COACHING STAFF SAYS OFFENSIVE SYSTEM A GO DORRELL, ASSISTANTS CONFIDENT IN PLAN.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

Financially, the transition from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles is stunning, particularly when it comes to buying a home.

Dino Babers, UCLA's first-year receivers coach, decided to make that move in February despite some apparent drawbacks.

``The reason I came here, and am going in debt, is for this offense,'' Babers said.

A few offices down from Babers sits first-year offensive coordinator Tom Cable, who mirrors Babers' passion for the offense. Across the hall, first- year quarterbacks coach Jim Svoboda expresses the same excitement.

The offense?

It's the West Coast version coach Karl Dorrell brought to UCLA a year ago, but with a decided twist. Unlike a year ago, when the offense was dysfunctional at times, every member of the current offensive coaching staff has an intense belief it is the right offense to run.

UCLA is pointing to a number of reasons why it will be better than the 6-7 team in 2003, and the symbiotic nature of this coaching staff could play a big role.

``There's a lot more trust involved,'' said Dorrell, who opens his second training camp Wednesday. ``There's a comfort level where everybody knows where everybody is coming from. Everybody has the background needed to operate on this staff.''

Cable, who spent the past four years as Idaho's coach, has run this offense for years and knows it intricately. Babers' enthusiasm in learning it seems undying, and Svoboda loves to dissect the technical aspects of it.

The two returning offensive assistants, tight ends coach Jon Embree, who moved from receivers coach, and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, are former Colorado assistants. They share a similar offensive philosophy with Dorrell, another former Colorado assistant.

``The personalities fit,'' Dorrell said. ``They have fun. They enjoy each other, and they work hard with each other.''

The coaches are quick to point out success comes down to executing plays, but players should be in a more favorable position to do so.

A year ago, that didn't happen. By midseason the offensive staff was fragmented, and the result was one of the worst offenses in the nation. Former offensive coordinator Steve Axman, who was also the quarterbacks coach, admitted he had difficulty learning the timing-based West Coast offense, and struggled in understanding the best formations and what plays to call in order to counter defensive schemes.

That created sideline confusion for the coaches, and led to penalties and questionable play calling. The situation deteriorated so much, according to several players, that on at least one occasion, a play sent by Axman from the press box was changed on the field by another assistant.

The play calling became such an issue that Dorrell nearly took it over in midseason, but he recently said he decided not to because it would have created further confusion within the staff.

By last November, Dorrell already told Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero of changes he needed to make on the staff, sources said. And after the infuriating 17-9 loss to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Classic, Axman, at least the third person offered the coordinator's job, left. Bob Toledo-holdovers Gary Bernardi, the tight ends coach, and Mark Weber, the offensive line coach, were fired.

``Karl and I have different personalities, but we're exactly the same when we talk about football,'' Babers said. ``When we start talking about football, there ain't a whole bunch of 'No, I disagree.' ''

It's the same with the rest of the members of the offensive staff. Dorrell was already comfortable with Embree and Bieniemy, and his new hires also believe in this offensive system. In fact, Dorrell tried to hire Cable once before, but Cable turned down an offer to be the Bruins' offensive coordinator a year earlier to remain at Idaho.

Cable, who will call the plays from the sideline, loves to run the ball, but insists he will mix in a healthy dose of passes down the field. Most importantly, though, Cable has Dorrell's full confidence.

``I think (continuity) it's huge on game day,'' Cable said. ``I think it's very important that everyone knows what the plan is, and how they were going to go out and execute the plan, and how you fit into it. And when you're called upon, bang, you've got the answer.''

Cable also is widely regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in the country. He began making a name for himself during a six-year tenure at Cal (1992-97), where he helped Todd Steussie become the best lineman in the Pacific-10 Conference in 1993.

``(Cable) will sit there and go, 'Yo, move your feet in a little bit. Move the hand a little bit this way. When you hit this guy, hit him this way,' '' senior weak-side guard Eyoseph Efseaff said. ``And then you do it, and it works. In a couple days, I felt like I was a better football player. I wish I could have four years with the guy.''

Svoboda's main task is to improve junior quarterback Drew Olson's game. Last season Olson completed 53 percent of his passes, but he threw nine interceptions and 10 touchdowns. He said he suffered by not having a full-time quarterbacks coach.

After studying film, Svoboda said it was apparent Olson needed to improve his footwork and learn to look receivers off. In spring ball, Olson flourished.

``You have to have a quarterback coach,'' Olson said. ``There's no way to be successful at the level we want to be at, and not have one.''

Babers appears to be cut in the detail-oriented mold of Dorrell, who ran routes as a player at UCLA time after time until they were perfect. Senior Craig Bragg, UCLA's top receiver, quickly learned that.

``I've never had a coach quite like him,'' Bragg said. ``What happens when you run a bad route? He doesn't really yell at you, but he goes over in detail what you did wrong. Step by step, pretty much. He'll walk through it with you. He might have you run the route a hundred times to get it right.''

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com