As job candidates piled up during his search for a coach, UCLA's Dan Guerrero didn't really need a phone book. Rather, it looked like he was trying to fill one.

At least 11 coaches either interviewed or expressed interest in the job left vacant for 26 days since Karl Dorrell was fired on Dec. 3. Rick Neuheisel finally became the guy Saturday, approximately two weeks after first interviewing.

First question at the presser: What took so long?

Guerrero, UCLA's AD, managed the search like Michael Vick managed his dogfighting concern. It was very public and, at times, very ugly. Hours before Slick Rick got the gig, the wheels still were turning. Carolina Panthers coach John Fox was said to be a serious candidate. NFL assistant John Harbaugh at one point Saturday reportedly was the favorite.

Dan, some discretion, please!

Well, it is La-La Land, where certain disgraced pop stars can't go to the corner for a pack of cigarettes without attracting a pack of paparazzi.

What Guerrero might not know is that UCLA could desperately use some of that attention right now. So, in that sense, he hit a home run. Neuheisel will charm. Neuheisel will recruit. Neuheisel will win, certainly more than the dour Dorrell.

Neuheisel might even threaten the dynasty crosstown, at least until the two schools have to play again.

That's what a lot of this is about. Neuheisel is hot again. He's going to win that news conference. UCLA finally has a personality to go head to head with Pete Carroll. Whether that personality can win as much as Carroll is another story, but one that Bruin Nation is suddenly willing to wait a while to track.

I told you (and apparently Danny G) about this two weeks ago. Neuheisel was the best and only hire UCLA could make at this point; an alum to rally everyone (boosters, fans, players) back to battle stations, because at last check that dynasty crosstown was wiping the floor with Bruin blood.

During his lengthy, public and convoluted search, maybe Guerrero concluded that in a game filled with rogues and cheaters, he couldn't find anyone cleaner. Neuheisel certainly wasn't Guerrero's first choice but was clearly the people's choice.

In other words, it was a numbers game: .688 trumped 51. That first number is Neuheisel's career winning percentage. The second is the number of secondary violations the NCAA charged against him.

Five years ago, he was radioactive. But times passes and, fortunately for Neuheisel, the profession hasn't distinguished itself lately, which makes him practically look like an archbishop these days. After the NCAA Tournament betting pool scandal, he put his head down (while suing the NCAA and U-Dub), started at the lowest level of the profession (high school assistant) and remade himself.

Success, scandal, rebirth, redemption. That's not a hiring, that's the American Dream. No, even better, a screenplay.

Someone wave those paparazzi over to Westwood.

• Here are selected quotes from Saturday's conference call with Neuheisel and Guerrero. Hope this isn't an omen, but the call was interrupted by a constant loop of Guerrero saying "after a thorough and exhaustive search ..." At one point, the theme from Saturday Night Live played over the line. Don't know where that came from, but here's how the main players sorted it out:

Rick Neuheisel

How did the process start? "I got a phone call early in the process from one of Dan's assistants to tell me exactly how the search would be run. It would be entirely confidential ... I was asked to keep that as confidential as possible to keep the integrity of the search."

What about the NCAA violations? "That was certainly part of the initial interview. I wanted to set the record straight; where I had made mistakes, where I had made errors in judgment, what I had learned from that. I took full responsibility ... There's the old adage that talk is cheap. You have to walk the walk. I've made it clear ... that I am committed to do this 100 percent the right way. You have my absolute unequivocal commitment that this will never happen again."

On coaching at his alma mater: "I've been waiting for a long time. When you get involved in a search, especially one with your alma mater ... there's anxious moments but I always believe that UCLA was going to do what was best for UCLA ... it made it easier to get some sleep but there were certainly some anxious moments."

Have you talked to defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker? I have told Dan that DeWayne Walker is my No. 1 recruit. I was very, very impressed with the defense he played the last couple of years. I know he's coveted. I know he's a sought-after guy. It's important we do everything to make him feel welcome."

On going head-to-head with Pete Carroll: "I have a great deal of respect for coach Carroll. He has done an unbelievable job. I admire what he's built. It's up to us at UCLA now to become the type of rival that when USC and UCLA square off, it's the game of the year."

