously not a
good sign for supporters of assistant coach Rob Orellana and their quest for a
one-year interim label. Cal State Fullerton has been notorious for making the erroneous
hires in filling important vacancies within the athletic department (one
exception being George Horton from the baseball program). Ironically, the most
recent key hire was Brian Quinn who now oversees the basketball opening. While a
true verdict has not been reached on Quinn's hire, some on our boards have been
quite vocal in his recent selections for the volleyball coach and women's
basketball coach (Personally, I thought the hiring of Jeremiah was
brilliant move, but for not-so-obvious reasons).
Some fans, including yours truly, will never quite understand why Quinn was
not able to pull the trigger on a one-year contract for the one guy ultimately
responsible for reviving Cal State Fullerton basketball. But I do not believe
all hope is lost. There still is an outside possibility Rob Orellana will be our
next coach but it will most certainly be at a higher price (more money and more
years). While I would much rather test drive a car before I buy it, I still
believe Orellana will emerge as the clear choice to continue what he started.
The best rumors for the job thus far have been a young, unproven Division I
recruiter who lead Concordia to an NAIA championship, a 64 year old shakspearean
scholar who has been out of college coaching for 10 years and an assistant from
UCLA who recently committed 26 infractions. I like Orellana's chances thus far.
The one question mark is will he apply and be considered a top candidate.