SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Notre Dame’s Plan A’, Utah coach Urban Meyer, apparently is heading to Florida.

So the question Irish is: Who does Notre Dame turn to now?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, who Notre Dame pursued before hiring Willingham three years ago, already has said he’s not interested. Other possible candidates include California’s Jeff Tedford, who has succeed at a school with high academic standards; Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who was hired by White to coach at Maine in 1990; New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, a Notre Dame grad, and Louisville coach Bobby Petrino.

If Meyer does accept the Florida job, it would mark the second time the Irish failed to get the high-profile coach fans had hoped for. Three years ago the popular choice around South Bend was Gruden, who was with the Oakland Raiders. But four days into the search, Gruden said he wasn’t interested.

Notre Dame then hired George O’Leary from Georgia Tech after White interviewed at least three other coaches..

O’Leary resigned five days after taking the job because he lied about his academic and athletic achievements on his resume in what was one of the most embarrassing moments in school history.

Two weeks later, Willingham was hired.

The apparent loss of Meyer doesn’t rise to that level of embarrassment, but it sent many Notre Dame fans into a panic just the same – especially since some had speculated the school had fired Willingham specifically so it could hire Meyer, a former Irish assistant from 1996-2000.

AP-ES-12-03-04 1842EST