How have you changed as a coach in the last five years? "The good news is I didn't waste the time. I coached two years at a high school, as a grass-roots reminder of what coaching was all about. Then the last three years, I got to learn in the NFL, basically a graduate school of football. Everything kind of goes up a notch in terms of sophistication. While doing both of those things, I missed Saturdays. I'm elated I not only get to return to Saturdays but do it at my alma mater."

More on NCAA transgressions: "The mistakes I made in Colorado were basically youthful mistakes. I was trying to outhustle the opposition. I just made some silly mistakes. I take full responsibility. Going back the last eight years, you do grow a little wiser if you're paying attention. I still feel like I can be a very effective recruiter, doing it the right way."

On being nicknamed Slick Rick: "Slick Rick is not who I am. It just happens to rhyme with my first name. Sometimes you don't have a real say in how you're termed ... some of it I deserve because of the way I went about it in my career."

Dan Guerrero

"Rick's past transgressions very much were an issue for me. The hiring of Rick does not change that core value at all ... I firmly believe he embraces this. All of our coaches understand this, all of them get it. In every program in America, you're going to have transgressions."

On a report that Neuheisel guaranteed four donors who would contribute $1 million each to the Pauley Pavilion renovation: "That's not true at all. As you go through this process, you get a lot of feedback from a lot of people. Never in this process was there ever any (hint of) who is threatening to pull donations, I can assure you with the highest degree of confidence."

Good thing Chris Jessie doesn't have a certain glowing tint to his hair.

He could have been beaten like a red-headed stepchild.

By now you know that much too much was made over Jessie, a Texas football ops guy and Mack Brown's stepson, maybe touching the ball in Thursday's Holiday Bowl. The unsportsmanlike penalty assessed to Texas allowed Arizona State to momentarily get back in the game.

But that's all it was. The Horns eventually cruised 52-34. What stuck with me, though, was how Jessie's "touch" was mismanaged by the officials. Surprise, right?

The ruling on the field was a fumble recovered by Texas. Doesn't it take indisputable evidence to overturn the call on the field? According to the angle we the viewer got at home, Jessie's touching was at best inconclusive. Certainly the rolling ball didn't move when Jessie reached down at it. Unless the replay guys had a different angle than us at home, this was another replay that was mismanaged.

Good thing it didn't matter.

Other bowl thoughts going into the weekend:

• What is it with these coaches who are obviously trying to get a better job not acknowledging it in any way shape or form? Roy Williams went so far as to utter a profanity when asked about the North Carolina job everyone knew he was about to take. ("I don't give a s--- about Carolina.")

Now comes the news that Central Michigan's Butch Jones was "upset" that he was asked by an ESPN sideline reporter about the fact that he was interviewing at West Virginia. The players knew it, the fans knew it, everyone knew it going into the Motor City Bowl. But reportedly ESPN never broadcast the question and answer that came from the floor of Ford Field during the bowl game.

When asked later in a more public setting about the interview, Jones said: "I am not going to comment on that."

Fine, but don't ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room, which is you, Butch, trying to get to West Virginia. It insults everyone's intelligence.

Depending on who you read, Jones has interviewed twice but the frontrunner remains Terry Bowden. Florida assistant Doc Holliday and Florida State assistant (and former WVU offensive line coach) have also interviewed.

One website reported that Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley also interviewed.

• Does Howard Schnellenberger look the same as he did that New Year's night 24 years ago or what? That's all I could think of watching Florida Atlantic beat Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.

Maybe distinguished Southern gentlemen don't die, they just keep taking teams to bowl games.

• Has anyone noticed that BYU is back? Bronco Mendenhall has won 11 games for the second consecutive year after the Cougars beat UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.

• The only upset among the first eight bowl games is East Carolina beating Boise State in the Honolulu Bowl. The favorites in the seven other bowls (heading into Friday's games) have won.

Rich Rodriguez finally found a place where it's easier to win a national championship; where the consolation prize can sometimes be the Rose Bowl.

The Big Ten.

The week-in, week-out meat grinder that is the Big East finally forced him to Michigan for more money and less stress. OK, that's a simplification, but not much of one. That's the current state of the Michigan and West Virginia programs after Rodriguez became the Wolverines' 17th coach on Sunday. You don't say no to Michigan, so when you consummate the relationship it's hard to believe things are going to be easier.

The Big Ten is at one of its low points. No one would doubt that. Ohio State is playing in the BCS title game for the second consecutive year and the worldwide perception is that it somehow doesn't belong there. Does Jim Tressel care? No, but hang with me.

