The University of Maine hopes to make short work of its search for a head football coach.
Toward that end, a search committee made up mostly of UMaine athletics administrators is well on its way to finding the right person to replace Jack Cosgrove, who last week stepped down from the position after 23 seasons.
The application deadline for the job, which was posted with the NCAA for only one week, passed on Tuesday. The committee was provided with a list of 25-30 candidates from whom a coach is expected to be chosen.
“We need a coach that wants to be the coach here,” said director of athletics Karlton Creech. “It’s really about fit and that person’s skill set and motivation to be successful at the University of Maine.”
Creech has brought together a search committee that includes Cosgrove, UMaine’s new associate AD, along with senior associate AD Lynn Coutts, associate director of athletic development Seth Woodcock, associate AD for internal operations Will Biberstein, UMaine football faculty representative Jim Settele, and assistant director of human resources Willow Sherwood.
“I want our senior leadership team here to take responsibility for what we’re doing,” Creech said.
“I think it helps us work efficiently, quickly, to accomplish the goals the best way we can,” he added.
The committee has already begun reviewing applications and Creech said the first round of Skype or video interviews likely will be held sometime next week. The goal is to have a new head coach on board before the semester break in December.
Depending on the dynamics of the video interviews with three to five preferred candidates, UMaine could either schedule campus visits or simply make an offer without the formality of a visit.
“You don’t want to move with haste, but you want to move with appropriate speed at this time of year,” said Creech, who previously stressed the importance of having a coach in place during the critical offseason recruiting period leading up to National Letter of Intent signing day in February.
Creech said that ideally, UMaine can find a Cosgrove prototype who can hold down the job for the foreseeable future. The eventual choice likely will have had some leadership experience, probably at the Division I level.
“You rarely see people dipping down into lower divisions to hire Division I head football coaches,” offered Creech, who picked longtime successful Division III coach Bob Walsh for the men’s basketball job but said football is different.
“I think most likely our candidate profile is going to be a coordinator-type person from an FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) or FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) school,” he added.
It is Creech’s hope that the committee will reach a consensus and make a unified recommendation to him that would be carried forward to UMaine President Susan Hunter and an offer would be tendered.
However, the buck stops with Creech in making the choice.
“It’s ultimately my responsibility and decision,” Creech said.