SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Some prominent Notre Dame alumni are not calling for athletic director Kevin White to be fired because of the George O'Leary hiring gaffe. Not yet, anyway.

They say his next hire as Irish football coach will determine whether the O'Leary episode will be an embarrassing blip in White's career or the beginning of the end.

"I haven't heard anywhere that his job is in jeopardy now," said Mike Golic, an ESPN broadcaster who played at Notre Dame from 1981-84. "If the next coach he hires isn't successful and doesn't win, then you start looking into a lot of things."

Most alumni interviewed seemed to have a wait-and-see attitude.

"I think everybody's upset by what happened, to an extent, but I don't think Kevin White's job should be in jeopardy," said Steve Oracko, who played for the Irish in the late '40s. "He wanted to get things done and it backfired on him."

White has not talked to the media since O'Leary resigned Dec. 13 after admitting to lying about his academic and athletic background.

Still, the list of possible successors grows and shrinks daily amid media speculation and denials by prospective candidates.

Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers coach Steve Mariucci, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin and South Carolina coach Lou Holtz all said this week they were not interested.

WNDU-TV in South Bend quoted an unidentified source Friday as saying Washington coach Rick Neuheisel might be a candidate. Washington athletic spokesman Jim Daves called the report unfounded.

Others who have said they are not interested include Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. Even Colorado coach Gary Barnett, who hasn't been mentioned as a candidate, has said he is not interested.

Former Irish coach Ara Parseghian told the South Bend Tribune that he recommended Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, who played quarterback under Parseghian, both before and after O'Leary was hired. Clements doesn't have head coaching experience, though, a qualification sought by White.

The speculation about a coach and the talk about the O'Leary resignation have kept alumni busy.

"Everyone is in an uproar. It's the worst thing that ever happened to Notre Dame in the eyes of many," said George Keenan of Boca Raton, Fla., secretary of the class of 1948.

Speaking on his radio show last week, White took the blame for not checking O'Leary's background more thoroughly.

Before the resignation, White generally was praised for his work in his 20 months on the job. He started a long-range plan to improve facilities, he announced a plan to add 64 athletic scholarships so that all 26 varsity sports will have the maximum number of scholarships allowed, and had been praised by coaches as being supportive.

"He's done such a great job in the short time that he's been there. I don't think this should cost him his job," said Chicago Bears offensive guard Mike Gandy, who played at Notre Dame last season.

But White's two most visible moves since arriving at Notre Dame have been widely criticized.

The first was when he signed Bob Davie to a five-year contract and fired him a year later. The second was the O'Leary fiasco.

At the news conference announcing Davie's firing, White said he understood the hiring of a new coach would be the signature move he would be judged by.

"I think we are at a critical juncture in terms of this football program -- you talk about a defining moment, that's the defining moment I'm concerned with," White said. "I think we have got to find a way to make this thing work and to work well."

I. John Studebaker of Golden, Colo., president-elect of the Notre Dame Alumni Association and a board of trustee member, said it's too early to judge.

"Judge him five years from now when you see what the selection was," he said.

Keenan said the expectations are probably too great concerning the new coach.

"Everybody's looking for the second coming of Frank Leahy," he said. "It's not in the cards."