REPORT: Collegiate GM Rips UCLA's Cronin for Postgame Comments

UCLA Bruins coach Mick Cronin is under fire for what he said after Tuesday's embarrassing loss to the Michigan Wolverines at home.

Dec 14, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin against the Arizona Wildcats at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

UCLA Bruins coach Mick Cronin made national headlines this week after what he said about his coaching staff and team following their loss to the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines at home on Tuesday. One well-renowned figure in the football world had strong words about it.

Former NFL executive and media analyst and current general manager of the North Carolina Tar Heels, Michael Lombardi, spoke on Cronin's critical postgame comments from Tuesday when he joined the "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday.

Lombardi is a frequent flyer on McAfee's show and recently took the job at North Carolina last month. He gave his expert opinion on how that situation should have been handled differently and essentially ripped Cronin for the way that he went about the entire situation and how he voiced his frustrations.

"I think he's going to regret what he said," Lombardi said. "I think to me, leadership is about standing in front of people. Those players just didn't come to UCLA because they liked Westwood or they liked Santa Monica Boulevard, they came there because he recruited them. Your team's a reflection of who you recruit, and if you don't like who you recruit, you got to change that. ... You can't stand in front of the team and say, 'you guys are soft', it's all about the program, it's all about what we're asking you to do. You got to take accountability for it. Leadership is about standing in front of players when things go bad, you stand behind them when things go well.

"So, when you're talking about what he talked about, that's a great conversation to have with the team in the locker room behind closed doors. It's not a conversation to have in America, because those players now, they got called out. You don't do that. You lose trust in that situation. Look, if you think your team's not executing the way you want it, that falls on you. Remember this, and I've said this many times on your show, you're either coaching it or allowing it to happen."

Despite the honest truth that was needed for a Bruins team that was playing uninspired basketball the past week or so, Lombardi's comments are very accurate. Was it a necessary conversation to have? Yes. Should it have happened away from the media? Even more of a yes.

There are going to be question marks regarding Cronin's team and how they respond to such eviscerating comments from their own head coach. Hopefully they are able to bounce back positively and use those words as motivation to grow and compete at a higher level.

Lombardi's final piece of advice of 'you're either coaching it or allowing it to happen' is a perfect encapsulation of what Cronin must change going forward. If he wants his guys to play harder, he has to do everything to get that out of them instead of blaming his team for their shortcomings.

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