Gruden Back in Picture for Irish?

Receiver Tim Brown sounded less than confident Saturday when asked about speculation Jon Gruden could wind up coaching at Notre Dame.

“I think I’m more worried now than I was a couple weeks ago,” said Brown, a Heisman Trophy winner for the Fighting Irish in 1987. “If I’m Notre Dame, I throw the book at him. ‘If you want to come in February, come in February.”’

Gruden’s agent said the coach plans to stay through the season “without a doubt,” but no one has slammed the door on any possibilities after that. Gruden has one year remaining on a deal he signed as a rookie coach in 1998.

Last week, before Notre Dame’s ill-fated hiring of George O’Leary, Gruden removed himself from consideration for the job.

“I’ve already said what I’ve needed to say,” Gruden said Saturday after the Raiders’ 13-6 victory over the San Diego Chargers. “Most importantly, I respect Coach O’Leary tremendously--I always have and I always will--and I’m more concerned about him than anything else.... I love that place [Notre Dame], and I’m not a candidate for the job. I’m the head coach of the Raiders.”

O’Leary resigned Friday, five days after he was hired by Notre Dame. He admitted to falsifying elements on his resume.

“It’s unfortunate for a great university like Notre Dame to wind up with egg on their face after something like this,” Brown said. “Hopefully, some heads will roll--not just O’Leary but somebody else. It’s real embarrassing.”