Steve Alford didn’t need a plane to fly a banner over the UCLA campus in March to apprise him of the toasty temperature of his seat.
Amid public cries for the UCLA basketball coach’s firing after he led the program to its fourth losing record in the past 68 years, Alford could have tightened his grip and held on for the rest of his ride.
Instead, the fourth-year coach is loosening the reins.
Alford’s philosophy this season is to keep things simple. In other words, he is putting his fate in the hands of the exceptional talent he recruited to Westwood last year.