UCLA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: BRUINS MEET WITH CHOW, HARBAUGH.

Byline: Brian Dohn

Staff Writer

Philadelphia Eagles assistant John Harbaugh interviewed for UCLA's football coaching position Thursday, and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow met with UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero in Kansas City on Saturday, according to sources.

Chow and the Titans play at Kansas City today. The former USC offensive coordinator was going to meet with Guerrero after the team arrived.

Harbaugh, the defensive backs coach with the Eagles, interviewed in Philadelphia, as did Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel, who interviewed Friday. Bruins defensive coordinator and interim coach DeWayne Walker interviewed Tuesday.

Harbaugh, the brother of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, is in his first season as the Eagles' secondary coach, after spending nineyears as the special teams coordinator. He interviewed for Boston College's opening last season.

For Chow, who tutored Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer at USC, it was another shot at running a major college program. He interviewed for jobs at Stanford, Arizona State and North Carolina State and with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, but was bypassed each time.

Chow was an offensive coordinator at BYU for 17 years, but his only head coaching experience came from 1970-72 at Hawaii's Waialua High.

One interesting twist to a possible Chow hire is Walker's status. The two worked together at BYU and USC, and if Chow was named coach, sources said Walker would consider staying on staff.

Sixth sense

Bruins fullback Michael Pitre said he met with associate athletic director of football Bob Field regarding a petition to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.

Pitre said he was told the final decision about whether a scholarship would be available would be made by the new head coach, but added former coach Karl Dorrell and Walker already signed off on a return.

"I put everything out there with (Field), so he's trying to help me through it," Pitre said. "It all depends on who the coach is, but (Field) said he would help me."

Pitre missed his freshman season with a neck injury, and was limited to a handful of plays in one game this season because of a knee injury. He does not expect to hear from the NCAA until June.

Recruiting weekend

The official visits of 18 of UCLA's 22 committed players ends today, and a major topic of discussion was whether Walker will be on staff next season.

"I conveyed to them that there's a reason why we're still together," Walker said. "We started off with a vision, and I still believe in that vision. Hopefully, everything works out. These kids are good kids."

Several recruits already said they would stay if Walker remained on staff, but would go to another school if Walker left. Guerrero has made it known he would like to keep Walker on staff, even if Walker wasn't the head coach. Walker said he "lightly" discussed that possibility with the recruits.

"I let them know what I know," Walker said. "All I can say is, 'Hey, I've interviewed for the job, and we'll wait and see what Dan decides to do. We'll know soon enough. -- It's about telling the truth. All I can do is tell them what's been told to me."

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Norm Chow ran USC's offense from 2001-04.

(2) John Harbaugh is a Philadelphia Eagles assistant.