Rick is 4-1 against Bellotti. Bellotti’s teams have been known to tail off in November just like Rick’s have been accused of doing also.

With Rick’s record against Bellotti (4-1), I would think that tells you much more than Plascke over stated perceptions.

I think DG is smart enough to hold off any decision untll after the Las Vegas Game with BYU.

For argument sake, let’s say that UCLA does hire Bellotti away from Oregon. And to make it better, Oregon hires Rick and DW goes to Wazzu, would you feel comfortable with that situation on the schedule? Hmmmmm, I wouldn’t that’s for sure.

Jeez, what a rush. I wonder how this news affects current recruits for both schools. Why would Belotti mess with his current class if he’s not seriously considering our program??

Let’s keep our focus on someone who truly covets our program and will bring some winning back to 90095. Rick!

Brewnz,

I am going to open up a cold one and toast that call right now.

Amen

Amen to the comments below by Brewnz & BruinBuddy. Let’s hire someone who knows the Bruin football tradition and can build the program long-term– Rick Neuheisel.

Hold on. We don’t know if Bellotti has accepted. Oregon could still come back with a higher offer. Clearly, he is the front runner right now and the decision is in his hands. If he accepts, I can only hope he keeps DW, but he will probably be given the freedom to bring in his own people. DW will be okay, either way though. He will be a HC somewhere.

You guys need to read the article by Brian Dohn from LA Daily News. He had an interview with Rick Neuheisel.

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_7774933

Someone should start a website called www.bringbackrick.com. Just thinking out load. lol. It might be to late.

Alot of RN pimpers here… I prefer Bellotti to Neuheisel.
Bellotti’s teams fall off in November??? He’s 26-13, that’s amazing when compared to almost all the other Pac-10 coaches except Carroll.

Anyhow, I’d take either coach, they’re both a huge step up from DW and especially KD.

Same here JRBruin, everyone here is comparing Rick’s record against Bellotti, but Bellotti has proven himself as a coach and has kept the Ducks in the Hunt for a while now. Plus I just think that Rick’s past(even though I don’t hold it against him) is going to have a dark cloud hovering over Ucla. It’ll be a great hire if we get Bellotti.

WOW !!THIS IS A NO BRAINER!!!unless you think someone who knows “bruin nation” equates to coatching football!!
Anyone who has any football sence,knows rick neuheisel isn’t in the same league as MIKE BELLOTTI!!!SORRY r.n. fans,you might half to accept greatness over someone who coached along side “DORREll” oh I wonder how much BEN HOWLAND knew about BRUIN NATION!

JRBruin,

Belotti is just being a whore, trying to pick his customer’s pocket.

Bellotti is a GOOD coach…not GREAT!!! Just look at the record and the facts. Don’t see him as any better or worse then Rick.

JRBruin - I personally like Rick Neuheisel for the next UCLA head coach but I would not mind if Mike Bellotti was the next head coach.

Heck of an argument there Doug… If he’s the same as Rick, but without a record of leaving programs in shambles after 4 years, I’d have to go with Bellotti.

Brewnz, if you’re right then you’ve got nothing to worry about. Bellotti will balk at the offer and then we’ll hire RN. No worries, I just hope the third time is a charm with Rick and he’s able to hold the post for longer than a few years and prove that he can win with his own recruits. It’s a weird thing that he’s supposedly an amazing recruiter, yet once he’s got his guys he hasn’t really had much success.

He may be good, but not great…66% win percentage, lost last 4 bowl games and probably can make that 5 after the Sun Bowl.
I am not saying I wouldn’t accept him, but I don’t see where all the GREAT comments come from and I think Rick is a GOOD.
I see Bellotti as Toledo reincarnated…Fun Offense, No Defense. Just the facts.

1995 Oregon 9-3-0 L Cotton
1996 Oregon 6-5-0
1997 Oregon 7-5-0 W Las Vegas
1998 Oregon 8-4-0 L Aloha
1999 Oregon 9-3-0 W Sun
2000 Oregon 10-2-0 W Holiday
2001 Oregon 11-1-0 W Fiesta
2002 Oregon 7-6-0 L Seattle
2003 Oregon 8-5-0 L Sun
2004 Oregon 5-6-0
2005 Oregon 10-2-0 L Holiday
2006 Oregon 7-6-0 L Las Vegas
2007 Oregon 8-4-0
Total 105 - 52 66%

MB or RN are leaps and bounds ahead of KD and DW. I would be content with either of the two. This is definitely getting exciting!

