Stolz Not Settled on New Job

Denny Stolz, fired as San Diego State’s football coach in November, reported to his new assignment as men’s golf coach Tuesday but said he still has questions about his job status.

“I’ve been assigned to help out (director of golf) John (Klein), and I plan to do that as best I can until this is resolved,” Stolz said.

Stolz said he would comment no further, except to say that he would continue as a golf coach at least until he reaches an agreement with the university about how best to honor the remaining time on his contract.

Stolz, 54, has three years remaining on a five-year deal that sources have said pays him about $64,000 a year.

SDSU President Thomas Day said he was surprised by Stolz’s comments that the issue might not be resolved. Day termed the move “a standard internal personnel assignment of duties that an administrative manager does. . . . It’s perfectly straight forward.”

He declined to say whether Stolz agreed to the reassignment or whether the university made it by exercising what it considers a contractual right.

The university announced Stolz’s reassignment in a news release late Friday afternoon. The release stated that Stolz would replace Marty Maher, a part-time assistant to Klein who resigned Feb. 1.

Athletic Director Fred Miller said the announcement was timed to coincide with Stolz’s return from a lengthy vacation. Stolz had been without an assignment since he was fired with one game left in the 1988 season. Stolz had a 16-19 in three seasons with the Aztecs, leading the team to the Western Athletic Conference championship in 1986. He was replaced after the season by Al Luginbill, former associate athletic director.

Miller also declined to say if Stolz agreed to the move, except to say he was surprised to hear that “Denny is having second thoughts.” Miller, who was at a meeting in Chicago Tuesday, said he plans to meet today with Stolz and Sally Rausch, SDSU personnel director.

Stolz had been represented in some discussions with the university by Roy Bell, a San Diego lawyer. Bell has been out of town for several weeks at a trial and could not be reached for comment. Miller said that Bell’s schedule has made discussions difficult and indicated the university had grown impatient with the pace of the talks.

“There’s an old saying about fiddling while Rome burns,” Miller said. “It’s been 2 1/2 months (since Stolz’s firing). It’s time to go on.”