UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel has a list of potential defensive coordinators he may hire to replace the departed DeWayne Walker, but he does not want to rush the decision and hasn’t yet established a timetable for when he may make the hire, team spokesman Marc Dellins said Tuesday.
Dellins also said members of current UCLA coaching staff will be considered, including linebackers coach Chuck Bullough and defensive line coach Todd Howard.
Walker accepted the head coaching position at New Mexico State Dec. 30. He coached at UCLA for three seasons, during which he gained a reputation as a savvy defensive coach and excellent recruiter. Last season, Neuheisel allowed Walker almost full authority over the defense, and the Bruins displayed marked defensive improvement throughout the season.
San Diego State and Utah State also considered Walker for their head coaching vacancies this offseason.
Walker said he was happy at UCLA but always wanted to run his own program. The only way to demonstrate that he could manage a program was to accept any opportunity, even at an obscure school like New Mexico State, which plays in the Western Athletic Conference and has not had a winning football season since 2002.
Junior cornerback Alterraun Verner said he was happy for Walker because he knew Walker had always wanted to be a head coach. Verner also said he has no idea who will replace Walker, but wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of the current UCLA assistants.
Bullough came to UCLA with Walker in 2006. Before that he had coached in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. He was also an All-American linebacker at Michigan State in the early 1990s.
Howard also arrived in Westwood with Walker in 2006, and his defensive linemen have been one of the best and most consistent aspects of the last three Bruin teams.
Bobby Hauck, head coach at Montana, is also believed to be a candidate for the position. Hauck coached with Neuheisel at Colorado and Washington, and Neuheisel considered him when he assembled his first staff at UCLA last offseason.
Attempts to reach Hauck were unsuccessful. Dave Guffey, an associate athletic director at Montana, said he had not seen Hauck in a couple of weeks.
Dellins also said that Neuheisel may wait a few weeks to see if any NFL coaches are interested in the position.
For now, Neuheisel and his staff are busy recruiting. They will host more than a dozen players this weekend on official visits.