Duke's Steve Spurrier says if the money is right, he could listen to an offer to become the new coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Speculation has centered on Spurrier, but there seemingly is no shortage of candidates to fill the shoes of Marion Campbell, who resigned from the post."Just about anybody's a candidate," Falcons Executive Vice President Taylor Smith said following Campbell's Tuesday departure.
"We've got a lot of ideas, but nobody is a leading candidate," said team owner Rankin M. Smith Sr.
The long list contrasts dramatically with the last time the Falcons dumped their head coach, because nobody they wanted desired the job.
Two metro Atlanta newspapers printed lists of candidates for the Falcons job Wednesday, with some 21 would-be coaches between them. The early money would be on Spurrier, whom the Falcons reportedly contacted earlier this season.
"If the situation was right, I'd listen," Spurrier said. "I'm very flexible right now. I could go a lot of different ways."
One of those ways would be to his alma mater, Florida, which is searching for a coach following Galen Hall's midseason resignation amid scandal in the program.
Spurrier met over the weekend at his home with Florida Athletics Director Bill Arnsparger and two other Gators officials. The Duke coach described the talks as "just a general get-to-know-each-other thing," and said he wasn't going anywhere yet.
Meanwhile, the Falcons - with a 3-9 record and out of the playoffs for the ninth straight year - apparently will have to wait a while before interviewing any candidates from the ranks of the National Football League.
"You can't talk to any other pro candidates because they're all in season," said Taylor Smith. "You can't get permission to talk to them. . . . So unless you have someone in mind on your staff, it's pretty hard to hire someone right now."
And Smith said Tuesday that no one currently on the staff will be considered, including Jim Hanifan, the Campbell assistant and former St. Louis Cardinals head coach who was elevated to interim head coach for the season's final four games.
Besides Spurrier, those listed as possible candidates by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Gwinnett Daily News were: Vice Tobin, Bears; Mike Holmgren, 49ers; Wade Phillips, Broncos; John Mackovic, Illinois; Howard Schnellenberger, Louisville; Fritz Shurmur, Rams; Larry Smith, USC.
Also, Joe Gibbs, Richie Petitbon and Joe Bugel, Redskins; Bruce Coslet, Bengals; Dennis Green, Stanford; Jerry Glanville, Oilers; Parcells; Jack Pardee, University of Houston; George Perles, Michigan State; Floyd Peters, Vikings; David Shula, Cowboys; Barry Switzer, formerly of Oklahoma; and Ted Tollner, Chargers.