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One of the obvious candidates to replace Bronco Mendenhall as head football coach of the BYU Cougars, Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday afternoon that he is interested in the position, but understands that the school probably has its sights set on a higher-profile coach.

Anderson said he has been contacted this week by both BYU and Michigan, BYU regarding its vacant head coaching position and Michigan regarding its vacant defensive coordinator position.

Anderson declined to divulge which BYU official contacted him, and noted, "there was some contact. Nothing official, really."

And Michigan?

"Same thing. Some contact there," Anderson said, declining to comment on reports that he has been offered the defensive coordinator position in Ann Arbor to reunite with head coach Jim Harbaugh, who he worked under at Stanford before Harbaugh left for the San Francisco 49ers.

Anderson confirmed that he is an active Mormon in good standing with the faith, which is a requirement for the BYU job, according to athletic director Tom Holmoe.

"I would be very interested [in the BYU job]," Anderson said. "But right now, I'm taking a 'wait-and-see' approach. I'm hoping to know more [about the situation] early next week."

Anderson confirmed that he was in Utah recruiting earlier this week, including a stop at Brighton High, but says he did not visit BYU and was not formally interviewed for the opening.

He said he has no direct ties to BYU, but has a lot of family members who attended the school and he said he "grew up a big BYU fan" in Rupert, Idaho.