Not great? bellotti is 5 and 3 against pete carroll.
11 bowl games in 13 seasons,including the rose,fiesta ,and the cotton bowl!,only SuC has won more conference championships in that time, sound great to me.

While Mike Berlotti would be a super hire and there is no question that he has done a very good job at Oregon building teams that require an extra effort to recruit, there have been some mis-statents regarding his record against USC. Checking the records, I find that he was 5-4 with most of his victories coming before Pete Carroll:

1997 Oregon 22 Southern California 24 Lost
1998 Oregon 17 Southern California 13 Won
1999 Oregon 33 Southern California 30 Won
2000 Oregon 28 Southern California 17 Won
2001 Oregon 24 Southern California 22 Won
2002 Oregon 33 Southern California 44 Lost
2005 Oregon 13 Southern California 45 Lost
2006 Oregon 10 Southern California 35 Lost
2007 Oregon 24 Southern California 17 Won

Doug, alot of those late losses are due to the depth issues that Diego is pointing out. I agree that in and of itself, that record isn’t exactly Bobby Bowden or Tressel, but in the last few years he’s had Oregon in position to make the national championship twice, something we haven’t had since ‘98. Not that RN couldn’t have done that, but the thing I like about Bellotti is that he’s got a long record that stands up to some scrutiny. There are ebbs and flows as with any program, but there’s only 1 losing season in there. RN just doesn’t have enough years in any one place to really say that over 5-10 years what type of pattern we would see.

One knock on Bellotti though, did anybody see the civil war this year? They should have won that game in regulation if the qb had just been told to spike the ball after he moved it to the center of the field. It was obvious that there wasn’t enough time to get the kicking unit on the field and it was only 2nd down… Bonehead play that reminded me of the cal-oregon state game earlier in the year.

no one has a perfect record ,,but to think he did all that in? eugene oregon,just think of what he would do in the city of angels.

Shony…Oh I didn’t see the part where Phil Knight is sending all of his money with Bellotti…

I like RN as our next HC but Mike Belotti is a serious upgrade–if he comes to UCLA.Hire one of those guys already, this is torture and has been for much to long.

JR - technically, the Bruins did have a slim chance to go all the way this year, I thought they were the dark horse candidate to go all the way in this year’s pre-season, by more than one talking head. What a joke that turned out to be. More reason to leave those memories behind, which includes DW.

JR - i would take MB or RN, you rationalize your preference and I’ll rationalize mine. I agree MB is a good coach, maybe he will be great. Yes he has stayed at one place, we would see at how he rebuilds a program, because we have to agree whoever gets the reins it is going to be a huge rebuilding project and we as fans better be patient for 2-3 years.
Thank God we have basketball until then.

Merry Christmas!!

Lets not forget the holiday bowl game against Oklahoma.

No Beloti Rick is our man

With or without his mustache, he would be a great hire. This is why I don’t believe DG will land this mighty catch. It totally goes against the “on the cheap” philosophy of the last 40 years at this hallowed institution. This is just a ploy to make it easier to swallow the s–t sandwich that is comming our way!

JRBruin,

Rick is UCLA thru & thru. He is not Colorado or Washington. Any weaknesses, and there are some, goes out the window when you are back at home. He will build on his *successes* not on his weaknesses. Hasn’t anybody have a dream job before or a job you really like? Yeah, you tend to kick ass in this kind of a job. Rick will not be different than those of us who love our jobs. Moreover, with Rick, there is a strong element of redemption. What do the other candidates have that can surpass this kind of driving force. Rick will kick ass!!

Concur with FUSC @ 10:50am. No Bellotti.

Shony420: Neuheisel is 4-1 vs. Bellotti’s Oregon teams, including 2 Bowl victories when he was coach of Colorado. Neuheisel will hold his own vs. Bellotti & other coaches of the Pac-10, if he becomes the Bruins next coach.

Nick Aliotti - welcome back… do we play Wisconsin or Miami soon??? Lets bring Al Borges back too!!

Brewnz @ 11:03 am:
JRBruin,

Rick is UCLA thru & thru. He is not Colorado or Washington. Any weaknesses, and there are some, goes out the window when you are back at home. He will build on his *successes* not on his weaknesses. Hasn’t anybody have a dream job before or a job you really like? Yeah, you tend to kick ass in this kind of a job. Rick will not be different than those of us who love our jobs. Moreover, with Rick, there is a strong element of redemption. What do the other candidates have that can surpass this kind of driving force. Rick will kick ass!!

These are fine ponts, Brewnz.

Nick Aliotti–Yikes. Talk about Mr. Swiss Cheese “D”. I am still bitter about the “D” on the ‘98 team. It cost UCLA the chance of playing for the National Championship.

