With Dave Whelan hardly being the most cosmopolitan of blokes, it doesn’t surprise me to read stories about him being interested in Steve Bruce. Bruce probably won’t be interested but if you don’t ask you don’t get.
At Whelan’s age a bit of the dynamism must have gone and he probably can’t be arsed with forging relationships with someone half his age so it’d be very convenient for him to appoint someone he knows well or someone from within the club avoiding having a totally blank canvas. Paul Jewell? Graham Barrow even? I might be wrong but it seems like it might be heading that way to me.