Bears’ Mike Martz mum on possible college head coaching gigs

If Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz is a candidate for head-coaching positions at Arizona State and UCLA, he’s not saying.

“Anything about those kinds of things, I would never discuss,” Martz said after Wednesday’s practice. “I have a job, and this job is the only one I can discuss. I appreciate what you are saying, but it would be very inappropriate for me to talk about anything like that.”

Martz was an assistant at Arizona State for eight years (1984-91), but he declined even to say if he was aware that his name has been mentioned in connection with both jobs — which came open on Monday.

“If the shoe was on the other foot,” Martz said, “I think you would probably feel the same way.”

When a reporter joked that he’d be happy to discuss his candidacy for both jobs, Martz laughed and said: “There’s always a guy, isn’t there?”

Bears head coach Lovie Smith claimed to know nothing about Martz being mentioned as a head-coaching candidate.

“He has been?” Smith said, feigning ignorance. “I’m sure if you talk to Mike, he’s going to talk to you about Kansas City and taking care of business right now. That’s the job that we have at hand. Hopefully, on a personal note, I would hope that every coach on our staff that wants to advance has an opportunity. But all of that comes when you have a good football season, when you take care of things that are in front of you. And for us it’s all about Kansas City and nothing else.”

Asked if Martz’s departure would be a disruption in the off-season, Smith changed the subject.

“How about today,” he said. “Can you promise me that I’m going to be here a little bit longer? No. Let’s just talk about today. We had a great practice today. I’m excited about all the guys on our staff and our players really went out hard and worked today.”

On again: He joked at first, but quarterback Jay Cutler confirmed his engagement to Kristin Cavallari that the former #147;Hills#148; star tweeted earlier, but he said they haven#146;t set a date.#147;I just heard about that, too,#148; Cutler cracked. #147;I#146;m joking, don#146;t write that. No, there#146;s no (wedding) date for that.#148;The couple#146;s first engagement ended in July, shortly after it was announced.Award winners:Brian Urlacher was voted as the team#146;s recipient of the 2011 Ed Block Courage Award. The award is voted on by teammates and is presented to one player on each NFL team who best exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage and serves as an inspiration in the locker room, is a community role model and who symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication.Defensive end Julius Peppers was named NFC defensive player of the month. He had 6 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, 10 quarterback pressures and 3 pass breakups in November. Injury report:Cornerback Charles Tillman (knee) did not practice Wednesday but is expected to play Sunday. Cornerbacks D.J. Moore (ankle) and Zack Bowman (groin) had limited participation.