Where are they now - George O'Leary

Upbeat article on getting a 2nd chance - for O'Leary and M.Price (Alabama scandal).

First is George O'Leary, new head coach of the Central Florida Knights.

This was a guy who had apparently punched a ticket to the top of the college football world after leading Georgia Tech to a 52-33 record and five bowl appearances in just seven seasons.

That resume was impressive, indeed, and got the attention of Notre Dame - a program that found itself muddling through mostly sub-par seasons under defensive guru Bob Davie.

It seemed like a match made in gridiron heaven. I mean, a guy named O'Leary guiding the Fighting Irish has a certain symmetry to it. But a resume is what ultimately cost O'Leary a chance to earn a living in South Bend.

Seems in his younger days O'Leary decided the best way to work his way up the football food chain was to sweeten the recipe, so to speak. When it was later discovered that his resume had several falsehoods on it, O'Leary had no choice but to resign from a post he held less than a week.

The sad part is none of it had anything to do with his coaching ability. But a school that prides itself on strong academics and strict code of honesty in the classroom couldn't afford to keep a man who had lied about attaining a Master's degree and exaggerated his college football participation, so O'Leary spent the last couple of seasons working with the Minnesota Vikings' defense.

Now O'Leary has another shot at college head coaching, this time with the Knights.

Still, the guy can coach. If he can make Georgia Tech a consistent winner - another school that requires its athletes to have brains as well as brawn - he has a chance to do the same with Central Florida.

Don't expect O'Leary or Price to ever to land dream jobs again - from a tradition standpoint Notre Dame and Alabama are hard to top - but honesty, good behavior and more wins than losses could go a long away toward paying off their penance.