BC finishing up interview process

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo spent today wrapping up the interview process in his search for a replacement for BC football coach Jeff Jagodzinski, whom DeFilippo fired on Wednesday.

DeFilippo's latest move may be to focus on newly named Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, according to sources with knowledge of the search.

Addazio appears to be the primary "outside" candidate BC officials are focusing on in their search to replace Jeff Jagodzinski. BC defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani remains the leading candidate from the current Eagle coaching staff, but another internal candidate emerged Friday when DeFilippo interviewed Associate Athletic Director for Football operations Barry Gallup, who has strong BC ties as well. Spaziani, however, remains the frontrunner.

With his internal work done, DeFilippo moved to external candidates and today focused on Addazio. When asked about any interest from BC after Florida's 24-14 win over Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game on Thursday night, Addazio said that no one from BC had contacted him. That apparently changed Friday as DeFilippo went on a quick sweep outside of the BC campus.

Addazio, 49, has New England ties, playing at Western Connecticut State from 1978-81. After a stint as a high school coach in Connecticut, he began a coaching odyssey which included stops at Syracuse, Notre Dame, Indiana and Florida, where he has been since 2005. When Dan Mullen, Florida's offensive coordinator, accepted the head job at Mississippi State, Gator Coach Urban Meyer elevated Addazio to offensive coordinator.

But Addazio's goal is to become a head coach. In the past few months, he has interviewed for openings at Yale and Syracuse. He is regarded as an excellent recruiter, which BC officials regard as a key issue, although the overwhelming sentiment is to bring in someone with BC ties, which would again favor Spaziani.

DeFilippo is expected to wrap up the process in the next few days and a new coach could be in place by Monday or Tuesday.

Spaziani received a boost when the high school coach of one of the Eagles' prime recruits, outside linebacker Andre Lawrence, said that he would honor his commitment to BC if the Eagle staff stays intact. "We've had contact with Boston College coaches and Andre's feeling is that as long as the defensive staff stays intact, Coach (Mike) Siravo, Coach (Billy) McGovern, and Coach Spaziani, the guys who recruited him, he sees no reason to change his commitment,'' Hartford Public High School coach Harry Bellucci told Eagle Action.com.
If a new coach, such as Addazio is brought in, the chances of coaching defections from Jaogodzinski's staff increases substantially, which could make Lawrence change his mind. Other candidates from outside the staff include Richmond Coach Mike London, East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz and former Minnesota and Kansas Coach Glen Mason.

When contacted about whether BC asked permission to talk to London, who guided the Spiders to the FCS national championship this season, Richmond AD Jim Miller replied by e-mail: "I do not publicly discuss personnel matters.''