Just a few hours after various reports indicated Mike Bellotti was the man for the Arizona Wildcats and their head coaching vacancy, the 60-year old shot the rumors down.
Isn't this the exact thing athletic direction Greg Byrne hoped to avoid?
According to Ken Goe of The Oregonian, the reports are false. The former Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti denied Thursday that he is in the running to become football coach at Arizona.
"There is nothing to this," Bellotti said when reached by phone. "That is the easiest thing I can say."
[...]
"Every year it's always nice to hear your name associated with jobs," Bellotti said. "The first thing I have to do is determine what my job is with ESPN and where I want to go with that.
"And, I have to decide if I go back to football, what my job would be, and where I would go with that."
Wonderful.
Mark Asher of Arizona Sports 620 AM was the first to report the alleged rumor, though his history of accurately reporting news stories is, well, not the best, if we're being honest.
At the same time, though, this could simply be Bellotti's attempt to shoot the rumors down because of a legitimate interest in the job. At age 60 he likely only has a few seasons left in his career, but he is in good health and helped build Oregon into the powerhouse they are today. Arizona appears to be a great opportunity for Bellotti and there is legitimate interest in Tucson.
Rumors: can't live with 'em, can't have a fun sports day without 'em.
For more on the Wildcats, check out Arizona Desert Swarm.