More than two weeks after the first 10-win football season in school history, Oregon may lose the coach who guided it to such success.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti was in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday at the Ohio State campus, where he met with Buckeyes’ athletic director Andy Geiger, according to Oregon media services.
“Geiger contacted [Oregon athletic director] Bill Moos last week and requested permission to talk with Bellotti,” Oregon assistant athletic director David Williford said. “It is not required to ask permission, but it is recognized protocol.”
Williford said that he had not talked with Bellotti, but he did speak with Moos to confirm the situation. Williford also mentioned that he believed Bellotti was in Columbus with his wife, Colleen.
Ohio State’s head coaching position has been vacant since it fired long-time coach John Cooper Jan. 2.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Bellotti may also have been contacted by Geiger last week in Atlanta at the American Football Coaches Association meeting.
Geiger and Moos could not be reached for comment Monday, but Geiger did talk about the coaching search on Sunday with Columbus television station WSYX.
“I think it will take a few more days,” Geiger said. “I won’t get into names. There are people involved who don’t want their name in the paper. This is a fairly important decision.”
Bellotti’s visit to Columbus sparks new rumors about his commitment to Oregon. He was linked to the vacant Southern California job in early December, but announced he was staying in Eugene during a Holiday Bowl press conference on Dec. 3. He also agreed to a two-year contract extension that day to keep him at Oregon through 2007.
“I don’t subscribe to the ‘grass is greener’ theory,” Bellotti said back then. “Though some things bear scrutiny, the bottom line is I am very, very happy where I’m at, have been, and I believe will continue to be.”
Bellotti, who was spotted at the Oregon women’s basketball game Saturday, is 49-22 in his six seasons with the Ducks. Ohio State is a tradition-filled school that was not pleased with its 8-4 season that ended with a 24-7 loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.
Bellotti becomes the sixth name to surface as a possible replacement, joining Minnesota coach Glen Mason, Youngstown State coach Jim Tressel, Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham, Ohio State assistant Fred Pagac and former Buckeyes standout Chris Spielman.