Notre Dame Job Speculation Ripples Through Pro Ranks

The Notre Dame coaching vacancy might have been on their minds Monday, but it certainly wasn’t on their lips.

The three NFL coaches believed to be atop the school’s wish list--Oakland’s Jon Gruden, San Francisco’s Steve Mariucci and Jacksonville’s Tom Coughlin--were at once artful and awkward in their attempts to sidestep questions about the Fighting Irish job, which became available Sunday when Bob Davie was fired.

Gruden, widely regarded as the dream replacement, said speculating on every rumor would afford him no time to coach his team. Coughlin turned his back and fairly stormed out of the room when Jacksonville reporters broached the subject with him. And, while he said he was too busy to contemplate a job change, Mariucci did compare the Notre Dame opportunity to a beckoning swimsuit model.

“You guys are nuts, you know?” he told reporters. “It’s like saying, ‘Coach, I know you’re happily married, but what if Heidi Klum called you?”’

Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White left campus Monday and began his quest to fill the job. School officials would not say whether he was headed to Oakland, San Francisco or Jacksonville, or if he was bound for the University of Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops or Oregon’s Mike Bellotti.

Gruden, who reportedly awakens each morning to the Notre Dame fight song, graduated from Clay High in South Bend, Ind. His father, Jim, coached running backs at Notre Dame for three seasons under Dan Devine.

A sheet hanging from a dormitory window reads, “All I want for X-mas is Jon Gruden.” Fan T-shirts and Web sites tout the Raider coach as the next Knute Rockne, ignoring the fact Gruden has a season remaining on his Oakland contract. One source familiar with the situation said Gruden can get out of that deal as long as he’s not going to another NFL team, but Raider executive Bruce Allen said the contract does not allow such a move.

Allen said the school’s interest in Gruden is no mystery, considering his boundless potential and the Raiders’ 20-7 record over the last two seasons, best in the NFL. “It doesn’t take much to look to see who has the best record in the 21st century and say, ‘Hey, we need to hire that guy,”’ Allen said. “I hope Notre Dame isn’t paying its headhunting firm very much.”

People close to Gruden say he was not terribly interested last year when Ohio State offered him a 10-year deal worth $25 million, but that he is intrigued by the chance to coach at Notre Dame. Still, his agent said there has been no contact between the school and Gruden--or his representatives.

“I have never been contacted by any official at Notre Dame,” agent Bob LaMonte said. “Presently, Jon Gruden is the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. That’s all I know.”

Even if a contractual loophole were to allow Gruden out of his deal, there are stumbling blocks. He will make $1.2 million this season, and could quadruple that with his next NFL contract. Notre Dame would have a tough time matching that. Not only that, but the Irish probably would have to wait two months for Gruden, whose 8-3 team is a viable Super Bowl contender.

Monday, he refused to speculate on rumors. “I’ve just got a philosophy that I will never discuss another job,” he said. “I’ve got a job. I’m content here. I plan on doing the best that I can to somehow, some way get more out of our football team in the last five regular-season games.”

Across the bay, rumors have swirled that Mariucci might be pushed out at the end of the season in favor of General Manager Terry Donahue, who did not return phone messages Monday. Notre Dame might be the ideal refuge for Mariucci, who has won this season despite a public feud with receiver Terrell Owens. The 49ers, who were 10-22 the previous two seasons, are tied with St. Louis atop the NFC West at 9-2.

“We are so into what we’re doing right now and wrapped up that we don’t even have any time to think about anything else,” Mariucci said. “You get tickled or honored that your name even comes up for something like [the Notre Dame job], for another opportunity. All I know for sure is that I’m a San Francisco 49er and I have a job to do, a very important job to do.”

Nonetheless, he said Notre Dame was “one of the premier jobs in coaching.”

Coughlin didn’t say that. In fact, he didn’t say anything. Weeks earlier, when the subject came up, he said: “I don’t respond to rumors.”

Jaguar owner Wayne Weaver did talk to reporters, however, telling them he has not been contacted by the school. Weaver was asked whether he would let Coughlin out of the remaining two years of his contract, which pays him $2.4 annually.

“You’d have to ask Tom if he wants out of his contract,” he said.

Not only are the Jaguars losing, they are coming unraveled. Their locker room is filled with players who bicker and fight with each other, and many don’t like their militaristic coach. Coughlin, who left Boston College to coach at Jacksonville, is said to see Notre Dame as a dream opportunity.

That said, one gets the feeling lots of Notre Dame fans will be disappointed if the school winds up with anyone other than the silver-and-black savior.

Trumpets https://www.IrishGruden.com: “The choice is clear ... Grudy! Grudy! Grudy!”.... All I know for sure is that I’m a San Francisco 49er and I have a job to do, a very important job to do.’