Tino Sunseri's Season Grade Before UCLA Departure

The former Bruins offensive coordinator was already struggling to inspire offensive success in Westwood.

Indiana Quarterback Coach Tino Sunseri before the start of the Indiana versus Michigan football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 9, 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

UCLA Bruins offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri is officially out as he and the program mutually agreed to part ways.

The Bruins have endured an abysmal start offensively and is one of the plethora of reasons for the calamity this season has turned out to be. Before news broke of his departure, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg graded his season thus far, among all of college football's new coaches.

What Rittenberg said:

"Sunseri was the only on-field assistant from Indiana's 2024 team to leave, but the move made sense, as he became the primary offensive coordinator for the first time in his coaching career. The 36-year-old from a notable coaching family landed with a UCLA program that made the biggest splash in the spring transfer portal, landing quarterback Nico Iamaleava from CFP participant Tennessee.

"But the excitement around UCLA's season quickly faded. The Bruins were held to 10 points in two of their first three games, lopsided losses to Utah and New Mexico. Iamaleava had three touchdowns and three interceptions in the span, and only one Bruins player had a reception of longer than 21 yards. UCLA's woes in the run game preceded Sunseri, but the team is averaging only 124.3 yards per game on the ground (105th nationally) with Iamaleava as the only player with more than 200 rushing yards for the season.

"The winless Bruins have reached 20 points just once in their first four games."

Indiana University Quarterbacks Coach Tino Sunseri instucts players during fall practice at the Mellencamp Pavilion at Indiana University on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rittenberg gave Sunseri a D- nearly twelve hours before his reported departure on Tuesday.

More Details on Sunseri Departure

This departure comes just over two weeks after the program relieved second-year head coach DeShaun Foster of his duties and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe departed.

UCLA's offense, amidst an abysmal 0-4 start to the season, has been underperforming in many facets despite the addition of highly-touted transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Indiana Quarterback Coach Tino Sunseri before the start of the Indiana versus Michigan football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 9, 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bruins are only averaging 14.2 points and 321.2 yards per game to this point in the season, ranking near the bottom of all of college football.

Alongside UCLA's struggling defense, the Bruins have gone down big in each of their four losses because of the offense's inability to produce early.

Bruins tight end coach Jerry Neuheisel will be calling the offense moving forward. Additionally, UCLA is in the process of adding former offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone to the staff as an offensive analyst, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

Interim head coach Tim Skipper made a similar move, bringing in Kevin Coyle as the Bruins' defensive analyst after Malloe and the program mutually agreed to part ways.

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