Mankato, Minn. ? George O’Leary could have gotten out of coaching after resigning in disgrace from Notre Dame just six days after becoming head coach.

But one job interested him.

Minnesota assistant coach George O'Leary guides the defensive line through drills at training camp Saturday in Mankato, Minn.

That was an assistant position with the Minnesota Vikings, coached by Mike Tice, who played for the former Georgia Tech coach.

“The only job I was going to take this year was with Mike Tice,” O’Leary said.

Tice hired O’Leary, his coach at Central Islip High School in suburban New York, to be his assistant head coach and supervise Minnesota’s defensive linemen just months after his admission that he lied about academic and athletic accomplishments.

Tice loves having O’Leary around.

“It’s been great,” Tice said. “He has a lot of good ideas and good thoughts on things, and he’s a good sounding board. He’s a guy I can go to for advice.”

O’Leary is proud of his prot’s quick rise to a head coaching position. The 43-year-old Tice served six years as an assistant before the Vikings hired him to succeed Dennis Green.

“I believe in the way he does things,” O’Leary said. “He’s very organized, he’s very compatible and not afraid to speak up for what’s right or wrong. He’s on target with everything.”

O’Leary was a successful head coach at Georgia Tech for eight years before his hiring at Notre Dame. It lasted less than a week because he falsely stated when hired as an assistant at Syracuse in the early 1980s that he had a master’s degree in education from New York University and earned three letters as a player at New Hampshire.

Now, he’s just happy to be involved in football.

“Anytime you’re on the football field, it’s rehab,” he. “I wouldn’t say it’s therapeutic. I’m here to win. It’s good for me.”

Linebackers coach Brian Baker, who coached with O’Leary at Georgia Tech, was moved from the defensive line to make room for O’Leary. Baker didn’t mind.

“He’s had a tremendous amount of success,” Baker said. “He’s very organized. He’ll look you in the eye and tell you the real deal. He’s also the kind of guy the players enjoy playing for, because you can trust him.”

O’Leary insists that’s true.

“I made I don’t know how many appearances on national TV and radio,” he said. “I’ve been crucified enough for it. I put it in my place. Every time you go somewhere it’s like, ‘Oh, there he is.’ I made a mistake. You move on.”

Predictably, none of his charges were concerned.

“We didn’t get too much in depth with it,” tackle Talance Sawyer said. “I knew he was going to be a good coach and a good guy just because of Mike Tice’s recommendation. He knows a lot about the game. He’s fiery, always keeping you riled up and motivated.”