ATLANTA, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- George O'Leary, head football coach at Georgia Tech, was reported Sunday to be headed for Notre Dame.
According to several sources, O'Leary has agreed to become the next Irish football coach, succeeding Bob Davie who was fired last week after a disappointing 5-6 season.
O'Leary was said to be planning to inform his staff and players of his decision on Sunday.
Neither O'Leary nor Georgia Tech Athletics Director David Braine was available for comment. But, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said conversations with other Tech officials and staff members strongly indicated that it was a done deal and an announcement would be forthcoming, perhaps as early as Monday.
O'Leary, 55, in his seventh season as head coach at Georgia Tech, has five years remaining on a contract that pays him about $1.5 million a season.
When he met with Braine last Sunday, Braine told him that if he wanted the Notre Dame job, Georgia Tech would not stand in his way, the Journal-Constitution said.
The outgoing O'Leary was linked to Notre Dame in 1997 before Davie was hired to succeed Lou Holtz. Davie posted a five-year record of 35-15, mediocre by Notre Dame's lofty standards. He won his final game, a 24-18 victory over Purdue, but by then the decision obviously had been made.