The Big East, meanwhile, has turned into what the Big Ten used to be. Tough. Competitive. In early November 2006, it had three undefeated teams. Earlier this season, South Florida was ranked second. Three of the conference's eight teams are ranked heading into the bowls. Rodriguez's old team has won at least a share of four of the past five Big East titles.

The Big East is so tough that Michigan AD Bill Martin ought to be sending thank you cards to Pittsburgh. Had not the Panthers knocked West Virginia out of the national title race on Dec. 1, it's doubtful Rodriguez would have been available.

Playing for it all at LSU certainly had to factor in Les Miles' decision not to come. But that's ancient history. A very public and, at times, a very messy process is over. Martin's third option sure does seem like a top choice at this point.

Sure, Rodriguez was hired to do one thing above all others -- beat Ohio State -- but moving up a notch makes his overall task less difficult. Consider that those Buckeyes lost on Nov. 10 to unranked Illinois, did not beat a top 20 team (at kickoff) this season for the first time in 71 years and find themselves back in the title picture.

Hey, in any given year that could be you, Michigan -- with minimal improvement from Rodriguez.

That scenario also couldn't happen in the Big East. Rutgers went 10-2 in the regular season last year and found itself playing in the Texas Bowl.

You don't say no to Michigan, but Rod already had turned down another superpower, Alabama. It's weird how circumstances can congeal to make a guy neck in the back seat with 'Bama but walk to the altar with Michigan after a couple of days of dating.

Maybe it's the fact that this is a chance he'll never get again. Blow off Alabama and Michigan and there aren't too many top 10 programs left. Plus, he had done just about everything he could do in Morgantown.

As Rodriguez said on many occasions, you fly over West Virginia and you see more deer stands than rooftops. That's another way of saying he had to recruit his butt off just to get the Mountaineers to where they are now.

Believe me, it won't be that hard at Michigan. The whole program will be energized. Rodriguez will seamlessly transfer his spread offense to the Big House. It fits the culture because Rod's spread might be the only one in the country that features a power running game.

The expectations will be out the wazoo but Rodriguez will have: 1.) Facilities. The building going on in Ann Arbor right now makes it look like a city within a city.

2.) Recruits. The nation's No. 1 quarterback recruit, Terrelle Pryor from Pennsylvania, told Superprep.com he just added Michigan to his list. That was after Rodriguez had been wooing him to West Virginia.

3.) Support. Not necessarily from the 110,000 on a weekly basis but, for now, Lloyd Carr, who seemed to be the puppet master in the search. All of it means Rodriguez can devote more of his time to the playing field than in the AD's office begging for more resources.

After reading the CBSSports.com message boards there seemed to be a feeling that Rodriguez "owed" more to West Virginia. Horse spit.

• Rodriguez was a West Virginia native who was there seven years, got the program to its highest level ever. (That includes the 21 years Don Nehlen was there.) That makes Bobby Petrino practically looked indentured considering his four, long, hard years at Louisville.

• Rodriguez is no idiot. He didn't really want to go to Alabama last year but after word leaked out that he "agreed in principle" (whatever that means) to coach the Tide, Rodriguez used it as leverage to get construction of a new academic center and stadium suites fast tracked. Those are gifts that will keep on giving after Rodriguez's coaching career is over.

• Richy Rich didn't owe the school a thing because he knows the industry. Nine years ago, the story goes, he was promised the Tulane job after his boss Tommy Bowden left for Clemson. The job went instead to Chris Scelfo, who was fired last year.

Where would Rodriguez be if he gotten Tulane, instead of starting a career arc toward Morgantown? Certainly not at Michigan.

"There are very few Michigans," Nehlen told the Detroit News. "When you coach at West Virginia you walk on water in West Virginia, but when you coach at Michigan, you walk on water, period. There's a difference. Some people around here don't want to believe that."

Let's make sure everyone understands this: Rich Rodriguez got a promotion. He moved up. Got a better job. What would you do, Mr. 9-to-5?

Michigan is making a living at raiding West Virginia coaches. First it was John Beilein in basketball. Now it's Rodriguez.

In the pecking order of big-time college athletics, that's Darwin, baby.

Although I'm still not sure Miles is out of the running.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's obvious these Buckeyes aren't robots.

