‘Bama bound?

Alabama was still without a football coach Thursday night, despite gearing up its efforts to fill the vacancy.

Alabama reportedly offered West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez the job. While there was no agreement in place, the two sides were still talking, a person with knowledge of the search told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity, because no official decision had been made.

Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban said earlier in the day that Alabama had contacted his agent, regarding the coaching vacancy, but he wasn’t interested.

N.C. St. will hire O’Brien

North Carolina State is set to hire Boston College’s Tom O’Brien and is working out final details of a contract, a university official said.

Once a deal is complete and O’Brien changes addresses, it will add spice to a division rivalry that began when Boston College became the ACC’s 12th member before the 2005 season.

Report: Shannon hired

Longtime Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon will replace the fired Larry Coker as coach of the Hurricanes, The Miami Herald reported on its Web site.

The newspaper, citing an unidentified source, said Shannon accepted the job Thursday and that his hiring would be officially announced by the university today.

Tomey gets extension

San Jose State added two years to coach Dick Tomey’s contract as a reward for reviving its program. Tomey, the 68-year-old former coach at Arizona and Hawaii who took over at San Jose State in December 2004, is signed through 2010.

Former Husker dies

Former Nebraska fullback Andra Franklin died Wednesday in Lincoln, Neb., of natural causes. He was 47. He had heart problems in recent years.

Franklin played football at Nebraska from 1977-80, rushing for 1,738 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins and played for four years in the NFL.