If I had to guess what happened, I'd guess Kirby Hocutt, the Miami AD, called Bo. Based on their relationship, Bo took the call, and without forewarning Bo what the subject was, Hocutt mentioned that he might be/could be/would be interested in having Bo at Miami. My guess is that wouldn't violate any ethics issues (although it would be close on Hocutt's part), nor would it violate Bo's requirement to "get permission" to interview with another school, since this wasn't a formal interview. Hocutt mentioned that he had talked to Bo, and/or Bo mentioned that Hocutt called, and that's how this all got started.
Tom wouldn't have given Bo permission, and really, permission wasn't needed. Bo never interviewed, but did have a conversation in which it was brought up, which is why he's wording his statements this way. Bo didn't precipitate the conversation, Bo didn't infer that he was going or considering going, and everything just snowballed because Bo treated it like the nothing it was, when everyone wanted a firm denial.
That's my guess as to what happened.