Golden is not going to UCLA
Temple's football coach withdrew his name from consideration to lead the high-profile program.
Temple announced yesterday that football coach Al Golden had withdrawn his name from consideration for the vacant job at UCLA.
Golden, who last month completed his second season with the Owls, reportedly interviewed twice for the position with the Bruins.
"I am flattered to have been contacted about the coaching vacancy at UCLA," Golden, 38, said in a statement released by the Temple sports information office. "UCLA is a world-class institution, and athletic director Dan Guerrero is a first-class person. However, we are on the brink of something truly special here at Temple.
"Our staff, student-athletes and I look forward to what Temple football will accomplish in the future. We have some unfinished business to take care of."
Temple went 4-8 this year after finishing 1-11 in Golden's first season. The Owls, who put together a three-game winning streak that was the program's first since 1990, played their inaugural season in the Mid-American Conference and were alive in the East Division race before losing a game at Ohio on Nov. 2.
Next season, Temple will return all but one scholarship player after ranking as the youngest team in the nation for the second consecutive year.
"We knew when we hired Al Golden to be Temple's head football coach that he would achieve the kind of success that would draw attention from other schools," Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw said in the statement. "There are great seasons ahead for Temple football, and we are happy Coach Golden has chosen to remain with our program for some time to come."
With Golden out of the picture, a source close to the situation said yesterday that Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel and UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker were the top candidates to replace the fired Karl Dorrell.