Bielema-to-ND rumor a hoax

In the post just below this one, we noted a report from a website called FootballCoachScoop.com that had Notre Dame interested in Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and a meeting taking place between the two in the next couple of days.

As it turns out, this looks to be nothing but a hoax started by a couple of individuals looking to out the above-mentioned website as purveyors of unsubstantiated rumors and innuendo.

Thanks to John Haynsworth of BlueandGold.com, we’ve been made aware of the genesis of the Bielema talk, and it’s both hilarious and disturbing in one fell swoop.

The following comes from a blog entitled Blue-Gray Sky, and it explains it better than I could ever summarize it. The post is titled “Anatomy of a Rumor":

1. Friend of BGS decides (not at our behest, by the way) to email the rumor site FootballCoachScoop.com with a choice tidbit. FootballCoachScoop seems to post all kinds of unsubstantiated rumors, and said friend wants to see how easy it is to get something started.

2. Friend composes a very short, but specific email: I used to work in the athletic department at Notre Dame (a lie), and I have heard that Jack Swarbrick is interested in Bret Bielema, the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. This was at 6:56pm last evening. The email is sent from a free gmail account. There is no other email sent from friend, no attempt to “sell” the rumor beyond the initial communication, and nothing else to back up his credibility.

3. Meanwhile, friend has another buddy randomly tweet a few times about the Bielema rumors, and goes to bed.

4. FootballCoachScoop does not reply to the email. FootballCoachScoop does not ask any followup questions. FootballCoachScoop, to friend’s knowledge, makes no attempt to verify emailer’s bona fides in any way.

5. The next morning, FootballCoachScoop runs the rumor almost verbatim. Friend chuckles and shares the development with a few friends.

So, there you have it. Forget any and all talk of Bielema to South Bend. My apologies for putting it out there in the first place.

And now pardon me as I need to go and delete a certain bookmark from Google Chrome...