Everyone at USC had already heard about UCLA's hiring of Rick Neuheisel, and as one of Pete Carroll's assistant coaches put it after practice, "Well, Pete's not the cutest coach in town anymore."
When I mentioned that to Carroll, he said, "no way anybody on my staff said that," but oh yes they did -- Neuheisel already getting the jump on Carroll in the land of the beautiful.
On a bright note, though, as I told Carroll, UCLA didn't hire a Harbaugh, but just the same, I said, "I figured I still might find you a little nervous now that Neuheisel has been hired."
"Shaking," Carroll said.
IT APPEARS UCLA took the USC approach -- taking the time to let every coach in America turn down the job before finding someone desperate enough to take it.
It also looks like UCLA was doing everything it could to find someone other than Neuheisel, or it just took that long to complete his background check.
"We've been waiting for the smoke to come out of the Vatican," joked Carroll, his own hiring having taken forever as well when Dennis Erickson, Mike Bellotti and Mike Riley all said "no thanks" to Mike Garrett before an unemployed Carroll got a look.
This UCLA mess, though, began with a search firm hired to put together a list of names, and ended with the first name mentioned and then crossed off the list.
Times reporter Chris Foster, writing "the search for a new UCLA football coach has begun" in early December, also noted in the third paragraph, "Former Washington and Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel will not be considered for the job, according to one of the sources," who also told him Boise State's Chris Petersen was the top choice for the job.
Keep in mind that he didn't report it was a source who necessarily knew what he was talking about.
Al Golden pulled his name from consideration because Temple's program offered more promise, while Dick Harmon of the Deseret News in Utah reported that Norm Chow called UCLA quarterback Ben Olson twice and then Chow said he no longer wanted to be considered for the job. I presume Olson told him he had plans to return to UCLA next season.
San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Nick Canepa wrote Saturday morning, "Word on the street is that [Detroit offensive coordinator] Mike Martz will be the next UCLA football coach, replacing fellow San Diegan Karl Dorrell."
