Wisconsin's Bret Bielema is the latest Big Ten head coach to be mentioned as a candidate for Notre Dame's vacancy, and he's not saying much about it.
FootballCoachScoop.com reports that Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick is "very interested" in talking with Bielema after the coach returns from Hawaii, where Wisconsin plays Saturday night (ESPN2, 11:30 p.m. ET). Asked Friday about the report, Bielema told The Capital Times that he "better not" comment.
Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez, who tabbed Bielema as his successor at the school, hasn't been contacted by Notre Dame about speaking with Bielema. But Alvarez wouldn't be surprise if his phone rings soon.
"Bret's done a good job," he told The Capital Times. "So if anybody would have an opening, it would never surprise me.''
Bielema boasts a 36-14 record at Wisconsin and has the team positioned for a possible Jan. 1 bowl game.
It wouldn't stun me if there's some mutual interest here, but Bielema is extremely close with Alvarez and has a pretty good setup at Wisconsin, where he's under contract through January 2014. Some mentioned him as being on the hot seat after a 7-6 campaign in 2008, but he was never in any danger of losing his job.