Sunday, December 24, 1995 THE DAILY HERALD, Piovo, I'tah seks Carolina "l By KEN BERGER Associated Press Writer nothing but a rumor. MONTGOMERY, Ala. ; Coaches with uncertain futures have become tradition at the Blue-Gra- y all-stgame. Boston ; College coach Dan Henning says it only seems that way because every coach has an uncertain t future. "It's a ; world. It's . ar fast-movi- ;a business," said Henning, who will coach the ;Blue offense Monday. "All ; things seem to be up for grabs." fast-movi- ; ; After a season at Boston 4-- 8 College, Henning angrily rebuffed reports that he was slat- ed to become the offensive coo- rdinator for the New England Patriots, working for his friend, Bill Parcells. I; Henning said Friday it was "I'm going to remain the coach at Boston College," Henning said. "I have a contract." So does Wisconsin coaeh Barry Alvarez, but he's still being courted for other jobs, even after a disappointing record two years after he led the Badgers to victory in the Rose Bowl. The latest speculation was that Alvarez would replace Dan Reeves as coach of the New York Giants, -2 which Alvarez denies. "I just try to be honest," Alvarez said. "I haven't been contacted by (the Giants), and I don't know anything about it." Henning agreed that coaches are reluctant to admit they're looking elsewhere in the middle of recruiting season. But he noted that rumors often start with people who try to hurt their rivals' ability to sign players. Sometimes, Henning said, the instability of the coaching business can make people seem like liars. "Three days ago, Howard resigned at Schnellenberger Oklahoma," Henning said. "Who knew that was going to happen? Nobcdy. Someone who had no idea it was going to come open might have made the statement three days ago, 'I'm staying where I am.' What is he going to say now? What I said three days ago was a lie?" Fred Goldsmith of Duke, coaching the Gray defense, talked with several schools including Miami after resurrecting the Duke program in 1994. Goldsmith took a team that went 13-31- -1 in four seasons under Barry Wilson and led it to an 3 record 8-- Like Alvarez, Goldsmith stayed put. And like Alvarez, he's spending Christmas in Montgomery for a reason. The Blue Devils faltered this season, fin- ; By KEN BERGER Associated Press Writer There are crucial, ishing Should Alvarez and Goldsmith have jumped when they had the chance? Should Gary Barnett leave Northwestern before this happens to him? "You have to decide, in signcontract, do you ing a long-terlike the situation?" Alvarez said. "Do you like where you are? Do you leave just to leave? Gary's trying to decipher all that and decide what's best for him and his family." Alvarez has decided to stay, at m The Panthers complete their first season at Washington on Sunday, in position to finish at .500, a remarkable achievement for an expansion franchise, especially least for now. "I am not pursuing any other job," he said. after an Dorsett doesn't play his fathei's position, and he doesn't go by his father's name, Tony. The defensive back at Pittsburgh ! tries to live up to his own expectations, not those of people who saw his dad win the Heisman Trophy at Pitt and go on to a ; Hall of Fame career with the Da' llas Cowboys. I ' "People need to realize that I "didn't play in the NFL for 12 years. He did," said Dorsett, who will play in Monday's Blue-Gra- y game. "And I'm Anthony. I'm I : not Tony. I never went by Tony. would want to." ";never Dorsett also has not had the good fortune his father had at ' Pittsburgh. Tony Dorsett won the Heisman during Pitt's national 12-ye- ar Anthony Dorsett championship season in 1976. His son's career at Pitt has been marred by one of the program's dimmest eras. The Panthers won three games in each of the past two seasons and finished 9 this 2-- year. Maybe that's how the son of a football great could slip through a four-yecareer at his father's ar start. bids to its postseason the Panthers would be hoe-dow- n, per- fect candidates. And consider this: Of the five games Carolina lost at the start of the season, three could have been wins. "We went into Atlanta and lost but it was our own fault," general manager Bill Polian said. "We conwent offside on a two-poiversion to win the game. A bad call cost us the Tampa Bay game. In Chicago, we were ahead with two minutes to go." Chew on that. The 8 Panthers which is were that close to 10-better than 23 other teams, many of them still in the postseason chase. Coach Dom Capers would not let the early string of close losses get the Panthers down. "Dom kept pointing out that if the team just did the little things, the wins would come," Polian said. "And they have. "Dom held them together. They could see progress and that what Dom told them was correct. He's got to be the coach of the year." This is not supposed to happen. Expansion franchises are supposed to be cooperative fellows, easy W's for the establishment. Carolina, however, has been easy for nobody. One of the notches on the Pan Dorsett, who also will play in Shrine game, has "I'm not saying it was my the East-Weteam's fault," Dorsett said, "but heard favorable things from this year. If they scouts this week. Then again, we were how can you tell the son of a Hall don't know, I don't have a problem with that. I don't mind. I of Famer he has no chance? Dorsett knows the NFL is a cruel know what I can do." world. Even though he plays a different position, the comparisons arej "If I don't make it, then I inevitable. Dorsett has his dad's don't," Dorsett said. "God didn't expressive face, if not his speed just bless me with physical attriband deft moves. He's about the utes. He blessed me with a brain, same size at 190 pounds, prompttoo." ing coach Johnny Majors to conThere's a knock at the door, sider moving him to tailback this and Dorsett answers it. It's anothseason when Pitt star Billy West er scout. This one says he's from went down with a season-endin- g the Browns, leaving out the broken leg. teams's city of origin, because Majors decided against it that's still up in the air. because Dorsett was too far along Dorsett knows there probably in his career. will be more questions about "I always wished I could have Tony. been here when he was a fresh"I've grown up with it and said. "You man," Majors always how to deal with it," he learned wonder, what if ?" said. "I've accepted it. That's The scouts this week have I live I am. It's something who been careful to call him Anthony, with." but even they end up talking And he knows it could be about the most famous Dorsett worse. during interviews. "I have friends who don't "I've had scouts here telling me they scouted my dad when he even know who their father is," he said. was coming out," Dorsett said. 2-- 9 ;! 