Black coach stands up for school

The only black football coach at South Carolina defended the school’s decision to hire Steve Spurrier after the Black Coaches Association criticized the university for failing to conduct a full search.

Assistant Ron Cooper, a former head coach at several Division I-A schools, said Thursday he was contacted about the position when Lou Holtz decided to retire earlier this year.

But when athletic director Mike McGee told Cooper there was a chance to hire Spurrier, Cooper said, “If you can hire Steve Spurrier, go hire him now.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist,” Cooper said. “There are a lot of coaches out there that would have said what I said.”

BCA director Floyd Keith told prospective football recruits and assistant coaches to stay away from South Carolina because the school ignored the group’s recommendation for a more open coaching search.

Big 12 rejects Dvoracek’s bid

Former Oklahoma lineman Dusty Dvoracek’s bid for a medical hardship was denied by the Big 12. The appeal was forwarded to the NCAA, which could grant a waiver allowing him to play next season.

Dvoracek was kicked off the team by coach Bob Stoops in September. After completing an anger-management and alcohol-related program, the defensive tackle appealed to a Big 12 review committee.

Dvoracek, a captain in his senior season, was thrown off the team Sept. 17 after a scuffle left his friend with a head injury.

Dvoracek and Matt Wilde had been drinking, then argued. Wilde spent several days in the hospital, the first few in intensive care.

Weis becomes Irish candidate

Count Charlie Weis among the coaching candidates at Notre Dame.

The New England Patriots offensive coordinator could be interviewed by the Irish as early as today, The Boston Globe reported on its Web site.

The report is “nothing that we would comment on,” Patriots spokesman Stacey James said.

Notre Dame is looking for a replacement for fired coach Tyrone Willingham.

School officials also are scheduled to meet with former Irish assistant coach Tom Clements today, a football source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Clements, in his first season as offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills, played quarterback for the Irish under coach Ara Parseghian, leading the school to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1973.

The Globe attributed its report on Weis to an unidentified source involved in the hiring process at Notre Dame and a source in the NFL with ties to Weis.

Weis’ agent, Bob LaMonte, told the AP that he had not heard from Notre Dame, saying he thought the school was focusing on Clements.

Weis did not immediately return a phone message.

Weis attended Notre Dame, but never played college football. He was hired an assistant at South Carolina from 1985-88 and joined the New York Giants as a defensive assistant and assistant special teams coach in 1990.

He has also been an assistant with Patriots and New York Jets before becoming offensive coordinator in New England in 2000.