Fans have more than one bowl game to be disgruntled about

Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007 | 7:11 a.m.

It didn't take long for UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero to fire head coach Karl Dorrell after the Bruins ended their season with a 24-7 thumping at the hands of crosstown rival USC. Less than 48 hours, to be exact.

It took about the same amount of time for the hate mail to start trickling in to the e-mail account of Tina Kunzer-Murphy, the game's executive director, after she announced that BYU and UCLA would be playing in the 16th edition of the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl.

The No. 1 complaint from the disgruntled fans? How could the bowl select a team that would be led by an interim coach?

Although Guerrero gave Dorrell the option to coach the Bruins in the bowl game, Dorrell declined and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker is serving as the team's interim coach.

That was just one of the things they complained about, Kunzer-Murphy said, but it was at the top of the list.

Kunzer-Murphy may have had trouble dismissing the criticism, but she can take solace in the fact that seven other bowl teams this season are being guided by an interim head coach, a lame-duck coach or a freshly hired replacement.

Here is a list of the bowl games that are playing a part in this year's coaching carousel: