DAVIE, Fla. -- How could Karl Dorrell compete with the guy on the other half of the split screen?

On one side, Southern California coach Pete Carroll stalked the sideline. On the other, UCLA's coach stood calmly. Carroll yelled at players and referees, clapped and whistled and cheered. Dorrell checked his clipboard, seemed to whisper into his microphone and calmly called in plays.

The contrast concerned Dorrell's former UCLA teammate, Rick Neuheisel, who feared that Dorrell might be perceived as indifferent.

"Karl is very calculating, very measured, but there is a fire that burns in him," Neuheisel said.

Neuheisel, a Bruins quarterback in the early 1980s, said he called his old receiver after the game to tell him he needed to show that fire.

Dorrell handles emotion the way a connoisseur considers a fine wine, Neuheisel said, swishing it around his glass at length before allowing himself a sip.

A good demeanor for a head coach -- unless his rival across town is a colorful character racking up titles.

In the end, it was a 25-25 record outside of one 10-2 season, and a 1-4 record against USC, that got Dorrell replaced after five seasons.

His ouster led him back to the National Football League and a job coaching wide receivers under new Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.

Dorrell, 44, was wide receivers coach for three seasons in Denver (2000-02), where he worked with Pro Bowl receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey. Dorrell is looking forward to working with Miami's young wideouts, who will take the field again when camp opens July 26.

"Sometimes you miss that as a head coach, being with the players day to day," Dorrell said. "So, I'm enjoying this."

That doesn't take away the sting of being fired, as Neuheisel knows. Neuheisel was a winner at the University of Colorado (Dorrell also served at CU, as an assistant for six years in the 1990s) and then the University of Washington, but was fired in Seattle after he participated in an NCAA basketball office pool. He claimed that betting in the pool was approved by superiors, and he eventually was vindicated in court. After one season as quarterbacks coach of the Baltimore Ravens, he got a chance to be a head coach again.

And that required a separate phone call to Dorrell, because Neuheisel was about to become a candidate to succeed Dorrell at UCLA.

Dorrell said he understood and waved him on. Neuheisel was hired.

Dorrell wants another chance to be a head coach -- "I am hopeful of that," he said -- but meanwhile will focus on developing a lightly experienced group of receivers.

The Dolphins' most prolific receiver last season, Marty Booker (50 catches, 556 yards), is gone, and he had only a single touchdown catch.

Ernest Wilford, a free agent signee from Jacksonville, has played four NFL seasons and is Dorrell's most experienced receiver. Others assured of making the team are second-year man Ted Ginn Jr. and third-year pro Derek Hagan.

"It's a young group, a group that has a lot of potential," Dorrell said.

The Dolphins hope his best work shows in Ginn, a ninth overall draft pick who has developed slowly. Dorrell is trying to help him understand what Sparano wants to see: intensity, speed, discipline.

"Because he's been a head coach, he helps you know what our head coach wants from us," Ginn said. "Plus, it's great to learn from somebody who has been on that level before."

Said Wilford: "He doesn't say a lot, but what he says is important."

That sounds like the Dorrell that Neuheisel remembers as a coach -- and as a player who would calmly talk strategy in the huddle and adjust routes to exploit a defender's weaknesses.

No, Karl Dorrell won't light up a TV screen. But he may be able to help Sparano ignite the offense.

"If he doesn't have an ego, the new coach would be wise to seek out Karl's counsel, " Neuheisel said.