BC waits to hear from Jagodzinski

BOSTON (AP) -- Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo didn't know Tuesday whether football coach Jeff Jagodzinski had interviewed with the New York Jets and wouldn't say whether he would be fired if he did.

"I'm not going to speculate on that," DeFilippo said. "I just want to see Coach and sit down and have a good talk with him. We'll know a lot more then."

Jagodzinski, who has three years left on his five-year contract, upset DeFilippo when he didn't tell his boss that he would interview with the Jets, who are seeking a replacement for fired head coach Eric Mangini.

Jagodzinski was not on campus Tuesday. The Jets declined comment through a team spokesman, neither confirming nor denying that Jagodzinski was interviewing for the coaching vacancy.

"I left him a message today and I'm sure he'll get back to me," DeFilippo said. "He always does."

Sitting in his office late Tuesday afternoon, a relaxed DeFilippo said he last spoke to Jagodzinski on Sunday.

"Sometimes two people who really, really like each other can disagree on an issue. That's OK. Nothing wrong with that," DeFilippo said. "I really like Jags a lot and I've enjoyed working with him here for two years and he did a wonderful job here.

"So we're going to sit down, hopefully, and talk and we'll see where we come out."

ESPN.com reported Sunday night that Jagodzinski would not be welcome to return if he seeks work in the NFL.

Jagodzinski, 45, had been an NFL assistant coach for the eight seasons before taking the BC job in 2007 after Tom O'Brien left for North Carolina State. He led the Eagles to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in his two seasons, losing both times to Virginia Tech.

BC finished this season with a 9-5 record after a 16-14 loss to Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31, ending an eight-game bowl winning streak for the Eagles. They were 11-3 in Jagodzinski's first season.

The BC position was the first as a college head coach for Jagodzinski and has responsibilities far beyond the football field -- meeting with alumni and supporters of the program, attending functions and participating in other off-field events.

An NFL coaching job has very little of that, and openings other than New York's could be attractive.

Jagodzinski spent two years as BC's offensive coordinator, starting in 1997 when Matt Hasselbeck was the quarterback. Hasselbeck is now with Seattle, which must put together a staff under new coach Jim Mora.

Jagodzinski was an assistant under Mora in Atlanta and has experience as an NFL offensive coordinator with Green Bay in 2006.

The Jets have interviewed several candidates and planned to talk with Arizona offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

If Jagodzinski leaves, Frank Spaziani looms as a possible replacement. He has been a BC assistant for 12 years, the last 10 as defensive coordinator.

"I want a coach who wants to be at BC for a long time," DeFilippo said Monday.

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