True, they're becoming the New York Yankees of the sport (three title shots in the past six years). True, their coach barely noses out a central vacuum cleaning system in terms of pizzazz. But these guys (and their coach) have actual personalities.

That's what I came away with Thursday after spending an afternoon interviewing the Bucks before their BCS title game date on Jan. 7. A lot of credit goes to the ol' central vac himself, Jim Tressel, for loosening up the atmosphere. He's the one who went out in the offseason and landed his biggest recruit (at least in media terms) -- sports information director Shelly Poe from West Virginia.

While that might not mean much to the majority of you, it was the equivalent of a thaw in relations between the U.S. and the old Soviet Union. Tressel himself wanted to get his program's story out to a broader audience. In came Poe, who worked for two decades publicizing West Virginia. As you can see by where the Mountaineers are in the national cosmos, she did a pretty good job.

Tressel stood up for a solid hour Thursday, taking questions, sparring with reporters, cracking wise and otherwise looking totally relaxed. When I asked him if, in his heart of hearts, he expected to be chasing another national title, Tres said, "I don't know that back in August that I had a schedule made for these two weeks." Otherwise meaning, no he didn't expect to be here.

That's the story of the '07 Bucks. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Everyone knows that. You don't go chasing waterfalls after losing the Heisman Trophy winner and several top draft choices.

But here they are. Lucky? That's part of it. Since Jan. 8, Ohio State has been No. 1 three times. As late as Nov. 11, they were dead and buried. Through a set of BCS circumstances (thanks mostly to Missouri and West Virginia), they are playing for the national championship again. I don't have a problem with that. The way the season went, they were the logical team to put up there at No. 1 when everyone lost on Dec. 1.

Now we need to know who they are:

• They are defensive tackle Nader Abdullah, a Muslim from New Orleans who has lost two brothers to tragic deaths. A third was about to be swallowed up by Katrina's flooding when a bird smacked him in the face while he slept in the family's attic. After waking up, he swam to safety.

• They are offensive tackle Kirk Barton. The wisecracking captain was a poster boy for Ohio State's loss to Florida in January. During one of the worst nights you'll ever see by an offensive line, he and fellow tackle Alex Boone got wind burn from Florida defenders blowing past them.

The thing about it is, Barton owned it. He kids about it. "Hide the razor blades," Barton said when asked about his immediate reaction to the game. In his fifth year as a Buckeye, he feels as fortunate as hell to be playing for another championship in his last game.

• They are defensive lineman Vernon Gholston. The football coach at Detroit Cass Tech High School saw young Vernon walking in the halls and mistook him for a parent. "Can I help you?" the coach said. "I go here," Gholston responded. The coach couldn't believe his fortune. This giant was actually a student. A student who excelled at football after a late start and became a star.

• They are Brian Robiskie. The son of the former NFL player was a bit player on last year's team. This season he leads the Buckeyes in catches and yards. His dad, now a coach with the Dolphins, used some unique ways to improve his son's catching ability.

"It was interesting to watch Brian at 11 catch a six-pack of Coca-Cola," Terry Robiskie told the Buckeye Sports Bulletin. "Catch a gallon of milk. If you had a bottle of soda, 'Here, catch.' He had to catch it. 'If you drop it, it's yours; that's the one that was bought for you.'

"I've always preached catching. I've always done goofy things. I've got three boys, and I'd have them in the kitchen washing dishes. We'd wash a glass and dry it, throw it to Brian. He knows his mom is going to scream if he breaks that glass on her kitchen floor.

"The best one was with that little Super Ball you got out of a machine for a quarter. You throw it around the room, see the ball jumping all over the room like a jumping bean and tell him to catch it. I watched his eyes tracking the ball."

• They are James Laurinaitis who is as close to defensive perfect as there is. As a sophomore, he won the Nagurski Award as the defensive player of the year. As a junior, he was this season's Butkus Award winner as the nation's best linebacker. That's saying something at a place that has a linebacker tradition as long as his father's pro wrestling career.

It's going to be fun to cover these guys in New Orleans. They are walking into the belly of the beast, a virtual home game for LSU in the Superdome. They are not scared. After what happened in January, they are standing on the tee watching the best mulligan ever launched.

