Alabama search starting anew, Riley rejects offer

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Posted 6:55AM on Saturday, December 14, 2002

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - Alabama's search for a football coach took another frustrating turn Friday, when New Orleans Saints assistant coach Mike Riley turned down the job after he was refused more time to consider the UCLA position. ``I asked Alabama about an opportunity to wait a little bit,'' Riley said on the Saints practice field in New Orleans. ``They exercised their prerogative and said they needed to go on.'' Alabama athletic director Mal Moore has been searching for a new head coach since Dennis Franchione left last week after two seasons to take over the Texas A&M football program. Moore had offered the post to Riley. ``I know the players are very anxious and I know our fans are very anxious,'' Moore told reporters on Friday. ``We want them to be assured that we will get the best person for this job, and I think that's what's important.'' Moore said he had contacted ``10 or 15 different people'' but wouldn't say how many he'd actually interviewed. He also said he didn't think the Alabama job had become unattractive to candidates despite NCAA sanctions and sky-high expectations. ``There's been a lot of interest in this job I mean, a lot of interest from all over the country,'' Moore said. ``It just takes time.'' Riley said his withdrawal was a totally personal decision. ``I'm a pretty deliberate person and I needed a little more time,'' he said. Moore had already lost his reported second choice, when South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt got a contract extension on Thursday paying $2.8 million over the next five years. Moore interviewed both coaches on Tuesday, but now must turn to Plan C. Among the other rumored candidates are Oklahoma State's Les Miles, West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez and Washington State's Mike Price. Miles and Rodriguez said Friday they had not been contacted about the Alabama job. Moore said Thursday evening he had ``a couple of people'' in mind for the job, and The Tuscaloosa News reported that Moore interviewed an undisclosed candidate that night. ``It's an awkward situation that we're in that nobody anticipated, but we're working hard to make this come out an outstanding change here with a new coach in the very near future,'' Moore said in a taped interview with a university radio program. Alabama defensive coordinator Carl Torbush has repeatedly expressed interest in the head coaching position. He said Thursday he still wants the job but has agreed to run Franchione's defense. ``I waited as long as I could,'' Torbush said. Riley said one factor in his decision was his family never moved from California, where he was coach of the San Diego Chargers, and they are happy where they are. Meanwhile, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero will reportedly interview Denver Broncos assistant Karl Dorrell and Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Greg Robinson on Saturday in Denver, where the Chiefs and Broncos play Sunday. Dorrell is a former UCLA receiver and Robinson is a former UCLA assistant. Guerrero has said there is no deadline as far as hiring a coach is concerned. UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said the school would not comment on the search. Franchione left for the Texas A&M job despite winning over Tide fans with a strong finish in 2001 and a 10-3 record this season. But he said NCAA probation, which cost Alabama a bowl game this year and next, plus scholarship losses, was a major factor. Two years ago, Clemson's Tommy Bowden, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer and Miami's Butch Davis passed on the Alabama job. Bowden and Beamer re-upped with their respective schools for seven-figure salaries and Davis would leave for the NFL's Cleveland Browns. University trustee Peter Lowe still believes Moore will find the right man. ``I've got all the confidence in the world in him,'' Lowe said Friday. ``I like Mike Riley. It would have been a perfect situation if we had him as a coach, but he's not the only coach out there. ``It's important to get a good coach, and Mal will find us one. I think he's going about it just the right way.''