COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : USC : Schembechler Wants to Coach Again

An old USC adversary, Bo Schembechler, dropped by Thursday to watch the Trojans’ football practice . . . and let it out that he’d like to coach again.

Schembechler, 64, was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Thursday morning in Pasadena, and new USC Coach John Robinson invited him to attend the afternoon practice at UC Irvine.

Schembechler, who resigned as Michigan coach in 1989, was asked if he’d be interested in a return to coaching football.

“That could happen, yeah,” he said. “I regret leaving Michigan when I did. Going to baseball was a mistake.”

Schembechler left Michigan, where he had remained as athletic director, to become president of the Detroit Tigers in 1991, but was fired from that job after a brief tenure.

He added: “I wouldn’t be interested in another college job, but if the right NFL job came around, I’d be interested.”

He talked about his 2-8 record in Rose Bowl games while at Michigan. “Didn’t have much luck in the Rose Bowl,” he said. “One year, Charles White beat me by scoring a touchdown without the ball.”

He smiled when he said it, and pointed to White, who is now USC’s running backs coach.

Schembechler said he serves on three corporate boards, does some public speaking and performs charity work.

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While the renovated Coliseum was a big hit at its unveiling Wednesday, there is one wrinkle to the project that will be a disappointment to Robinson--but good news to rivals such as UCLA’s Terry Donahue and Notre Dame’s Lou Holtz.

Since the Coliseum no longer has a running track, the famous gallops by Traveler, the USC mascot, following Trojan touchdowns, are expected to be curtailed. The Coliseum’s new turf is state-of-the-art. Apparently, Coliseum officials told USC that Traveler, the all-white Arabian, would damage the sideline turf, particularly if USC scores often.

“Traveler will still be at the games, but he may be slowed to a walk,” a USC spokesman said. “At best, he’ll become a trotter.”

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Strong safety Reggie Perry was held out of Thursday morning’s practice. The former USC quarterback became dehydrated during Wednesday afternoon’s drill, experiencing numerous muscle cramps. “I forgot that you have to drink a lot more water during practice at safety than you do at quarterback,” Perry said. . . . LaVale Woods, a freshman tailback who had been sharp in early drills, injured an ankle Thursday afternoon.