Former NFL QB Pops Up On Radar

Eagle-96 · December 6, 2006

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/colleges/16175888.htm

DENTON - North Texas' search for a head football coach could be entering the early stages of winding down if the first formal interviews are held this week as expected.

A source told the San Diego Union-Tribune that University of San Diego coach Jim Harbaugh was scheduled to interview with UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal today.

Asked about Harbaugh, Villarreal would not confirm any scheduled interview or contact made with Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback who played 15 seasons with five teams.

Harbaugh interviewed last month for the job at Iowa State, which ultimately hired Gene Chizik, Texas' former co- defensive coordinator.

Adding that no one has been eliminated or considered a "candidate" for the UNT job, Villarreal said he would respect the privacy of any coaches with whom he has spoken, if they asked.

"Until we say the process is over, the answer to every one of those [rumored candidates] could be a yes or a no," Villarreal said.

Asked if he had spoken to Carroll High School coach Todd Dodge to gauge the his interest, Villarreal again wouldn't confirm or deny.

Villarreal only said that from reading various interviews, Dodge had made "his intentions clear" that he wouldn't talk to anyone until after the Dragons' season was over, which could be as late as Dec. 23. Dodge said last week that he had not spoken to Villarreal.

Villarreal said he has not spoken to LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher. Fisher, a finalist for the Cincinnati job and now rumored to be a candidate at North Carolina State, has not contacted Villarreal, either.

Asked last month -- given Dodge's degree of success at the high school level -- why he wouldn't at least speak to Dodge, Villarreal said, "I never said I wouldn't."

Harbaugh, who played collegiately at Michigan and retired after the 2001 NFL season, had little coaching experience before taking the USD job in 2004. He was an unpaid scout and recruiter for his father, Jack, for eight seasons at Western Kentucky.

Harbaugh turns 43 on Dec. 23 and has a combined 29-6 record in three seasons at USD. A Division I-AA non-scholarship team, the Toreros finished 11-1 and won their second consecutive I-AA "Mid-Major" national title Saturday.