Even though he lives in San Diego and has a teaching job at San Diego State, former NFL head coach Dennis Green said he's given no thought to the coaching vacancy there.
Green, who also coached at Stanford and Northwestern, said the news of Chuck Long's firing Sunday “caught me by surprise like everybody else.”
Asked if he's interested, Green said, “I haven't thought about it. I live in San Diego. I'm not here to coach. I live here. I plan to spend the rest of my life here, and I'm not sure coaching fits into that. I haven't thought about it.”
Green, 59, last coached with the Arizona Cardinals in 2006. Much of his time off from coaching the past two years has been spent fishing – something he may not be keen to give up any time soon.
If Green's not interested, other possible candidates certainly are. Former SDSU assistant coach Ron English, now the defensive coordinator at Louisville, has expressed interest, according to sources. So has UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. Green, English and Walker all happen to be black – a point that's relevant because SDSU President Stephen Weber said the school would consider minority candidates. There are only four black head coaches among 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the lowest number in 15 years.
English, a Pomona native, was named the national defensive coordinator of the year by Rivals.com while at Michigan in 2006. He was SDSU's defensive backs coach in 1996-97 and has a master's degree in education administration from Arizona State.
Sources close to former Texas quarterback Major Applewhite and Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes have said they'd be interested. Applewhite is the current running backs coach and assistant head coach at No. 2 Texas. Dykes, a former Texas Tech assistant, has helped Arizona become bowl-eligible this year for the first time since 1998.
SDSU officials said they wouldn't be commenting on the search to replace Long until it is finished.
Brent Schrotenboer: (619) 293-1368; brent.schrotenboer@uniontrib.com
