LOS ANGELES -- For defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, it's likely at least another three years before he would have any shot of succeeding Joe Paterno as head coach. With Paterno's latest three-year extension, Bradley endured another round of questioning today about his standing as the supposed head coach in waiting who may have to wait forever until he's the top guy.

Bradley, like he always says, was adamant that he's not disappointed that he may have to keep on keeping on. "I’ve never worried about that," he said. "I’ve said that lots of times. It’s not going to define me if I don’t get to be a head coach. I think everybody makes a bigger deal about that."

Bradley said that he had been contacted by programs about openings, but he declined to get into specifics.  "This year I’ve been contacted by a lot of folks, but I’ve always been reluctant to talk about it because I don’t think it’s fair," he said.

As far as the 52-year-old Bradley is concerned, he's got a good job at a good place and his career won't be define if he never becomes a head coach. "I’d be OK with that because I’m in a great place," Bradley said. "I enjoy what I do. I like the people I work with. I enjoy the way Coach Paterno lets us coach. We have a lot of things that he always us to do. He lets us be ourselves."

I'll have more on this story in tomorrow's paper.