COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’87 : COACHES, PLAYERS, TEAMS AND TRENDS TO WATCH THIS SEASON : Donahue’s Philosophy Is Now Carried Out by Homer Smith’s Disciple : With Steve Axman, UCLA’s Offense Is Still in Good Hands

For the last several years, while the UCLA football team has been winning--and winning with flash and fanfare--and breaking all kinds of records with diverse and multidimensional offensive schemes, the offensive coach, quarterback tutor and game-time play-caller has been Homer Smith.

There was something akin to mystical about him. His history included an episode of flying in the face of football tradition at the time he was fired as head coach at Army, a retreat to Harvard to study theology, of all things, and an unexpected coaching comeback at the invitation of UCLA Coach Terry Donahue.

He was characterized as an almost comical absent-minded professor type by his young proteges, who loved him, respected him and swore he was a genius.

And yet, he was never seen on the sidelines. He worked from the press box, sending messages over the headsets, leaving the impression that he was some kind of Wizard of Oz pushing the right buttons back there behind the curtain.

Now that he is gone, moved on to work his wizardry for the Kansas City Chiefs, the curtain has been pulled aside and Donahue reveals that he and Smith devised that offense together and that there should not be a noticeable change under the new offensive coordinator, Steve Axman.

Axman, who was the offensive line and offensive backfield coach at Army under Smith, says that although he has come in with many of his own ideas and has been influenced by several other coaches he has worked with in the 13 years he has been a college and pro coach, he is a believer in Smith’s offensive philosophies. And he believes that one of the reasons he was chosen for the job was that there would be an easy transition.

How much will the offense change, then?

Donahue said: “Very little if any. Any changes, really, will not be based on the change of offensive coordinators as much as they will be dictated by personnel. I think that’s important to note.

“The offensive structure or the offensive philosophy really is not dictated by the offensive coordinator and never has been. It comes from my office. . . .

“We have used balance as kind of a cornerstone word of what we’re trying to get done. That same philosophy of balance doesn’t leave or come in with a change of coaches. That really is part of the program. It really comes from the wishes of me, the head coach. In terms of offensive structure, UCLA will have the same basic structures we had last year--we’ll be an I team, we’ll have a split-back team, a little bit of single back. We’ll throw play-action passes. We’ll drop the quarterback back. All that will be exactly the same. Where the offense might vary a little bit is according to which quarterback is in the game. . . .

“Structurally or in terms of philosophy or play design, the offense hasn’t changed a lick. Nor will it. At least not until they have a new head coach.”

UCLA opened its season Saturday night against San Diego State with the offensive coordinator in the press box, sending down plays as always.

To make sure that all went smoothly, Donahue staged two scrimmages at the Rose Bowl and let everyone practice game-day logistics.

Axman knew coming in, of course, that he was following a fascinating and popular coach and that he’d be scrutinized.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Axman said. “Homer and I are very close friends and I have great admiration for him.”

Axman has called Smith, “One of the brightest minds offensive football has ever had, period.”

Saturday night, the Bruins’ offense didn’t miss a beat, rolling up 514 yards, 334 on the ground.

Before joining Smith’s staff at Army, Axman graduated from C.W. Post College, coached at three high schools in New York, coached the defensive line at East Stroudsburg State for one year and coached the offensive line at Albany State for one year.

He was at Army for three seasons before coaching the quarterbacks and offensive backs at Illinois for a year, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Arizona under current USC Coach Larry Smith for four seasons, coaching the offensive line for a year for the Denver Gold of the USFL and, most recently, coaching the offensive line at Stanford for a year.

Axman had interviewed for a job at UCLA on Homer Smith’s recommendation in 1980, but the job was to coach the outside linebackers, and Axman says: “I certainly was not a defensive coach.”

Donahue didn’t hear from Axman, then, until last spring when Smith’s job became available, and Axman called to recommend a coach he had worked with on the Denver Gold staff.

Donahue told him thanks but no thanks on the guy he was recommending, then said, “Thanks for calling because you’re one of the four or five coaches I had in mind for this position.”

So Axman moved his wife and four daughters from the Bay Area to Agoura Hills and started coordinating the UCLA offense.

“I’ve been other places where we didn’t have this kind of talent, and then the job is more to be a tactician,” Axman said. “With the talent here, it’s more a question of teaching a system that is very complete and very effective.”

And not at all simple.

Like Smith, Axman believes in multiple looks. Axman wants to eliminate any predictability and stay a step ahead of the defense--let the defense have to adapt and react on every play.

He and Donahue agree that the ball should end up in the hands of Gaston Green a lot, and both say that there are lots of ways of getting it there aside from handing it to him seven yards behind the line of scrimmage.

“I would say that it is not a simple system, but we have a lot of bright players here and a lot of experienced players,” Axman said.

Those who were comfortable with the system that Donahue and Smith have been perfecting for the last seven years needed only to add a few twists and turns.

“Coach Donahue wasn’t looking for someone to come in and revamp the system,” Axman said. “You know what they say--if something’s not broken, don’t fix it.”