Jim Tressel: Would Sweater Vest Take His Coaching Talents to UCLA?

Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has done his best to keep a low profile this year. Since resigning from the university, he has been serving as a replay-review consultant, which basically means he gets paid a lot to do nothing, but that could be changing since he has reportedly been hanging around UCLA.

According to BruinsBall.com, Tressel was seen with UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero on Monday night at Polo Lounge.

In addition to that scoop, Bruins football player Aramide Olaniyan tweeted that he saw Tressel, or someone who looks an awful lot like him, on campus. 

It is no secret that UCLA wants to make a splash with its next head coach after firing Rick Neuheisel, and Tressel certainly has the name and pedigree to turn the program around. 

There would be some backlash against the Bruins for hiring Tressel because of how everything ended at Ohio State, but it would be hard to imagine them being able to do better than him.

He is a great recruiter and would be able to lure some of that elite California talent away from USC, which Neuheisel was unable to do. The Bruins have to do something to make the football program relevant again. 

There is no reason that UCLA shouldn't be competing for Pac-12 championships every year in football—and I mean really competing, not benefiting from USC's probation like they did this year—they just have to find the right coach to get them there. 

Tressel is better than any coach out there right now, at least among those that don't currently have work, so UCLA should do whatever it can to get him to sign a contract before leaving. 

This is all just speculation at this point. We have no idea what Tressel was doing at UCLA—he could just be friends with Guerrero or wanted to take a trip to Los Angeles—but if the powers that be have any sense, they will try to make something happen. 

It will likely cost more money than the Bruins have ever paid anyone to coach the football team. Neuheisel was making $1.25 million per year, but they reportedly offered Boise State's Chris Petersen's $3 million before he turned them down. 

The Bruins have the means to make it happen. They just have to convince Tressel to take it if they want him to be their next coach.