Riley turns down Alabama job

Friday December 13, 2002

By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) Alabama's search for a football coach took another frustrating turn Friday when New Orleans Saints assistant coach Mike Riley rejected the job offer.

Riley said Alabama athletic director Mal Moore refused his request for more time to consider a similar position at UCLA. He plans to visit UCLA after the Saints' home game against Minnesota on Sunday.

Riley, speaking at the Saints' practice field, called himself a ``pretty deliberate person.''

``I asked Alabama about an opportunity to wait a little bit,'' he said. ``They exercised their prerogative and said they needed to go on.''

Alabama athletic director Mal Moore offered Riley the job after Dennis Franchione left for Texas A&M last week. UCLA fired coach Bob Toledo on Monday.

``I know the players are very anxious and I know our fans are very anxious,'' Moore said 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 has contacted ``10 or 15 different people'' but would not say how many he interviewed. He does not think the Alabama job has become unattractive because of NCAA sanctions and 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.''

The 49-year-old Riley played defensive back for the Crimson Tide under Bear Bryant in the early 1970s, but Riley's family still lives in Southern California.

Riley has spent much of his career on the West Coast. He was USC's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for four years before becoming coach at Oregon State. He coached the San Diego Chargers for three seasons before he was fired on Dec. 31.

Moore interviewed Riley and South Florida coach Jim Leavitt on Tuesday, but Leavitt was removed from consideration Thursday when his school signed him to a five-year, $2.8 million contract extension.

Alabama defensive coordinator Carl Torbush repeatedly expressed interest in the job, but he said Thursday he has agreed to run Franchione's defense at Texas A&M.

``I waited as long as I could,'' Torbush said.

Other candidates believed to be considered for the Alabama job are Oklahoma State's Les Miles, West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez and Washington State's Mike Price.

Alabama's next coach must deal with another year of NCAA sanctions, which occurred before Franchione arrived. He said the probation, which includes a postseason ban this year and next, as well as scholarship reductions, was a major factor in him leaving Tuscaloosa after just two seasons.

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-signed with their schools for seven-figure salaries and Davis left for the Cleveland Browns.

University trustee Peter Lowe believes Moore will find the right coach.

``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.''

Meanwhile, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero is set to 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.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)