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Bradley denies rumors about seeking NFL job

Penn State interim head coach Tom Bradley denied rumors he's calling NFL teams in search of a job for next season.

Penn State interim head coach Tom Bradley said Thursday night he got "a chuckle" out of rumors that he's been calling NFL teams seeking a job for next season.

Speaking on the team's weekly football radio show, Bradley addressed rumors that he's been calling pro teams.

"I haven't talked to them for 10 years," he said. "I guarantee you I haven't talked to them. I don't think they remember my name. So to put an end to it, there's no pro teams."

In response to one caller who felt he should remain as head coach next season, Bradley replied, "Right now my focus is on the players. I'm not worried about anything else. There isn't anything I can control but get them better every day, and try to go out and beat Ohio State," the Nittany Lions' opponent on Saturday.

Bradley also said he felt media coverage of his team and his players has been fair in the wake of Penn State's child sexual abuse scandal.

"I think they've asked fair questions," he said. "I've answered them fairly both ways. I think they've been fair to our players, especially when they focus on the game and not the outside distractions going on. The questions have been to the point, most of them, and I'll answer them the best I can."

For Saturday's game, Bradley said he expects Silas Redd to be able to play against the Buckeyes. The sophomore tailback suffered a bruised collarbone in last week's loss to Nebraska and has not been involved in any contact during the entire week of practice.

On the topic of quarterbacks, Bradley said he's not familiar with how the team's process has worked in selecting either Matt McGloin or Rob Bolden to be the starter prior to him taking over.

"I can't answer the question how the decision was made before last week," he said. "I decided last week that Matt will be the starter (against Ohio State) and that's the way we're going. After Saturday, we'll evaluate it and we'll see who will start" the following week at Wisconsin.

The former defensive coordinator also quipped, "I wasn't a big fan of quarterbacks, now I am."

Bradley said he spent a lot of time this week with the offense to get to know "their mentality and what they're thinking." He called it a positive experience, but stressed that the offense must get off to a fast start on Saturday, particularly playing in Ohio Stadium.

"I think we're going to try to sustain some drives and do a couple of things differently," he said. "We're a couple of plays away here and there. We just need to make a couple of big plays and that will help us get going."

--Joe Juliano