Bellotti May Not Be Only Recruiter Visiting Bay Area

On the day sources said USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett would meet with Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti, both men were believed to be in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bellotti was in Northern California this week on a recruiting trip. On Thursday morning, KXTA radio host Dave Smith said he saw Garrett at Burbank Airport, boarding a flight bound for Oakland.

Neither Bellotti nor Garrett could be reached for comment. USC staff said Garrett was away from his office much of the day, attending meetings elsewhere on campus.

As of Thursday night, USC had not formally asked permission to speak to Bellotti, but Oregon spokesman Dave Williford said his athletic department suspected that contact had been made.

Williford said Oregon understood that when major football programs search for a coach, they often make initial contact quietly, informing the other school only if negotiations become serious.

Bellotti makes an attractive candidate for the job that opened after Paul Hackett was fired. He has strung together six winning seasons at Oregon and is taking the Ducks to their fifth bowl game in his six-year tenure.

Before the 1999 season, Bellotti signed a four-year rollover contract that pays $400,000 in base salary plus incentives and deferred compensation that can total as much as $700,000. Garrett has said USC is prepared to compete in a marketplace where top coaches earn $1 million or more.

But some of Bellotti’s friends and acquaintances said money might not be a determining factor.

Rick Burton, the director of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, said Bellotti has the benefit of updated facilities, a strong recruiting network and the quality of life in Eugene.

“He has a seven-minute drive to work and there’s no smog and he is the big dog in town,” Burton said. “When someone offers him a whole lot of money, any coach has to ask, ‘Does the money outweigh what I have?’ ”

At Oregon State, Coach Dennis Erickson might be asking a similar question. USC approached Erickson but sources say he is hesitant to move to Southern California.

Instead, he told the Oregonian that he will probably sign a contract extension to remain in Corvallis.

“My plan right now is to stay at Oregon State unless something unforeseen happens,” he said.

The coach that ultimately decides to come to USC must take the good with the bad, said agent Leigh Steinberg, who represents Hackett.

“The upside is, you’ve got the great football tradition and all those Heisman Trophy winners,” Steinberg said. “At the end of the day, it’s still USC.”

On the downside, the university’s elevated admission standards are pushing athletes to other schools, and scholarship limits have further helped to level the playing field. Yet alumni expect the team to win season after season.

“Anybody advising a coach would have to bring that up,” Steinberg said. “You have to be realistic.”