Bobby Bowden didn’t ‘not’ say he would coach UAB

Why do I believe Bobby Bowden will not be the next head football coach at UAB? Lots of reasons. Here’s one: He didn’t say he wouldn’t be. Taking over a program has become a 12-step program all its own. One of the key steps is denial. Bowden violated what should be one of the cardinal rules of his profession after a Florida State practice this week. He addressed Internet speculation. He laughed at it, but still. In this case, he was asked about the informed speculation or irresponsible rumor — you be the judge — that he might just take his ball after this season and come home. To the town where he was born. To UAB. – Birmingham News

Charlie Weis not worried about Notre Dame hot seat

Charlie Weis’ Fighting Irish are 5-2, ranked 25th in the nation and are whopping 30-point favorites to beat Washington State on Saturday at the Alamodome. Yet there continue to be as many questions about the state of the Notre Dame program as there are answers. As a result, Weis’ job status is talked about week to week almost as much as the fortunes of his team. “I don’t worry about it,” Weis said. “It never even enters my mind. You can only control the things you can control. I promise you, I’m the same person every day, win or lose. I never change.” With a 34-23 overall record, Weis has a .596 winning percentage that puts him slightly ahead of Davie and Willingham (both .583). Davie was fired after five seasons; Willingham was let go after just three. – San Antonio Express-News

A “Strong” head coach

If Georgia and everybody else in the Southeastern Conference is looking for a way to cut into Florida’s league dominance of the past four seasons, maybe they should begin lobbying football programs with potential head coach openings to promote the most overlooked coordinator in the country. You want a better shot at knocking off the Gators? Then start networking to get Charlie Strong out of Gainesville. Put the word out that Florida’s defensive coordinator has been bypassed long enough. Because frankly, the longer Strong is allowed to keep recruiting and developing players for the Gators, the more likely coach Urban Meyer might have a Spurrier-esque dominance in the SEC. Meyer’s spread offense gets the headlines, but the element most responsible for UF’s championship success is Strong’s defenses. – Florida Times-Union

Georgia’s Mark Richt could be on the hot seat

Despite almost a decade of success at Georgia, Bulldogs Coach Mark Richt is staring at a potential 4-4 record with a loss to No. 1 Florida on Saturday in Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. Torching Richt on the hot seat might be premature considering his six double-digit-win seasons since 2001. But in this climate of fickle fanbases, coaches are often games away from a warm bottom. Many Georgia boosters seem ready to crucify defensive coordinator Willie Martinez faster than Richt. – Orlando Sentinel

Terry Bowden rumors abound: Virginia, UCF, Memphis could come calling

Terry Bowden’s return to coaching has helped North Alabama to a 9-0 start, a No. 1 ranking and at least a share of the Gulf South Conference football championship. It also has made Bowden a popular name on sports talk radio shows and the Internet when potential coaching vacancies are discussed. Bowden has been linked with potential coaching openings at several schools, including Virginia, Memphis and Central Florida. None of the schools has announced coaching changes, but many sports Web sites are speculating that openings will come at the end of the season. And Bowden’s name has already been mentioned as one of the possible candidates. Bowden said Tuesday he has not been contacted by any school regarding a coaching position. Bowden was hired at UNA on Jan. 1 after spending the previous 10 years as a TV and radio analyst for college football games. He is in the first year of a three-year contract at UNA. – Times Daily

Tommy West’s Tenure in Memphis Likely Over

Carl Mize said he thought it was one of the low moments in the history of the program. Sue Berwick said she thought the fans had given up. Dave Richardson said… Oh, maybe you’re wondering what I’m doing. I’m telling you what the Memphis football fans thought about Tuesday night’s nationally televised game against East Carolina. No, not some of the fans. All of the fans. All 4,117. I may have talked to every one of them. See, there are real advantages to covering this Memphis football program… But did (Rip) Scherer ever preside over a night like this? A nationally televised humiliation? A three-hour advertisement of all that ails this slap-dash, second-rate, punch-line of a football program? East Carolina won the game, 38-19, but the score doesn’t begin to describe the horror of the night… I have already written that Memphis needs a new athletic director. I have already written that the head coach can’t possibly survive. I have already written that Memphis football will continue to be a second-rate program until it decides to make the commitment required to be something else. Maybe the powers will believe it now. Maybe Tuesday night will help bring about change. If not, it is hard to imagine what will. – Commercial-Appeal

Indiana AD: Bill Lynch will stay

IU Athletics Director Fred Glass confirmed today that football coach Bill Lynch will remain in his position as head coach of the IU football program at least until his contract expires in two years. “I think contracts need to mean something again at Indiana University,” Glass said. “He’s in the second year of a four-year contract … I hope that and really think that coach Lynch will be very successful.”… He said he is not thinking ahead to the possibility that the improvement does not come and the team continues to struggle. “I don’t get into the what-ifs,” Glass said. “I certainly don’t want to speculate on if this set of circumstances happen or that sort of circumstances happen.” – Indiana Daily Student

Harbaugh: My QB’s better than Tebow, McCoy

Never one to sell his own players short, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh called redshirt freshman Andrew Luck “the best quarterback in the country” Tuesday. “I think Andrew is the best quarterback in the country. I’ve not seen a better one,” Harbaugh said. Asked specifically if he felt Luck was superior to Florida’s Tim Tebow, last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, or Texas’ Colt McCoy, Harbaugh repeated, “I have not seen a better quarterback out there.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Rose Bowl’s dream matchups

With the BCS title game being played in Pasadena, the top four ranked teams in the final BCS standings could end up playing in the Rose Bowl in January. The Rose Bowl brain trust doesn’t publicly cheer for schools, but it can shake 100 pompoms for number sequences, and the dream countdown for this season’s two-game extravaganza is, without question, 4-3-2-1. No. 4 playing No. 3 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 and, six days later, No. 2 putting rose petal to the metal against No. 1. – Los Angeles Times

Florida State’s Bobby Bowden laughs off UAB rumors

Bobby Bowden laughed on Tuesday after Florida State’s practice when he was asked whether he’d heard the latest Internet speculation about his future ? that he’s going to coach at UAB after he leaves FSU. The Bowden to UAB rumor has spread on Internet message boards in recent days amid questions about Bowden’s future at Florida State beyond this season. “I have heard that,” Bowden said of the UAB rumor, laughing. “I have heard that. And [Bowden's son and former Clemson coach] Tommy’s going with me. Have you heard that? Yeah, I’ve heard that. “I’ve even had people from Birmingham call. I don’t know where it started ? there or here or what.” Bowden shook his head and said, “You know, you hear so many different rumors, you get immune to them.” – Orlando Sentinel

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