IOWA 39, SAN DIEGO STATE 38 : The 9th Holiday Bowl : Fry Says He’s Interested in the Vacant USC Job

SAN DIEGO —  Iowa Coach Hayden Fry, saying he might be able to win a national championship quicker at USC than at Iowa, admitted Tuesday night that he’s interested in the USC head coaching job.

Fry said he has spoken with Mike McGee, the USC athletic director, but no further talks have been set. He said Iowa Athletic Director Bump Elliot has given him permission to negotiate with USC.

Following Iowa’s 39-38 victory over San Diego State in the Holiday Bowl Tuesday, Fry said: “I’ve had a lot of opportunities for other jobs since I’ve been at the University of Iowa, but I’ve never brought up a job before until this USC job came along. I’ve never made a move without asking my coaching staff what they wanted to do. And my coaching staff voted (after Tuesday’s game) to look into the USC job. . . . I wouldn’t be surprised if they (USC) announced tonight or tomorrow that they have given someone else the job. But we (the Iowa coaches) have voted earlier that if we were contacted we would listen, because of the great tradition, the 24 Rose Bowl appearances, the Heisman trophies, the pro players, the great recruiting base--probably 85-to-90% of the recruits come from a 100-mile radius.

“The whole motivation for us to be interested is because maybe, just maybe, we can win a national championship quicker at USC than Iowa. If USC does contact us in the next few days, we’ll listen. That doesn’t say I’ll be offered the job or that I’ll leave Iowa. But we will listen.”

In the days before Tuesday’s Holiday Bowl, Fry said he became “flat angry” about the USC rumors, but only because he was trying to prepare for a bowl game. He has not once mentioned the possibility of the USC job to his Iowa players, but Rob Houghtlin--the kicker who beat San Diego State with a last-second field goal--doesn’t think Fry will leave.

“He’s not going to leave,” Houghtlin said after Tuesday’s game. “Hayden Fry loves Iowa. His players love him. The state loves him. There ain’t nothing in Los Angeles or wherever USC is located. . . . What I’m saying is no university in the nation can offer him what Iowa offers him.

“Money’s not an issue with Coach Fry. He’s such a genuine man. If they offer him so much money, he still won’t go.”

But the 57-year-old Fry--who has 61-33-1 record in eight seasons at Iowa--didn’t sound as certain.

“Once I’m contacted, I won’t accept the job even if it’s offered,” he said. “We’ll have to evaluate it. We have a wonderful job at Iowa. We’re not looking for a job. However if it’s so good, we can’t turn it down? That’s different. I have never afforded this courtesy to a pro team or a college team. In all probability, I’ll still be at Iowa (next season), I don’t know. But we’ll listen. Like Alabama’s Ray Perkins said about the Tampa Bay (NFL) job, ‘It doesn’t cost anything to listen.’ ”