Around the nation

• It's officially personal now between Louisville and Bobby Petrino. Cardinals leading rusher Anthony Allen has decided to transfer. Understandable after the season The Ville endured in Steve Kragthorpe's first go-around. But the school has stipulations. Not only is Allen prohibited from transferring to another Big East school (per league rules) but the school also added Arkansas to the banned list.

You can't blame Louisville. After what Petrino did to them last season, the last thing the Cardinals need is the ethics-less coach poaching one of his old players.

• Found this interesting quote about Armanti Edwards. "He could play at any school in the United States," Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore said. "He's not going to go to West Virginia and beat that guy (Pat White) out there, he's not going to go to Florida and beat that guy (Tebow) out there. But another school in that same league, he could go play."

What, you forgot Edwards already? He's the App State quarterback who ran and passed circles around Michigan. His team went for another I-AA championship Friday night against Delaware.

• Another reason why the coaches poll is a lethal weapon when it comes to the BCS. Coaches are lining their own pockets with a tool they control. Want proof? From the Columbia Missourian:

The 14 coaches of Top 25 teams who voted in the final USA Today poll picked their teams an average of 2.7 spots higher than their actual position. None picked their teams lower. The proudest coach was Boise State's Chris Petersen, who pegged his 22nd-ranked Broncos at No. 14. Houston Nutt tabbed his former team, Arkansas, seven spots higher than its No. 24 final position.

• If you read Thursday's newser about Ohio State president Gordon Gee, you got a glimpse of one of the more colorful people in a colorless world. University executives are not known to be the exciting types. Gee not only is a president, he's a fan and wears his loyalty on his elbow-patched Herringbone sleeve.

"There's a lot of data that shows that a great football season does not a great fundraising year make," he said. "But it does show though winning during that season creates an unbelievable level of support and spirit for the university. If Ohio State were 1-11, we wouldn't be talking to you today."

Gee notably ripped Bobby Petrino for his job hopping but wouldn't do the same to his peer, Arkansas chancellor John White, for hiring the itinerant coach.

"The solution would be for us (presidents) to enter into an agreement ... that we would have a system in which the hiring process had a much more rational basis to it."

Gee also spoke about the minority hiring crisis in I-A football:

"I don't want to use the word shameful, but I think now it is time for us to step up and say there are many qualified head coaches who are not being given an opportunity. Not necessarily because of the color of their skin, but because of the fact that we haven't done a good enough job in mentoring or developing.

"I have a good friend Norm Chow, who is Chinese (actually Chinese-Hawaiian). Norm has never been given an opportunity to be a head coach, much of it because of it because of the fact I think he's Chinese. He's a wonderful guy.

"What's happening is people are getting recycled. The level of recycling is not as productive as it should be." There was a report this week that Chow -- one of my favorites, too -- is going to interview at UCLA. Let's hope he gets the job. Chow has been interviewed too many times and not gotten the job. He's 61 now and offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

It would be great to see Chow go against his old boss Pete Carroll at USC.

• My take on the Mitchell Report: At the end of the day, this taints the Hall of Fame. If any of these clowns get elected to the Hall, I've had it. Pete Rose is out, but Clemens and Bonds could be in? Guess it depends on how much you bet, not how much you took.

Halls of fame are a joke anyway. One of the arguments I've heard over the years is that the Hall of Fame is full of rogues and racists and cheaters. Fine, great. Throw them all out. Ty Cobb, Phil Niekro. Everybody. Isn't it better that the Hall be credible than having a bunch of cheaters in it?

Guess not. O.J. Simpson is still in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Note to readers who crushed me last week for not putting Darren McFadden on my Heisman ballot: OK, so D-Mac wasn't in my top three (the ballot only has three slots). Is it OK he would be No. 4? In case you forgot, I had it Tim Tebow, Chase Daniel, Kevin Smith. I don't find it a scandal that I had the second-leading all-time single-season rushing leader at No. 3 on my Heisman ballot.

• I was tooling around Columbus on Wednesday night and damn near had a religious experience. I found this station on Sirius satellite radio called the E Street Radio. As you can imagine, it's all Bruce Springsteen, all the time.

I listened to a grainy recording of Bruce and the boys from the Palladium in New York from September 1978. That was two months before I saw him for the first time. I got goose bumps. I actually stayed in the rental car in the hotel parking lot until the show was over.

Then lit up my Bic and held it above my head. Encore, you know.

