Notre Dame opening sparks Meyer speculation

SALT LAKE CITY — There are only three schools listed on Urban Meyer's contract that would allow the coach to leave Utah without a buyout. And a big one opened Tuesday at Notre Dame.

Meyer initially declined to talk about whether he'd be interested if the Fighting Irish called, or if they have already.

"I won't comment on it," Meyer said.

It's a question he's going to face repeatedly until the Irish job is filled.

With an 11-0 team that's about to become the first from a mid-major conference to crack the Bowl Championship Series, Meyer has been widely mentioned as a contender for some of the top coaching jobs as they've opened recently.

He's been asked and declined comment on the Florida opening ever since Ron Zook's firing was announced last month. Meyer has only said he and his family are happy in Utah and he plans on coaching here a long time.

But Meyer has no ties to Florida other than university president Bernie Machen, who was Utah's president when Meyer was hired two years ago.

Meyer has much more history with Notre Dame, where he was an assistant from 1996-2000 before getting his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. He quickly turned around the Falcons, whose 8-3 record in 2001 was their first since 1994. Bowling Green followed that with a 9-3 season in 2002 and Utah quickly hired him after Ron McBride was fired.

Utah went 10-2 in Meyer's first season with the Utes, winning the school's first outright conference title since 1957. He got a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing Meyer to leave Utah without penalty if he is named head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.

That's a big three to list for someone whose only head coaching jobs have been in the Mid-American and Mountain West conferences in four seasons, but Meyer may have the credentials to take over one of the top jobs in the country.

The 40-year-old Meyer is 21-2 at Utah, coaching the Utes to their first unbeaten and untied season since 1941 and could be the early front-runner to replace Tyrone Willingham, who was fired Tuesday.