LAWRENCE, Kan. -- The University of Kansas fired athletic director Al Bohl on Wednesday, and he said basketball coach Roy Williams was behind it.

UNC gets green light

North Carolina contacted Kansas on Wednesday about speaking with Roy Williams about the Tar Heels' coaching job. On the same day that he fired his own athletic director, Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway said North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour called him and said UNC officials planned to talk with Williams. "It's a little hard to say if it was asking permission or if it was notification, but they said that they wanted to talk to Roy, and I was not surprised that they called," Hemenway said in Lawrence, Kan. Williams is scheduled to be in Los Angeles on Saturday for the John Wooden Award ceremony, which indicates that no announcement concerning the Carolina job is expected until at least Monday. North Carolina officials are saying that they will also consider other head-coaching candidates as well, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reports. -- ESPN.com news services

"I believe the Kansas basketball coach had the power to hold his athletics director in his hand like a dove,'' Bohl said. "And he had a choice to either crush me with his power of influence or let me fly with my vision for a better, total program. He chose to crush me.''

Bohl has had numerous clashes with the popular Williams, whose Jayhawks lost to Syracuse in the national championship game Monday night. Bohl was hired in 2001 to replace longtime athletic director Bob Frederick, a close friend of Williams.

Williams is expected to be a leading contender for the vacant coaching position at North Carolina, his alma mater. Williams turned down the job three years ago, but he has faced frequent questions about the opening since Matt Doherty resigned April 1.

Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway denied that he fired Bohl to convince Williams to stay.

"We have to trust him to make the right decision now,'' Hemenway said of Williams.

Bohl, however, is convinced that the decision to remove him was made by Williams, not Hemenway.

"It is bad when a basketball coach can have the ability to hire and fire someone,'' Bohl said. "There's no question I have been beaten up maliciously.''

Williams said Bohl tried "extremely hard,'' but also acknowledged that the two men had their differences.

"It is always sad for the individual involved when a situation such as this occurs and a change is made,'' Williams said in the statement. "We had difficulties, and we were not as cohesive as the athletic department needs to be. This made the atmosphere somewhat difficult.''

Hemenway appointed A. Drue Jennings, a Kansas graduate, former football player and the former chief executive of Kansas City Power & Light, to take over as interim athletic director. Hemenway said Williams supported the appointment of Jennings, who will not be a candidate for the permanent job.

Hemenway said he discussed leadership of the department with Bohl during the past few months, as well as with coaches, other athletic department staff members, alumni and donors.

"On the basis of these conversations and my own evaluation of the situation, I came to the conclusion a change of leadership was needed at this time,'' Hemenway said, adding that he made the decision before the end of the basketball season.

Bohl met with reporters at his home later in the afternoon.

"They wouldn't even let me talk with the media on campus,'' said the 55-year-old Bohl, who was hired specifically to repair the school's struggling football program.

Bohl served as athletic director at Toledo and Fresno State, and was credited with turning around the football programs at both schools.

His biggest move at Kansas was firing football coach Terry Allen with two games left in the 2001 season, replacing him with Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mark Mangino.

Williams expressed his displeasure with that move, and he was especially angry that Allen was fired during the season. Just a few months before Allen was let go, Williams attended an ethics seminar and endorsed a proposal urging schools not to fire a coach whose sport was in season.

"And then it happens at my very own school,'' Williams said at the time. "How embarrassing.''

Bohl countered: "Roy is the basketball coach, and I am the director of athletics. I was hired to fix this football program, and that's what I'm going to do.''

Bolh's support among alumni and important contributors was affected when his clash with Williams went public.

During a pep rally at the Final Four in New Orleans, Bohl was booed by Kansas fans. He was later asked if it were possible for him to be effective while being that unpopular.

"The cheers far outweighed the boos,'' he said. "Yes, they booed. Are you kidding me? You guys have been writing it like it's a case where Bohl's got to go, so Roy's going to stay here. Hey, it's been pretty good music that we've been to two Final Fours. Those people, they don't even know Al Bohl.''

Williams said Tuesday he planned to meet with former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, and it was expected he would again receive an offer to return to Chapel Hill. Bohl had pledged to do all he could to keep Williams at Kansas.

Williams will be allowed the right of first refusal by Carolina and is expected to make a decision soon. Sources said the Tar Heels would not give Williams a week to make a decision, which he took three years ago when he turned down their offer.

But they might not have a choice because Williams is scheduled to leave for Los Angeles on Friday to attend the presentation of the John Wooden Award. Williams will attend with Kansas senior Nick Collison, who is one of five finalists for college basketball's player of the year honor. Williams himself will receive an award -- the Legends of Coaching, which recognizes lifetime achievement in coaching. Past recipients include Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Lute Olson and Denny Crum.

Sources close to Williams said Wednesday that he again is torn and hasn't made up his mind whether to remain in Lawrence. Bohl's ouster might not factor in his decision; Williams either will go home to North Carolina or stay where he has enjoyed building a legacy after reaching back-to-back Final Fours and four in his 15 years as coach.

Sources within the Carolina program expect Williams to take the job if offered and said they would be upset if he rejected it a second time. They said Williams feels responsible for the present state of the program after he stayed at Kansas. But Carolina's program is on the verge of returning to the NCAA Tournament and should be ranked in the top 10 next season, so he could be walking back into a Final Four situation instead of rebuilding, which he would have been had he succeeded Bill Guthridge in Chapel Hill three years ago.

Information from ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report.