Lucent chief reportedly with one foot out the door

Are the wheels coming off at Lucent Technologies? During the

past two years, Lucent has been consistently beaten up in the market by Cisco,

which appears to be taking its toll on Lucent Technologies' management. Already

the company's shares have hit a two year low and now rumors are surfacing that

Lucent chairman Rich McGinn may be forced out barring a quick turn around.

Lucent has already employed a headhunter firm to look for a

replacement for McGinn. Lucent has denies all rumors regarding McGinn. Company

officials have conceded that they didn't recognize the shift towards high-speed

fiber optic products and that Lucent has fallen behind Cisco and Nortel in that

vital and booming market. And Lucent has also found it difficult to catch up

once the company realized the seriousness of the situation.