Is Tim Skipper Cementing Himself as UCLA’s Top Choice?

Between established names like Curt Cignetti, Mike Gundy and even Nick Saban, and some of the hottest risers like G.J. Kinne, Kenny Dillingham and Alex Golesh, the Bruins might just have to look in-house for their next lead man.

UCLA's season outlook was dreadful when Skipper took the reins. But now, the sky's the limit for what the program can accomplish.

Skipper Addressed Buzz Earlier in the Week

Naturally, after leading the Bruins to a stunning win over No. 7 Penn State, followed by Saturday's commanding win over MSU, Skipper's name has to be buzzing around the coaching gig. It's only right his name is thrown in the ring, right? Still, the interim coach isn't focused on that.

• "I'll be honest with you, I have not thought about that one ounce," Skipper said during Monday's media availability. "So much stuff I have to do here, I mean, to think about the future, I'm not that guy. I'm not a dwell-on-the-past or dream-about-the-future kind of guy. Wherever my feet, that's where I'm gon' be.

• "So, I'm excited about the opportunity that I have here. Coaching these guys, man, we're just getting better every day. Always being on the rise. I always wanted to be a head coach, I really did. That's just me, I like to be at the highest of the highest, no matter what I'm doing."

• "Head coaching jobs are the highest peak you can be in the coaching profession, so I enjoy that and that's my goal. But, right now, sitting here today, I am all about getting ready to go play Michigan State. That is the focus and all I care about."

Don't let these two wins fool you, Skipper has been ready to break off from assistant and interim status for a long time.

Skip is Ready

Soon after Skipper was named Westwood's interim head coach, he expressed his desire to be a head coach in the future.

• "I'm one of those people [where], if I'm doing something, I want to get to the top," he said in his first media availability as UCLA's interim. "So, if that's the top of the mountain in this profession, I want to do that. Whatever job it is, I'm going full speed ahead. That's just my nature.

• "I actually experienced this last year, a full season. I enjoyed it. Wish you win some more games and things like that, but when you become a head coach, it's a lot less about the ball and more about the off-the-field stuff. So you either like it or you don't, and I rather enjoyed it. We're going to keep on building from that."

Despite coaching just 17 games overall as an interim coach over the last three seasons -- which is 17 more than DeShaun Foster had before being hired -- Skipper's resume speaks for itself. He has a 9-8 overall record; his first being a bowl game win and his latest being a shellacking over a Big Ten opponent.

Skipper is ready to take on a more permanent role. But will it be in Westwood?