• It's not all Springstreen with me. A tear was to be shed for Ike Turner, who passed away this week. The legendary R&B and soul artist is given credit by some for the first rock 'n' roll recording ever -- Rocket 88 in 1951. Ike was 76.

--Christmas gift suggestion: I'm a few pages into my good friend Bruce Feldman's book Meat Market, but it already has my full attention. Feldman had full access to Ole Miss recruiting during the Ed Orgeron years. For those of you who not only like sausage but want to see how it is made, this is a must read.

• As long as I'm on the subject, also read Stewart Mandel's Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls. It is a primer for the modern BCS world.

• Off for a couple of days to visit my side of the family during the holidays. I'm coming home, Momma! Have the chicken noodle soup and Durkee's ready.

Thanks to Michael Vick, Arkansas was able to hire a proven head coach.

It was dicey there for a while. After Arkansas fired Houston Nutt it spent the better part of the last two weeks handing out raises and getting turned down. But Vick and the Falcons came through, doing their damndest to drive Petrino to Fayetteville.

Actually, it just happened to be Fayetteville. When Petrino was hired by Arkansas on Tuesday, he had been lobbying hard for Auburn or LSU, had those jobs come open. That's what happens to a man who realizes he's been in a car wreck and the vehicles aren't through piling up yet.

As recent as last night, Monday Night Football broadcasters were lauding Petrino's allegiance to the Falcons in the wake of Vick's sentencing. Maybe it was then that the former Louisville coach realized the depth of the doo-doo he had stepped in.

In a 12-hour period, Petrino found out his franchise quarterback had become disenfranchised until essentially 2010. That's assuming Vick has the desire, and more importantly, the skills to try to make a comeback. Then what's left of the Falcons stunk it up again against the Saints.

According to a couple of accounts it was shortly after that game that Petrino called Arkansas and told them he was in. Before that, the school was seriously considering Auburn's 36-year-old defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

Finally, Arkansas got lucky standing in the middle of the right intersection at a point when Petrino's wanderlust collided with the Hogs' desperation. He looks like the latest NFL coach who desperately wanted to get back to his college roots. Ask Steve Spurrier if he is a happier man.

The good: The reason Petrino came to Atlanta was to try his quarterback wizardry with Vick. The man might be borderline Bill Belichick with the media and hard to work with for those around him, but the man can coach quarterbacks. No, make that offense in general.

Both of his quarterbacks at Louisville (Stefan LeFors and Brian Brohm) have been/will be drafted. Lefors, now in Canada, was drafted in the fourth round in 2005. Brohm might be the first quarterback taken next spring.

Arkansas won't have to worry about landing a quarterback to lead a powerful offense.

Petrino also was the coach who finally got the Cardinals over the hump, winning the Big East and the Orange Bowl last season. A lot of other people deserve credit, including AD Tom Jurich, but Petrino was the guy who got the program to the next level.

The bad: Over a four-year period at Louisville, Petrino lost an estimated 45 signees. They either never made it to campus or were kicked off the team. That's almost half of his recruits.

He might be able to get by in Conference USA like that, but the SEC will eat you alive because of failed recruiting classes.

Petrino will have to get himself a solid staff to bring in SEC-level talent that will stay at Arkansas.

Oh and one thing to watch for: loyalty. Petrino left Louisville in a complete lurch last year when he jumped to the Falcons. He lasted 13 games with Atlanta (there was no immediate word if he would finish the season).

What's to keep him rooted firmly in Fayetteville? Really, nothing. Petrino thought nothing of meeting secretly with Auburn, undercutting not only Louisville but a fellow coach in Tommy Tuberville. If I were AD Jeff Long I'd be very concerned if Auburn or LSU -- or really any big-time job -- come open in the near future.

Petrino has proven to be a guy who is always looking for the next best thing. This is his 13th job since 1983.

But Arkansas needed a proven college coach. Getting one with a 41-9 career record looks darn good/lucky (pick one or both) right now.

Navy coach Paul Johnson has an agreement in principle with Georgia Tech, one source told me Friday morning.

We've learned, though, to take those agreements with a grain of salt. Last year, Rich Rodriguez either did or did not have one at Alabama. He used it, in part, as leverage to get upgrades for facilities at West Virginia.

