Barnett Expected to Make Decision on UCLA Today

Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett is expected to end the suspense today by announcing whether or not he will leave the Wildcats to accept the UCLA head coaching job.

Barnett, balancing lucrative offers from both schools, took off for North Carolina Wednesday on a recruiting trip, leaving both sides hopeful.

Bruin officials are confident that they have made a strong pitch to the 49-year-old coach and feel they have at least a 50-50 chance of getting him to replace Terry Donahue, who retired after 20 years.

But the 49-year-old Barnett, the hottest coaching commodity in college football after leading the long-struggling Wildcats to a 10-2 record and a Rose Bowl berth, is under tremendous pressure to stay where he is and accept a 12-year offer from Northwestern.

A source close to Barnett told the Chicago Sun-Times that the coach is still “wrangling” over his options.

“He loves these kids,” said the source of the Wildcat players.

If Barnett should decide to remain at Northwestern, it is believed that the Bruins would then select their own offensive coordinator, Bob Toledo, or possibly Denver Bronco defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

Chicago Bear offensive coordinator Ron Turner and UCLA defensive coordinator Bob Field also remain under consideration.

A press conference to name a new coach is expected by Friday.

Another Bruin press conference is being planned for the next few days by UCLA tailback Karim Abdul-Jabbar. The junior, who set a school single-season rushing record with 1,571 yards in 1995, is leaning toward giving up his final year of eligibility to make himself available for the NFL draft. Abdul-Jabbar has until Jan. 10 to announce a final decision.