UCLA Football Search Drags On ... and On
Holy mackerel. The search for Karl Dorrell's successor as UCLA coach has turned into a farce.
Here we are, 25 days after Dorrell was dumped, six days after the Bruins played in the Las Vegas Bowl, and UCLA is still mucking around on this.
The latest, according to colleague Brian Dohn:
Rick Neuheisel and DeWayne Walker remain in the running, and UCLA chancellor Gene Block is interviewing John Harbaugh today.
Harbaugh, defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, is best known for being Jim Harbaugh's brother. And the only reason we can imagine why he's getting an interview today ... is the Bruins (or perhaps Block's) disenchantment with both Neuheisel and Walker.
For those not keeping score at home, the Bruins apparently have interviewed (or at least contacted) Steve Mariucci, Mike Bellotti, Chris Petersen (Boise State), Al Golden (Temple), Norm Chow and the three remaining candidates.
Bellotti was just messin' with the Bruins, looking for leverage (for more money/security) at Oregon. Chow and Golden removed themselves from the running when it became clear the Bruins didn't want them ... and Mariucci and Petersen apparently took a phone call and told UCLA not to bother.
Anyway, this has gone on forEVER. And none of the three remaining candidates is exactly perfect. I like DeWayne Walker, but he doesn't have head-coaching experience and Block and athletic director Dan Guerrero will catch heat if they hire him. Rick Neuheisel, former Bruin, has some fairly serious baggage from his days as coach at Washington and Colorado. And then there is The Wrong Harbaugh.
If the Bruins don't make an announcement tomorrow, Saturday, they may as well wait till the middle of next week, because their choice will be ignored amid the rush of sports news.
Or maybe that's how they want it, now that they've made such a mess of things.