Ron McBride finally decided it was right for him to remain the University of Utah's football coach a little after 9 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday night as he was leaving a potential recruit's home in San Diego.

All during the recruiting visit, McBride extolled the Utah program to the recruit and his parents. While he was doing it, he realized how much it all meant to him.It hit him that "it didn't make sense" to leave for the University of Hawaii, McBride told the Deseret News early Wednesday morning. "When I walked out of that house, it just made sense to me," he said.

That recruiting visit and Tuesday conversations with Utah Jazz president Frank Layden, Ute booster Spence Eccles, Utah athletic director Chris Hill and especially a Delta Center usher named Bob, who recently had a stroke but called McBride to ask him to stay, helped convince McBride to remain Utah's coach.

"All of that, and the fact I haven't finished the job I came to start at the U.," he said of his reasons for staying. He has been Ute coach for nine seasons and has a 62-43 record with only one losing season (1990).

"I can't leave until I finish," he said, feeling certain he can take Utah to the next level, which would include consistent league titles and bowl appearances.

He tells players to finish things off, and he realized he needed to follow his own advice.

And so, without knowing whether officials from the University of Hawaii would have given him an offer, McBride, 59, decided against change. He was reportedly one of Hawaii's top two prospects.

After midnight Wednesday morning, McBride was still attempting to contact Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida to let him know.

McBride since Friday had told the news media that he wanted a quick decision from Hawaii so that he could do his recruiting in good faith. But Honolulu Advertiser writer Stephen Tsai said late Tuesday that Yoshida told him McBride had given the school no such deadline. That's why the search committee was taking its time interviewing its top seven prospects.

It turned out it wouldn't have made a difference if they'd gotten back to McBride Tuesday night. He was never certain he would accept a Hawaii offer, just that he owed it to himself to listen.

Ironically, Yoshida and committee members were in Southern California at the same time as McBride on Tuesday. They were interviewing USC defensive coordinator Bill Young in Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers' interim coach June Jones. Jones was reportedly their No. 1 choice, though he could not make a quick decision because he might be named the Chargers' head coach soon.

The waiting made McBride nervous, knowing his current players and the ones he and his assistants are recruiting want answers.

He also had concerns for his assistant coaches, who might want to stay at Utah but wouldn't necessarily have jobs if a new coach came in. His meeting with Hill on Tuesday convinced him his assistants will get a better deal now at Utah.

Hill wouldn't discuss what he offered McBride but said he made it clear he wanted McBride to stay with Utah and wanted McBride and his staff to feel as though they are on a par with other coaching staffs in the new Mountain West Conference, which begins play next season. "We feel good about the support we want to give the program," Hill said.

During their meeting Tuesday, Hill outlined improvements McBride should make in his program. "We came to a good understanding of the things he needs to do to get the program to be successful," Hill said.

"He's promised to look at everything with my assistants and take care of that, that we will be treated fairly to what other people in the league have," said McBride.

McBride had wanted a one-year rollover on his Utah contract that goes for another three seasons, and that was not granted. He and his assistants will get their normal yearly pay raises and more U. support.

McBride, who has always had difficulty leaving players and friends when he's accepted new positions, said wife Vicky, was beginning to realize after he made his latest decision that staying would just be easier. The familiarity is a plus. "Everything goes smooth, and you don't have to look at any notes. I know what I'm doing and what I've got to do.

"And this other thing has gone on too long," he said of the Hawaii coaching search. McBride was the first to have a formal interview at Hawaii Friday and Saturday and may have been unhappy that the Rainbows continued to talk with candidates for several days afterward, though he never said that.

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"Every day you wait, it affects your recruiting. I don't like these things hanging over my head, but I'm glad I did it," he said about going through the interview process. That process helped his ego. "It's good other people respect what you do for a living," he said.

He reached Hill and Vicky late Tuesday by phone to let them know his decision. Hill "was happy," McBride said. Vicky "was relieved."

When he was a Ute assistant, McBride left for other positions a couple of times but returned three times. He says Utah is his favorite place on Earth, but Hawaii is his second-favorite, and his intrigue for that job was because the Rainbow program needs a complete rebuilding. That's one of the things he does best.

"It was exciting to think about it, the thought of rebuilding and creating a program," he said, but staying put held even more allure.

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