UCLA will not renew Sword’s contract
The UCLA Athletic Department announced Monday that it will not
renew the contract of head strength and conditioning coach Kim
Sword when it expires on June 30.
“There has to be a meeting of the minds between the head
football coach and the strength coach,” Associate Athletic
Director Glenn Toth said. Toth is responsible for hiring the new
coach.
Sword was hired in February 2002, working with former head
football coach Bob Toledo. He oversaw the staff of all sports, but
his hands-on work was primarily focused on the football
program.
This winter, Sword conducted the off-season conditioning of the
football team under new head coach Karl Dorrell. Not officially a
part of the football staff, Sword stayed on as a holdover from the
previous regime through the off-season.
“We needed to go in a new direction. When a new head coach
is hired, it is not at all unusual for changes like this to
occur,” Toth said.
“The head (strength and conditioning) coach works
primarily with football, although he always does some other sports.
So primarily, we are looking for a coach whose weight training
philosophy matches that of Coach Dorrell,” he added.
Before coming to UCLA, Sword was the head strength and
conditioning coordinator at San Jose State from 1999-2002. Prior to
that, he spent five years at Utah State.
Toth expects a new coach to be hired by mid-June. Until then,
assistant coaches Kerri Barrett and Troy Jorgensen are running the
football team’s weight training.
Former Colorado strength and conditioning coach E.J. Kreis, who
was fired May 1, is the leading candidate for the job.
Paus signs with Chargers
Quarterback Cory Paus became a rookie free-agent addition to the
San Diego Chargers on Friday. After throwing for 6,877 yards, 42
touchdowns and 32 interceptions for UCLA in four injury-plagued
seasons, Paus was not selected in last weekend’s NFL
draft.
Paus’s former backup Ryan McCann, meanwhile, was waived by
the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday after signing a two-year
free-agent contract with them earlier in the week.
McCann was a three-year letterman at UCLA before transferring to
Tennessee-Chattanooga for more playing time in his senior
season.
Are you ready for some football?
ABC will broadcast UCLA’s home game on Sept. 13 against
Illinois and the Bruins’ game on Nov. 8 at Washington
State.
Compiled by Diamond Leung, Daily Bruin Senior Staff and Hannah
Gordon, Daily Bruin Staff.