Temple's Addazio reportedly a candidate for Rutgers vacancy

Multiple reports have Temple football coach Steve Addazio as one of the top contenders to take over at Rutgers, which lost head coach Greg Schiano to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.

The Asbury Park Press, citing sources familiar with the coaching search, reported on its website that Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti has spoken with Addazio about the position but has yet to meet with him.

 A report on NJ.com, the website of the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., said Pernetti had not asked permission from Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw to speak with Addazio as of late Friday. The Ledger report also said Addazio was at the top of Rutgers' wish list to replace Schiano. 

A Temple spokesperson denied a report by Scarletreport.com, a website that covers Rutgers football and basketball, that Addazio was to meet with Rutgers officials on Friday.

Pernetti filed paperwork with the NCAA on Thursday that allowed him to speak directly with players in Rutgers' recruiting 2012 class, according to the Asbury Park Press report. National signing day is Wednesday, and Pernetti was looking to keep the high school players who have orally committed to Rutgers from changing their minds before then.

Pernetti said he thought it was "doable" to hire a new coach before Wednesday.

When asked if Addazio was at Rutgers on Friday,  as reported by Scarletreport.com,  the Temple spokesperson said Addazio was with a recruit and would not be made available for comment on the report. The spokesperson said Addazio declined The Inquirer's interview request.

"We don't respond to rumors," the spokesperson said.

Addazio replaced Al Golden at Temple in December 2010. The former Florida offensive coordinator led the Owls to a 9-4 record and a 37-15 victory over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl in his first season at Temple.

This is at least the second time in three months that Addazio was linked to a coaching vacancy. He was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Illinois job after Ron Zook was fired in November.

Addazio, however, stated that he wasn't interested in the Illinois job and wanted to remain in the Northeast, close to his hometown of Farmington, Conn.