A potential sticking point is the $750,000 owed him by the San Diego Chargers for the last year of a five-year guaranteed deal he signed in 1999.
He was fired after going 14-34 in three seasons and the Chargers do not have to pay him if he takes another head coaching job. However, UCLA is unlikely to add even a portion of that amount to his deal.
At first blush, Riley would seem an unattractive candidate. He had only a 22-48 record as a head coach with the Chargers and for two seasons at Oregon State, although he did win two Canadian Football League Grey Cup titles as coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
But he is regarded as a strong tactician on offense and has a reputation for connecting with young players.
It also doesn't hurt that Riley has had a long relationship with Field, who has emerged as Guerrero's most trusted football advisor. Field was a young assistant at Alabama when Riley played there in the early 1970s and the two men have remained in contact.
Field, a longtime former UCLA assistant nudged from his defensive coordinator position by Toledo after the 2000 season, is familiar with all the top candidates. He was a UCLA assistant along with Robinson under Terry Donahue in the 1980s -- a period when Dorrell was a standout receiver.
Riley, sources said, also has the strong backing of Bobby Beathard, a respected former NFL general manager who hired Riley with the Chargers.
Beathard's son, Jeff, played under Riley in Winnipeg. Guerrero, in his first year as athletic director, considers it a plus that Riley does not have strong ties to UCLA, sources said. Dorrell has the backing of many players from the Bruin glory days in the 1980s, but such strong support from one segment of alumni might make Guerrero wary.
This is the third time in two years that Riley has been close to a Pacific 10 Conference coaching position. Two years ago USC tried to hire him to replace Paul Hackett, but the Chargers would not release him from his contract. Last year he was a finalist for the Stanford opening that went to Buddy Teevens.
He is a serious candidate again, and he'll discover more in his meeting with Carnesale. While he waited for his wife, Dee, to pick him up outside the airline terminal Sunday, Riley shrugged off the uncertainty. "I don't even know where we are staying tonight," he said. "She'll pick me up and take me there."
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Tight end Mike Seidman and linebacker Marcus Reese were named co-most valuable players at the UCLA football team banquet Sunday at the Beverly Hills Hilton.
