Bill Plaschke - Dorrell, Guerrero need to get on the same page

The first time we see the Bruins this year, they are beating themselves with what seemed to be a botched reverse.

Last winter, the villain was Bobby Bowden.

This summer, it was recklessness.

As Karl Dorrell knows now, both can leave you plenty embarrassed.

This is, of course, about Eric Scott, a receivers coach and star recruiter who was recently arrested on suspicion of felony burglary.

No charges were filed, he was properly reinstated, and the expectations-bloated Bruins are awkwardly trying to run past it.

But, for the moment, it's hard for some of their fans to join them.

It turns out, at the time of his hiring last year, Scott had been sentenced for three other crimes.

Interestingly, Dorrell knew about some of that stuff.

Even more interesting, his boss Dan Guerrero didn't.

Said Dorrell: "Yes, I knew he had some issues in his background."

Said Guerrero: "We did not know the background for that particular person."

Those quotes, given in recent days to local newspapers, couldn't be more dissonant if they were sung to the tune of "Sons of Westwood" and "Fight On."

If you believe only those quotes, here's what you would believe:

Dorrell, known more for cleaning up the program than for consistent victories, felt he had to make a win-at-all-costs move without giving his boss the details.

Guerrero, who has been Dorrell's most vocal supporter precisely because he has cleaned up the program, felt blindsided.

Dorrell, having won more than seven games only once in four years, with a 1-3 record in bowl games, has always navigated this tightrope above the athletic director's wide safety net.

For the first time, perhaps, that net has been slightly loosened and shortened.

That is, if you believe those quotes.

Both men rushed to clarify their words this week, with Guerrero insistent that there is no sudden rift in what is the UCLA football program's most important relationship.

"To get the impression that Karl blindsided me is not accurate," Guerrero said. "Your saying there is a disconnect between me and Karl, there is nothing further from the truth. Karl never tried to pull a fast one on me. Karl was not aware of the gravity of the issue."