As recently as Thursday night the source said Johnson had decided to stay at Navy, so stay tuned. The 50-year-old is the hottest coach around, being pursued by SMU and Duke as well as Georgia Tech. It's known that SMU is willing to pay more than $2 million per season.

In other coaching news, it looks like Texas Tech's Mike Leach is out of the discussion at UCLA. The latest name to pop up is Hawaii's June Jones, who said to be going after the opening "hot and heavy." The Southern Miss opening is down to Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora.

A new, and familiar, name has emerged in the Georgia Tech coaching search. Terry Bowden interviewed for the Yellow Jackets job earlier this week, a source close to the situation told CBSSports.com Thursday night.

Navy coach Paul Johnson is still considered the favorite for the job but Bowden did have what was termed "a great meeting" with Georgia Tech officials. Bowden made it known before the season that he wanted back into coaching after leaving Auburn in 1998. He is currently working as a radio analyst and writes an online column.

Bowden's name has emerged in the SMU search and he could be a factor in the still-developing UCLA search. The school is expected to hire a search firm by this weekend after Karl Dorrell was fired this week.

Johnson continues to be perhaps the hottest candidate in the land at the moment. The 50-year-old is being courted by three schools -- Georgia Tech, Duke and SMU. SMU reportedly is willing to pay more than $2 million per season for Johnson's services.

Who would you rather be right now, Jeff Long or Bill Martin?

Long, Arkansas' new athletic director, apparently just lost out on Jim Grobe. Wake Forest confirmed Thursday morning that Grobe is still its coach and was not, for now, going to Arkansas. At least one outlet reported late Wednesday that Grobe would be introduced Thursday in Fayetteville.

This is not Long's fault. Grobe was Long's guy and would have been one of the best hires of this season. This undercuts Long's ability to hire his own coach and probably scares off other candidates. Already super agent Jimmy Sexton has used Arkansas to get his client Tommy Tuberville a nice raise at Auburn.

Apparently there is a faction at Arkansas that wants a "bigger" name than Grobe. Chancellor John White is said to be orchestrating some of this.

One of those names being tossed around is Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Two years ago Malzahn was the head coach at Springdale (Ark.) High School, then got hired by Houston Nutt in 2006. After a year of not being able to install his offense, Malzahn left for Tulsa.

Under Malzahn, the Golden Hurricane had the nation's No. 1 offense in 2007 (542.5 yards per game).

The Arkansas job might be so damaged now that getting a coordinator might be the only route left. But if you're Oklahoma's Brent Venables, do you want to toss your career into the Arkansas cauldron?

Meanwhile, Martin, Michigan's AD, is taking shots from all sides. Published reports suggest that Martin might have botched his pursuit of Les Miles by missing calls from Miles' agent.

Where does Martin head now? Not to Greg Schiano. The Rutgers coach is not only happy where he is, there is only job he wants, I'm told. No surprise but it's Penn State. If it takes five years or 10 years, it seems as if Schiano will wait for Joe to retire. Schiano is absolutely in love with the place having been there as an assistant.

Meanwhile, Schiano is building a new home in Piscataway and has the Scarlet Knights rolling with their third straight bowl appearance.

I'm not saying it's going to happen but the names of two NFL head coaches have come up at Michigan: Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis and Carolina's John Fox.

Chris Petersen quickly became an ex-candidate at UCLA.

The Boise State coach said Monday afternoon that he was not interested and had not been contacted by the school.

You're up next, Mike Leach.

• The national championship matchup is OK with me. But just OK. As I stated in Sunday's story, Ohio State and LSU were least worst than everyone else. The next biggest controversy had to do with Missouri getting slotted into the Cotton Bowl despite being No. 1 (for a week) and beating Kansas head-to-head.

Kansas got into the Orange Bowl ahead of Missouri because the school guaranteed tickets. Attendance is still an issue with the Orange, and KU AD Lew Perkins guaranteeing ticket sales probably put the Jayhawks over the top.

As unseemly as it sounds, Missouri could have bought its way into the BCS. The ticket thing is left over from the old bowl system. It's clear that Perkins knows how to play the game. Missouri thought everything would work out. Well, it didn’t.

The only reason the Tigers got as high as the Cotton Bowl (against Arkansas) is that Texas lost to Texas A&M. Had the Aggies won, Missouri would be in the Holiday Bowl at 11-2. Great for the bowl, bad for the program.

