It is hard not to feel bad for Rocky Seto.
After being brought to Seattle by Pete Carroll as a throw in as director of "quality control" for the Seahawks, Seto jumped at the chance to be the defensive coordinator at UCLA.
We can dispute whether or not Seto was effective as Pete Carroll's DC in his final year at USC. We can also discuss whether or not Seto was qualified to be the DC at UCLA.
But the fact remains that Rick Neuheisel thought he was qualified enough to interview and ultimately offer the job to Seto.
After being banished to parts unknown in Seattle, Seto was so giddy to be offered and accept the job that he spilled the beans to the Daily Trojan.
A move that ultimately proved to be his demise...
In the latest near miss, Seattle Seahawks assistant Rocky Seto was offered the job Feb. 1 only to have Neuheisel change his mind the following day.
Seto said in a telephone interview Tuesday that Neuheisel "verbally offered me the job and I said yes." However, the next day, "he called and said it wasn't the right time and they were moving in another direction."
We all know the story up to this point, but Sports by Brooks offers a nice take...
After Seto himself first leaked the news of his imminent hire to the Daily Trojan, which lead to widespread media coverage, thousands of UCLA football fans at websites like BruinSportsOnline, BruinsNation, BruinGold and BruinZone were enraged and promptly organized a Facebook, Twitter and email campaign directed at the UCLA Athletic Dept. that was themed "Veto Seto."
That's fine...fans have a right to voice their opinions and organize as they see fit. That's what we are about as a society.
I really don't have a problem with that aspect here.
Seto probably should have checked to see if it was OK to spill the beans but I can also understand his giddiness...Who wouldn't be happy for him! He was getting a second chance.
And as I noted in the title of the post...Seto took the high road when the rug was pulled out from under him.
"He called, and he was really gracious about it and very flattering. It just wasn’t the right time. What was flattering about it was I really believe he wanted to do it, but the circumstances just wouldn’t allow for it."
He also said this...
"I was a little disappointed," Seto said about the offer being rescinded, "but I feel I had a positive exchange and I'll leave it for Coach Neuheisel to say what the reasons were. It was a really awesome experience for me and I learned a lot about myself."
Seto was the one who was gracious. He is not the type to pour gasoline on a fire.
But two things stand out...and neither of them really surprise anyone.
First, is Slick Rick's lack of conviction. UCLA fans are so far down the road against Slick Rick that he doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to stand by his hire. That's character for you, but like I said none of us are really surprised.
Remember what I wrote here??
"Neu" has a plan, you might not see it, but he does. Shannon not being announced is part of the plan. Can't say why it is an advantage NOT announcing who your DC is days before NLOI day.
Some plan huh... I guess Shannon is out if Slick went after Seto right?
More perplexing is this...
Is anyone really surprised?