Norm Chow withdrew his name from consideration for the head-coaching job at ucla this afternoon. There has been a lot of speculation as to why but no real confirmation other than Chow's statement from Brian Dohn's Blog.
Chow said in a statement. "While I was told that our meeting went very well, I was given no indication as to what their final decision will be, or what their time frame is to make that decision.
"Nevertheless, I have decided not to pursue things further with UCLA at this time. My focus is on the Tennessee Titans and preparing our team for a chance at the playoffs."
I think Chow did the honorable thing. I had two confirmations that came to me unsolicited that Chow was offered the job and that he accepted it but that he would not announce that acceptance until after the Titans' season is over. That's honorable; he would not leave Tennessee hanging as they are still in the playoff chase and that's the sort of example ucla likes to see from their prospective leaders unlike say Bobby Petrino.
Chow has taken a beating from the more rabid part of the fanbase because he did not fit the mold they think that a head coach should be for ucla. Would Norm Chow be a successful head coach at ucla? Who knows, but based on the fact that at age 61 he has yet to have a head coaching job it does make one wonder if he has what it takes and if he would be successful. I know this though; ucla doesn't deserve a genius like Norm Chow. His talents would have been wasted on a program that has no direction, is notoriously cheap and that has NEVER been a player in the national title chase with any consistency.
Guerrero has proven he is in way over his head with the coach's he has lined up for interviews while other programs have either acted swiftly or went out of the box to get their open HC positions filled. They can say what they want, but ucla will always be a second rate football program that doesn't have the stones to follow through with the expectations that the fans and have come to expect. I think those expectations are misplaced but that's not my problem.
And that's another discussion for another time...
UPDATE:
Bellotti is now in the mix.
Bellotti is 105-50 since taking over at Oregon in 1995, and is considered one of the top offensive coaches in the West.
Bellotti balked earlier in UCLA's interviewing process when intermediaries first contacted him, sources said.
Let me say this, I’m not sure this is a good move for Bellotti. He already has a good program at Oregon without the Academic restrictions and the low pay so why make the move??
Strange…but Interesting.