PASADENA — Tim Skipper holds a paper sheet on his person at all times while talking shop, calling plays on the sidelines.
It’s integral to his coaching identity, a part of his past that will remain with him for the future.
In his pocket lies a time-management sheet, his dad’s nice football strategy obsession of choice, living with him to help his son to victory, much like Saturday night at the Rose Bowl when UCLA took down Maryland 20-17 to secure three consecutive victories.
For Skipper, all roads lead back home.
“My parents and my brothers, all of that is just flowing through me,” he said after the Bruins grasped another win. “When we’re sitting at dinner, we’re just talking ball. We’re talking through situations. All of that stuff just goes through your mind.”
Skipper’s dad, Jim Skipper, coached in college and in the NFL from 1974 to 2018, once serving as former UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster’s running backs coach for the Carolina Panthers. It was how Tim Skipper found his way to Westwood in the first place, winding his way through football webs to Foster and UCLA.
Tim Skipper’s brother, Kelly Skipper, is the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills — and once was the offensive coordinator at UCLA from 2001 to 2002, and running backs coach from 1998 to 2000, under former Bruins’ head honcho Bob Toledo.
Who would have thought that in the moments of tension, teeth-chattering anxiety, Tim Skipper would be the one from the Skipper family whose name would be shouted in praise at the Rose Bowl.
“I give credit to Coach Skipper and his staff and his team,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said after the Terrapins’ loss. “(UCLA) fought for four quarters — they battled. They’re a tough opponent, they’re playing together, and playing for each other.”
Played for each other, the Bruins did. Within those back-and-forth moments, from Nico Iamaleava’s injury — that led to the redshirt sophomore quarterback writhing on the grass in pain — to Maryland’s game-tying touchdown — or Iamaleava returning through discomfort to help the Bruins secure the victory with Mateen Bhaghani’s game-winning 23-yard field goal, that sheet — heralded by his 76-year-old father — remained close to Skipper’s chest, guiding him through every moment.
“As soon as the game got under five minutes, I just held that sheet the whole time,” Skipper, 47, said. “It just brings me back to all of those memories. I can hear my dad saying, ‘Just work the game.’ It worked, man, and the final result was in our favor.”
The University of California Board of Regents voted 12-1 Tuesday (with three regents abstaining) to approve the next contract parameters for UCLA football’s head coach. The salary is expected to allow the Bruins to compete to hire a coach with a substantially higher salary than Foster’s.
But how many wins does Tim Skipper need to be considered for the full-time job? Anything feels possible on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Just over a month into Skipper taking over the job as UCLA’s interim football coach, he’s fostered the Bruins to marquee moments, Big Ten memories with victories over then-No. 7 Penn State (leading to James Franklin’s firing a week later) and Michigan State in East Lansing (led by potential UCLA coaching candidate Jonathan Smith).
On Saturday — with a packed student section screaming the exploits of UCLA — a cheery rendition of Hail to the Hills of Westwood, the school’s alma mater, rang out after Skipper close-to-masterfully controlled the pace of the Bruins’ final drive, holding the sheet close to his chest.
The song’s lyrics state:
“Hail to the hills of Westwood, to the mighty sea below; Hail to our alma mater, she will conquer every foe. For we’re loyal to the Southland, her honor we’ll uphold; We’ll gladly give our hearts to thee, to the blue and to the gold.”
Skipper is currently giving his heart to thee, and the blue and gold has conquered foe by foe. The standard is suddenly success when the Bruins play in Pasadena.
“I think the main thing that Coach Skip emphasized this week is ‘The standard is the standard,’” Bhaghani said. “I think the efforts of Coach Skip and Nico (Iamaleava) are trying to bring the team together; I think it’s working, and we’re going to keep it rolling.”
Next on the list is a trip to Bloomington to match up against undefeated No. 3 Indiana (7-0, 4-0) — picked midway through UCLA’s game Saturday for Big Noon kickoff on Fox; the hoopla of national television leading into a 9 a.m. Pacific time kickoff.
“To be honest with you, what’s hitting me is a month ago, talking to all you guys, and if you told me we’d be in a Big Noon game, I’d be like, ‘Alright, you’re just trying to mess with me,’” Skipper said. “So that is awesome. It means we’re doing something right.”