DD-

How do UCLA admission standards compare to those at Oregon?

Bob Levin

We should pay Neuheisel less than we pay our women’s water polo coach. Not one othe university in the country wants Neuheisel. We should pay him as such.

Good one!! Laughing my ass off!!

There are no admission standards at Oregon… that is why I’d better Tedford. He knows how to win at a UC.

So if Rick Neuheisel is a better coach than Bellotti, then why did Ohio State, Notre Dame, and for that matter, any school with a coaching vacancy (other than Duke) want Bellotti over Neuheisel?

So what you’re saying is that the fact that Rick is an alumni, makes him a better coach at Ucla? I don’t buy that…

Like I mentioned yesterday, Neuheisel has 4 Bowl Victories including the Cotton & Rose; 3 Top 10 Finshes; & 1 Top 20 Finish in 8 coaching seasons at Colorado & Washington.

Neuheisel supporters…send your e-mails of support to Dan Guerrero at dguerrero@athletics.ucla.edu ASAP!

Athletic Directors are like girls shopping for shoes. All that matters is which is the hottest, most “in” style of the moment.
It really is ridiculous. A coach can go 3-9 for six straight years. Then, he suddenly gets a few breaks and he goes 10-2 and every fricking AD in the country wants him to fill his coaching vacancy.
Why didn’t Notre Dame, etc. want Neuheisel? He was on the outs with the NCAA. It’s that simple. Do you really think Notre Dame, etc. knew anything about Bellotti before he had a couple good teams at Oregon. No. He was the “coach du jour” all of sudden when he found some success.
I view having an opportunity to get Neuheisel the same way some guys would view being able to buy a set of great golf clubs because they have smoke damage. His being on the outs with many AD’s is our good fortune. I hope we take advantage of it.

Bay area Bruin, thank you! This is ythe question that no one answers.

How good was Neuheisel without McCarthy’s players? If the best candidate was an alum, I’d be all for it, but I want the best candidate period. John Wooden and Red Sanders did not go to UCLA. In fact they left their alma maters for UCLA. That turned out alright.

I can’t stop laughing at all the sportswriters, and I use the term “sports” loosely, who are trying to make all of us believe Bellotti has been coaching “in the woods”, as if Eugene is Bumfluck, Egypt or something. Did you hear Kirk Herbstreit rant about Eugene during ESPN Gameday this year? He wants to move there. Yeah, its the woods. LOL Believe it or not, some kids like fishing, hunting, skiing, snowboarding, and living in a small community where they are recognized when they go to the mall. Eugene is internationally known as “track town” USA, and it is not unusual to see the guy who won the NY City Marathon the day before, standing in line next to you at the market.
Don’t fall for the nonsense that Bellotti will have even better teams if he moves to LA. That is bull. The game is still about blocking and tackling whether you are “in the woods” or the asphalt jungle.

About to Puke, point well taken, but I still think LA is a bigger draw for recruits than Eugene.

Not to mention there are a lot more schools to draw from in LA than in “the woods”

If we get Beliotti we also get Chip Kelly who I think is pretty awesome. He made Dixon into a great QB and their offense was pretty creative. No doubt they would have gotten to the NC game if DD doesn’t get hurt. The only downside…Nick Aliotti is the D Coordinator. Yes, he ran that great UCLA defense that couldn’t make one stop against Miami in ‘98. He’s still pretty awful. The guy just can’t coach defense. I wouldn’t trust that guy to run a concession stand at the Rose Bowl. Overall…Belotti would be MUCH better than Neuweisel. RN will have an NCAA target on his back…for sure!! Let’s not get a sleezy coach who is going to get us on probation. 51 NCAA violations at Colorado.

At this point, a Neuheisel or a Belloti would be a big step forward. Rick has had margin success and has seen his programs decline as he moved along. Belloti has built winners despite his location. Kind of reminds me of Howland..

Rich Perelman is reporting on his blog that Chris Foster, UCLA’s beat reporter, says that Bellotti has passed on the job and will make a formal announcement later today.

Belloti was a pipe dream…a nice pipe dream. Look, I’ve gotta believe that RN has learned from his past mistakes and has matured. The UCLA job is going to “make or break” him. He’s a UCLA guy, and wants the job probably more than any other candidate. Remember how much Ben Howland wanted the job until they hired him? The guy scored, rightfully, with his lawsuit against the NCAA and UW. If he had lost, and was in the wrong, I’d say absolutely no to RN. Give him a break…give him the job already!