ROSE BOWL NOTES : Smith Has an Answer for All Job Rumors: No

The rumors and whispers come in at a rate of about one a week now:

--USC Coach Larry Smith is headed to the Phoenix Cardinals.

--The new Atlanta Falcons coach? Larry Smith.

--Now that Joe Walton has been dumped, know who the New York Jets will hire? Larry Smith.

To handle such a large volume of unsubstantiated material can be time-consuming, especially for Smith, who is busy preparing his squad for Monday’s Rose Bowl game. So he and USC Sports Information Director Tim Tessalone have come up with a cost-efficient method of killing the stories.

When the Phoenix opening came up several weeks ago, Smith, when asked if he was interested, said, “No. And I have not been contacted. I don’t know anybody in the Phoenix organization. I have only been to about three pro football games in my life. I don’t know very much about the game.”

As each new rumor has surfaced, a routine has evolved. Tessalone brings the story to Smith, the coach rolls his eyes, then says, “Do you remember that statement I gave you? Just take out (name of last club rumored headed to) and put in (name of newest club).”

Some of these stories are now being recycled. The Cardinal rumor was killed once, then got a second life. When former coach Gene Stallings left, Smith’s name popped up because of his previous connection with the University of Arizona.

Cardinal officials insisted Smith was never seriously considered.

End of rumor.

Until last week when a Minneapolis sports columnist speculated that if Smith goes to Phoenix, University of Minnesota Coach John Gutekunst might be a strong candidate for the Trojan job.

Again, Tessalone went to Smith. Again, the rolling of the eyes. Again, the recycling of the denial statement.

Not that all this talk isn’t flattering to Smith. Or unexpected.

A winning college coach in a high-visibility job is a natural target for speculation. It happened to Terry Donahue at UCLA several years ago when his Bruins were having big seasons. It has happened to Notre Dame’s Lou Holtz this season.

Nor can Smith or any other coach ever say never. If some owner was to come up with a long-term deal that would provide financial security for life, such as the one former USC coach John McKay received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, how long would Smith be able to hold out?

But for now, if you want to know if he’s headed for a pro football job in any city in the near future, his answer is, “Do you remember that statement. . . . “

Win one for the who? When former President Ronald Reagan visited the USC campus Saturday to speak to the team, those familiar with his career automatically assumed everybody knew of his connection to the sport.

Not everybody.

Trojan receiver John Jackson, after catching a pass from Reagan for photographers, was asked if he knew who the former President had portrayed in his days as an actor.

Jackson wasn’t sure.

George Gipp, he was told.

Did Jackson know which movie it was?

He did not.

“Knute Rockne All-American,” the story of Notre Dame’s legendary coach, he was told.

“No wonder,” Jackson said. “I don’t watch Notre Dame movies.”