UNC athletic director has released a statement to address the rumors surrounding coach Larry Fedora.
This time each year there are a number of coaching vacancies in college football and yesterday several rumors included speculation about our own football coach Larry Fedora. Neither Coach Fedora nor I are going to address rumors about individual jobs that are bound to happen each year.
It's been my policy since I have been a director of athletics not to comment or engage in discussions regarding a coach's job until such time that there is a change in a coach's employment status. Speculation about the future employment status of a head coach can be detrimental to an athletic program.
I frequently communicate with our head coaches about what they need to be successful at North Carolina.
Whether a coach is highly successful or under inordinate pressure it has been my policy to keep those conversations confidential and I will continue my policy to not engage in any public discussion or speculation regarding employment. We work together to provide the best opportunities for our coaches and student-athletes.
So UNC's stance is commenting on rumors is detrimental to the athletic program which might make sense if those same rumors weren't complicating things on the recruiting front. That makes this statement from Cunningham more or less an attempt to calm the fan base regardless of the fact it doesn't really address the issue at hand.
Which leads to a couple of logical conclusions. The first is, UNC cannot deny the rumors because they are either true or simply cannot be refuted. Secondly, Fedora is interested in the Tennessee job, wants to see how it will play out and refuses to put himself in a PR death trap by issuing a denial he may have to renege on. Granted that comes with a price but it seems to be one he's willing to pay.