• Do these BCS matchups stink or what? The only game I'm mildly interested in is Georgia-Hawaii just to see how the islanders stack up against an SEC power. Don't underestimate Hawaii. The Warriors can run, which is half the battle in football today. Plus, the school has a sizable mainland fan base. I'm predicting 15,000-20,000 Hawaii fans in the Superdome.

• It looked like Big East officials were trying their hardest to get West Virginia through the Pittsburgh ordeal. The two holding calls on the Panthers receiver -- the last one negated a touchdown run -- were ridiculous.

• So much for the SEC being eliminated from the title race on Nov. 23 with LSU's loss to Arkansas. I wrote that, I believe it and I was wrong.

• If the SEC is so good, why does it have one team with no tailback (Florida) and one team without a quarterback (Arkansas).

• Ryan Perrilloux is not a bust, but he hasn't nearly lived up to expectations. Also, LSU wouldn't be playing for a championship if he wasn't in Baton Rouge. That should make sense.

• So Ohio State can't stop the spread. It doesn't matter now. LSU runs a more conventional offense.

• Shame on Missouri fans. The Big 12 championship game wasn't a sellout by about a couple of thousand at the Alamodome. There's no excuse for the Tigers having to beg, borrow or steal their way to San Antonio to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Their team was No. 1 for the first time in 47 years, a game away from playing for the national championship. If you can't buy up every ticket available in that scenario, you never will.

Missouri fans, you went down a notch in my eyes.

• Gosh, if Les Miles doesn't go to Michigan, who is AD Bill Martin going to get? The best candidate left might be Rutgers' Greg Schiano, who says he hasn't been contacted. Yet.

• Get ready for the flexbone. Navy's Paul Johnson seemed set to be set to become SMU's new coach this week but it looks like Georgia Tech came back with a late offer and could be snagging the hottest coaching commodity on the market.

If Johnson does leave after defeating Army 38-3, he will leave a legacy of a 10-1 record against the two other service academies and a Navy-record five consecutive bowls. Johnson's triple option flexbone in the ACC? Johnson won't outsmart himself. Expect him to use at least some spread.

• Scuttlebutt: Wake Forest's Jim Grobe dropped out of the running at Nebraska after being told he would have to hire certain assistant coaches. If a guy is going to make a career move like that, he ought to be able to hire his own staff. Bo Pelini, though, will hire several old Nebraska assistants.

Boise State's Chris Petersen is the top choice at UCLA after the school fired Karl Dorrell on Monday.

Will he leave? It remains to be seen. Petersen is a big family guy and loves Boise and the lifestyle. He got a hefty salary increase to $850,000 per year after an undefeated 2006 season. Petersen might be able to double number that at UCLA, historically a school that squeezes nickels.

If Petersen decides to stay, the school might turn its attention to Texas Tech's Mike Leach, who has not exactly hidden his desire to coach the Bruins. He is a West Coast guy who surfs. It would be interesting to see how Leach's wide-open offense would work in the Pac-10.

There is a sense that UCLA is ready to take off now that USC is showing at least a sliver of vulnerability. The Bruins should be doing better. That's why Dorrell was fired. He started the season with 20 returning starters but suffered embarrassing losses to Utah and Notre Dame.

It's 3:17 a.m. ET and have some certainty to the BCS.

Hawaii has all but clinched its first BCS bowl with a 35-28 victory over Washington. Thanks to Tennessee's loss in the SEC title game, the Warriors should finish in the top 12 needed to secure the berth. It took an interception of Washington's Jake Locker with less than 12 seconds left, but what else would you expect? Hawaii was down 21-0 but rallied to win.

The islands are going nuts. The nation's only undefeated team is partying half a world away while we here on the mainland are wondering what's next. We have our 10 probable BCS bowl teams but how do you slot them?

Here's how Jerry Palm has projected the BCS top 10. As per our projection, Ohio State and LSU will play for the BCS title:

1. Ohio State, 11-1*
2. LSU, 11-2*
3. Virginia Tech, 11-2*
4. Oklahoma, 11-2*
5. Georgia, 10-2*
6. Missouri, 11-2
7. USC, 10-2*
8. Kansas, 11-1*
9. West Virginia, 10-2*
10. Florida, 9-3
(* indicates BCS team. Other BCS teams are Illinois and Hawaii)