MINNEAPOLIS -- George O'Leary, who quit as coach of Notre
Dame after revelations that he lied about his background, could be
in the running for a job with the Vikings under new coach Mike
Tice.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press, citing a team source, reported on
its Web site Thursday that Tice would hire O'Leary as his defensive
line coach. O'Leary coached Tice at Central Islip High School in
Long Island, N.Y.
Tice, hired as coach of the Vikings on Thursday, didn't mention
O'Leary at a news conference and wasn't available to reporters
later. Two team spokesmen said they had no information on O'Leary.
O'Leary, contacted later by The Associated Press, declined to
confirm the report. Jack Reale, O'Leary's agent, told ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli on Thursday that O'Leary has several options and probably won't make up his mind until early next week.
Pressed on whether he was discussing a job with Tice, O'Leary said:
"I've spoken to Michael but I have not done anything at all with
Minnesota."
He said he expected to talk to Tice again.
"I'm going to listen to some people," O'Leary said. "Mike's
one of the ones I want to talk to."
O'Leary, then the coach at Georgia Tech, was hired by Notre Dame
on Dec. 8. He quit five days later after officials discovered lies
on his resume about his academic and athletic background.
"Nothing's been offered," said Reale. "He's just waiting for the phone to ring.
"He's just waiting for somebody to step up and hire a pretty
good football coach. His future is pretty wide open at this
point," Reale said.
Tice was made interim coach when Dennis Green was forced out
Jan. 4 after 10 seasons.
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