0-- 5 Carolina has won seven of its last 10 games, a lot better pace than some of the teams battling for those playoff spots. If the NFL had st ar must-wi- n games all over the NFL on the final Sunday of the regular season with playoff berths hanging precariously in the balance. All signs point to a tension convention in several cities before this day is done. And then there's Carolina, out of the postseason hunt but having more fun than the rest of these guys put together. 3-- 8. alma mater virtually unnoticed. MONTGOMERY, Ala. With players bustling in the hallall-stways after another Blue-Gra- y practice, an NFL scout .peered into room 418 at the new , 'downtown hotel. "Are you Anthony?" he asked. "Yeah," Anthony Dorsett Jr. .'said. thers By HAL BOCK AP Sports Writer Anthony Dorset! lives in dad's shadow '. mark break-eve- n and a rare bowl appearance. Page C3 nt 7-- 5, first-yegunbelt was a road win over San Francisco. Expansion teams aren't supposed to win on the road and certainly not against the defending Super bowl champions. OK, Steve Young was hurt and the 49ers were struggling at the time, but it was still a mean' ingful moment for the Panthers. More significant, Polian 'said, were Carolina's last two wins against Atlanta and Indianapolis, both wringing their hands right now over the "it's and or's" of playoff possibilities. "San Francisco caught the public's attention," the GM said. "To me, though, last Sunday was more of a benchmark, Atlanta had everything to play for and we had nothing. We came back from 14-- 0 to win against a team. Against Indianapolis, we came from 10 down.','; , . Polian, the architect of the Panthers' roster, says the team's formula for success wasn't terribly complicated. "No. 1, the most important thing was we established a plan and stuck with it," he said. "We wanted to build a respectable defense with as many veterans and high character guys as we could gather and sustain it until we could put together an offense." Polian did some prudent shopping in the free agent market, constructing most of his defense that way with people like linebackers Sam Mills, Lamar Lathon, Darion Conner and Carlton Bailey, and defensive backs Tim McKyer and Bubba McDowell. The GM knew Bailey from his days in Buffalo where Polian put together the team that weC to four straight Super Bowls. Ort offense, s, he also signed like quarterback Frank Reich, widdout Don Beebe and tight end Pete Metze-laar- s, and added important waiver pickups like running backs Derrick Moore and Anthony Johnson.' He worries a bit about the offensive line where four first-yestarters work in front of quarterback Kerry Collins, the No. 1 draft choice. "We still struggle on offense," Polian said. "We're professional if not respectable. These things take time." ar ot ar Cowboys' QB downplays reported rift with coach . StarIRVING, Texas (AP) tled by the reaction to reports of a split between him and Dallas ' coach Barry Switzer, Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman says he hasn't enough clout to threaten the and wouldn't if he coach's job could. "I don't even know if I have Jihy clout within this organization and, if I did, I certainly would not . exercise that," he told The Dallas .Morning News. "Those people miike the decisions they feel they . .have to make, and I make the deci-- , .sipns I feel I have to make. , The uproar began with a story ,. in Friday's editions of the Fort Worth that quoted . Aikman as saying he was uncer-- , tain about his future with the Cow-- 1 Star-Telegra- m boys. "I can't predict what's going to happen this offseason," Aikman "But what told the I've always believed is that we all need to be committed to reaching bur potential, and if we're ever doing less than that, I don't want to be a part of it." The newspaper said that growing tensions might be leading the Cowboys to a choice between retaining Aikman or Switzer. Aikman downplayed that idea on Fri- -. Star-Telegra- - day. "No way would I try to use my weight that I have in this organiza- ' Camacho named fighter of year IBC NEW YORK (AP) wel-- m Hector champion terweight ."Macho" Camacho was selected the Fighter of the Year by the ' International Boxing Council. ' Camacho defended his titie three times this year. He is wasting no time launching his 1996 campaign. Camacho will fight Sal Lopez Jan. 16 at a ' site to be determined. tion to get somebody a job or make somebody lose their job." Nevertheless, The News quoted an unidentified source it described as close to Aikman as saying Switzer has reneged on an promise to be more of a disciplinarian with the team than last season. Aikman, under contract to the Cowboys through the 2001 season, maintains that he will find it difficult to keep playing when Dallas cannot compete at the highest level. "I will continue to play the game as long as I'm enjoying it, and as long as I feel the organization is making a commitment to winning," he said Friday. "If I ever feel there is not a commitment in this organization to win and do what is right, then I don't want to be a part of that." Amid preparations for the Monday night game against the Arizona Cardinals in Tempe, Ariz.. Switzer said he has no problem with Aikman. The Cowboys' second-year coach said he and his quarterback share a fundamental off-seas- philosophy. "My relationship with Troy is built on one thing: He's committed to winning, and I'm committed to winning." he said. "I can't understand why there is a perception around here that I'm not committed to winning." Tensions between Aikman and Switzer date back to the 1980s, when Switzer was coach at Oklahoma and recruited Aikman from a Henryetta, Okla., high school. Aikman ended up quitting the Sooners and transferring to UCLA. IIMtfjliBM . LtiHimmiwinni ii i. iii-iirir-i- Ldgn u I CAU u ATV CASES To do welding, mufflers, and other service work. 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