Taaffe joins O'Leary's UCF staff

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida head coach George O'Leary announced Monday that former Citadel coach Charlie Taaffe has been hired as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Taaffe has served as a collegiate head coach at The Citadel and as a professional head coach with both the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was the 1999 and 2000 CFL coach of the year in Montreal as he guided the Alouettes to the 2000 Grey Cup final. He went 55-47-1 as head coach at The Citadel from 1987-96. His best year was in 1992 when the Bulldogs went 11-2, advancing to the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals. He was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year for his efforts.

Taaffe most recently coached full-time on the college level as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Maryland from 2001-05 under former O'Leary assistant Ralph Friedgen, helping guide the Terrapins to the 2001 ACC Championship and a berth in the Orange Bowl.

Boston College

Jeff Jagodzinski of Boston College has been invited to interview for the New York Jets' coaching job, a BC official told The Associated Press, and the school has reportedly threatened to fire him if he goes through with it.

Athletic director Gene DeFilippo would not confirm that he gave Jagodzinski an ultimatum, saying only, "I want a coach who wants to be at BC for a long time." But ESPN.com reported Sunday night that Jagodzinski would not be welcome to return if he seeks work in the NFL.

A BC official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the school was not commenting publicly, said the former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator committed to stay in Chestnut Hill longer than two years when he was hired. Leaving during the last week of recruiting also would put the Eagles at a disadvantage.

DeFilippo first learned of Jagodzinski's contact with the Jets on Saturday and had not spoken to him since Sunday, according to the official. The school did not know whether Jagodzinski planned to withdraw from the Jets search.

Georgia

Mark Richt's top recruiter is staying at Georgia. Rodney Garner, Georgia's recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach, said he turned down an offer to coach at Tennessee.

Garner, named assistant head coach in 2005, interviewed for a position as an offensive assistant on new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's staff.

Garner said he was "flattered" and "sincerely appreciative" of the interest from Tennessee but said he based his decision on "the positives at Georgia."

"My heart is coaching on the defensive side of the ball," Garner said. "I enjoy working with coach Richt and the rest of the staff and our family loves being a part of the Athens (Ga.) community. And we have some really good defensive linemen returning next year along with some outstanding newcomers."

Richt said he is still awaiting decisions from junior QB Matthew Stafford and sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno, who are considering leaving school to enter the 2009 draft.

Clemson

Defensive end Leon Mackey (6-6, 260) of Hargrave Prep, Va., committed to Clemson Monday night during an in-home visit with Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney. Mackey becomes the 11th commitment for the Tigers.

"That's the school for me," Mackey said. "I felt like Clemson is the best fit for me."

Mackey is a Delaware native who was committed to Virginia Tech but backed off that pledge about midway thru the season. He also had offers from Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, North Carolina, N.C. State, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Yale

Jacksonville Jaguars assistant Tom Williams has been hired at Yale, becoming the first black head football coach at the Ivy League school.

A person familiar with the decision confirmed the choice Monday on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement had not been made. The school called a news conference for Wednesday to introduce the new coach. Williams, 38, has spent the past two seasons working with the Jaguars defense and has been an assistant at Hawaii, Washington, Stanford and San Jose State.

North Carolina

Hakeem Nicks decided his dominating outing in UNC's bowl game was the best way to end a college career.

The junior said he plans to skip his final season and enter the NFL draft after setting 14 school receiving records. Nicks leaves as the program's all-time leader in catches, yardage and TD receptions. In his last game, the 6-1, 210-pounder had eight catches for a school bowl- record 217 yards and three TDs in the Meineke Bowl loss to West Virginia.

He's the first Tar Heels underclassman to enter the draft since Julius Peppers left as a junior after the 2001 season.

LSU

John Chavis, a veteran defensive coordinator with 20 years of experience in the Southeastern Conference, was chosen as LSU's new defensive coordinator. He will also coach linebackers.

During his 14 years as Tennessee's defensive coordinator, the Volunteers ranked among the SEC's top four in total defense 10 times.