Moore did not offer any new insight into the Riley withdrawal. In New
Orleans, where Riley is assistant head coach of the NFL’s New Orleans
Saints, Riley said that he had wanted more time to consider the offer and
Mal Moore had told him that time could not be given. However, in his
statement Friday afternoon, Moore said, “There is no set timetable.”
Riley, an Alabama player in the early 1970s, had been offered the job
Wednesday after being interviewed Tuesday. On Thursday he said he
needed more time. On Friday his time ran out.
An independent source confirmed that Riley had been offered a
contract at $1.5 million per year for five years. That same source said it is
believed Riley’s family did not want to make the move from the west coast. Riley’s wife and children still live in San Diego, where he was fired after
three years as head coach of the NFL Chargers before going to New
Orleans. Riley is also a candidate for the job at UCLA.
Moore declined to say whether Riley had accepted the job at one point
in the process.
It is believed that Moore made a preliminary inquiry into the availability
of Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer and that Beamer told Moore he
would not consider leaving his alma mater at this point in his career.
The only other candidate known to have been interviewed by Moore is
South Florida Head Coach Jim Leavitt. After being informed that the job
was being offered to Riley, Leavitt signed a new five-year contract with
South Florida at an annual salary of about a half million dollars per year.
That contract includes a relatively inexpensive $50,000 buyout clause.
Alabama will be receiving $1 million from Texas A&M for the buyout in
former Tide Coach Dennis Franchione’s Bama contract. Franchione
announced eight days ago that he had decided to leave Alabama for
Texas A&M. Franchione coached two years at Alabama and had a 17-8
record, including a 10-3 record this year.
Moore said, “We continue to work in an expeditious manner to find a
head football coach. It is imperative that we hire the best possible coach,
someone who is a good fit for The University of Alabama, and often that
does not follow a set routine. I assure the Tide faithful that we are moving
as rapidly as we can through this process, but there is no set timetable.
Again, our goal is to find the best possible coach. I will not discuss any
other specific candidates in order to protect the integrity of this process.”
Moore said, “There has been a lot of interest in this job--I mean a
lot from all over the country. It just takes time. I’m trying to be certain on
who we pick because it has to be the right person. And I’m going about it
that way.”
He also said the criteria has not changed. The most significant
criterion is that the choice will have had experience as a head coach at the
college level. He also said he was aware that Carl Torbush, who left
Bama this week to join Franchione at Texas A&M, had expressed an
interest in the head coaching job at Alabama and that he appreciated the
interest of Torbush, a former head coach at North Carolina.
Moore said he had spoken with “10 or 15” candidates for the job and
that he had not yet responded to all who had expressed an interest in the
position. He said not all of the discussions had been “serious.”
Moore did not agree with an assessment that this is a difficult job to
fill, saying that it is more important that each candidate be given adequate
time for both sides--The University and the candidates--to assess the
possibilities.
The Bama athletics director concluded with an acknowledgement that
he knows Tide players and fans are “anxious” about the coaching search.
He said, “I want them to be assured that we will get the best person for
this job.”
He added, “I appreciate the way these players have handled this
situation,” noting that the seniors, particularly, had shown good
leadership.
Moore also confirmed that Strength and Conditioning Coach Ben
Pollard, who came to Alabama from TCU with Franchione, has agreed to
stay at Alabama. "It's a big plus to have he and Terry Jones (Sr.) involved with the players," Moore said. "The coaches in the weight room are involved with the players more than anybody."