Tony Dungy Visits USF but the Talk Turns to Holtz

Tony Dungy has made his way over to the University of South Florida. No problem, it's a short 10-minute drive from his home in the posh, gated community called Avila in north Tampa.

Dungy dropped in for a conversation with athletic director Doug Woolard on Sunday, then met with members of the team on Monday.

Could Dungy be interested in coaching the USF Bulls?

That's a long shot at best, but the good news is that he showed up and most likely got a sales pitch from Woolard.

Most likely Dungy showed up in a "consolation" role for the team. No doubt he told them about the time years ago when he was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and cleaned out his desk on a rainy night, loaded two boxes of personal items into his SUV, then sadly drove away.

Things turned out well for Dungy; the Colts grabbed him quickly, and the rest is history.

Tampa Bay won a Super Bowl and the Colts did, too.

Hopefully, things will turn out for South Florida.

If Dungy said "thanks, but no thanks" to Woolard, then perhaps he gave him some of that sage Dungy advice on a possible replacement for the fired Jim Leavitt.

The name now surfacing as a front-runner is East Carolina's Skip Holtz, son of Lou and a coach who has won two straight Conference USA titles.

Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, a USF staffer before he joined Rich Rodriquez at West Virginia, then Michigan, has interviewed.

USF hopes to move quickly to replace Leavitt. National Signing Day is Feb. 3.

In the meantime, Leavitt said on Monday that he would fight to get his job back.

His chances are slim and none. His real motive is, most likely, to seek a monetary settlement.

USF maintains its posture, and the player at the center of the Leavitt controversy, walk-on Joel Miller, and his family have retained attorney Barry Cohen.

At this point, it's a lawyer-fest, and USF simply needs a new coach.