Boston College hires Hafley as football coach

The tweet from Boston College athletic director Martin Jarmond showed a puff of white smoke rising from the school's Gothic bell tower, Gasson Hall.

The Eagles have a new football coach.

Borrowing from a papal tradition, the Jesuit school ended its search to replace Steve Addazio and made it official on Saturday by confirming that

Ohio State co-de- fensive coordinator Jeff Hafley be taking over in Chestnut Hill.

“I've heard great things about him,” interim coach Rich Gunnell said after the team practiced for the Jan. 2 Birmingham Bowl. “Welcome to BC.“

A New Jersey native who coached at Rutgers and Pittsburgh before spending seven seasons in the NFL, Hafley returned to college last year to join the staff at Ohio State. Under his guidance, the Buckeyes turned around a defense that struggled in 2018 but this season allowed the fewest yards per play (3.93) in the nation.

Hafley, 40, is a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award that goes to the best will assistant coach in college football.

USC ON NOTICE

Southern California's basketball program has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA following a federal investigation into corruption and bribery in the sport.

The school said in a statement it has “cooperated with the NCAA since it first became aware of the issues” raised in the notice, and it “looks forward to an expeditious resolution of this matter.”

The notice had been expected, but the NCAA's timeline for ruling on USC's case is uncertain. The NCAA opened similar cases against North Carolina State, Kansas, and Oklahoma State this year.

The university statement referred to a “former coach in the men's basketball program,“which presumably is former assistant Tony Bland. He was fired by USC in January 2018. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery last January. As part of his plea, Bland acknowledged accepting a $4,100 bribe and received two years' probation.