The search for UA's next head football coach continues on. Rumors abound, pundits and analysts put in their two cents, but so far it’s a wide open race. The school has set the deadline for finding a new coach as Dec. 1, the opening of recruiting season. The 11 member search committee has already started gathering resumes and names for the position.

UA President Peter Likins immediately shot down Mike Price and Rick Neuheisel due to past histories.

Tucson morning paper the Arizona Daily Star has already profiled two possible front runners for the position, Boise State Head Coach Dan Hawkins and Cincinnati Bengals assistant Ricky Hunley.

Hunley, along with former NAU head coach and current UCLA offensive coordinator Steve Axeman, have UA ties as former Asst. Coaches, and both have expressed interest in the job.

AZ Star Columnist Greg Hansen believes that Athletic Director Jim Livengood will try to make a huge splash with the hire.

Def. Coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who was tapped to be interim head coach by AD Livengood, could also be in the mix, as he prepares for the team to play Washington State this Saturday.

ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski weighed in

But if I'm Livengood, I pick up the phone and dial the residence of one Mr. Norm Chow. Chow is simply the best offensive coordinator in the business. He turned Philip Rivers into a Heisman Trophy candidate at North Carolina State and he turned Carson Palmer into a Heisman Trophy winner at USC. In fact, he helped turned the entire Trojans offense into a well-balanced force.

Chow is experienced (USC, NC State, BYU), knows the Pac-10, knows the West Coast, knows what makes a great staff, knows what it would take to be successful at a place such as Arizona. He would do what Mackovic couldn't at Tucson: create an offense that could put fannies in the seats, put Ws in the standings, and put recruits on campus.

Other names on my imaginary short list: UA alum and now Cincinnati Bengals assistant Ricky Hunley, Miami's Rob Chudzinski or Randy Shannon, Oklahoma's Mike Stoops or Brent Venables, Texas Tech's Mike Leach and Pittsburgh's Walt Harris.

When Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood hired John Mackovic after the 2000 season, he all but ignored Ricky Hunley, the first All-American in Wildcats history, an NFL veteran at linebacker, and then a defensive assistant coach in transition from Missouri to Florida. Here's what Gators coach Steve Spurrier thought of Hunley. After Missouri fired coach Larry Smith and his staff, Spurrier called Hunley.

"Got a job?" Spurrier asked.

Hunley said, "No."

"Want one?"

Hiring an assistant coach, one whom you know and respect, is a head coach's prerogative. Here's what Livengood thought of Hunley at that time: he conducted a head coach interview of Hunley over the phone. Head coach candidates taken seriously are prodded and poked, analyzed and broken down like game video. Livengood talked to Hunley over the phone, and that's it. Hunley went to work for Spurrier, went with him to the Redskins, and this year is coaching with an old mentor, Marvin Lewis, with the Bengals.

Fewer than three seasons later, Livengood has the opportunity to make amends. He could take a page from the operating manual of Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow, who interviewed Ralph Friedgen before the 1997 season, then hired Ron Vanderlinden. Four years later, she fired Vanderlinden and within the week hired Friedgen. In his first two seasons, Friedgen won 21 games and one ACC championship.

Is Hunley the only good candidate? No. But Smith, a former Wildcat coach, has given his candidacy a public boost. Hunley is African-American, and Arizona president Peter Likins, by saying he wouldn't hire Mike Price, indicated he is sensitive to the public ramifications of the school's hire. Whether Hunley can win or not, we only find out if he gets a shot. But if a prominent assistant can't get his own alma mater to take him seriously, the game's in deeper trouble than we thought.

And we'll close it all off with the
Top 10 candidates outlined by AZ Star UA football reporter Charles Durrenberger.

Steve Axman

Offensive Coordinator, UCLA

Age: 55

Alma Mater: C.W. Post ('69)

Head Coaching Record: 48-41 in eight years (all at Northern Arizona)

Other Experience: Assistant at Washington, Minnesota, UCLA, Stanford, Arizona, Illinois, Army, Albany State, East Stroudsburg State and with the USFL's Denver Gold.

The Skinny: Served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the UA from 1980-84. Second-winningest coach in NAU history from 1990-97. His Lumberjacks teams averaged 30 points per game over his eight seasons there. Strong West Coast recruiting ties.

Kent Baer

Defensive Coordinator, Notre Dame

Age: 53

Alma Mater: Utah State ('73)

Head Coaching Experience: None

Coaching Experience: Assistant at Utah State, Idaho, California, ASU and Stanford.

The Skinny: Has 15 years of coaching experience in the Pac-10, and maintains strong recruiting ties. Last year's Notre Dame defense finished ninth in the nation in scoring defense and 13th in total defense.

Norm Chow

Offensive Coordinator, USC

Age: 57

Alma Mater: Utah ('68)

Head Coaching Experience: None

Coaching Experience: Assistant at BYU and North Carolina State.

The Skinny: Regarded as one of the premier offensive coordinators in college football. Spent 27 years operating one of the nation's top offenses at BYU, also serving as the Cougars' assistant head coach.

Rick Dykes

Former UA Assistant

Age: 42

Alma Mater: New Mexico ('82)

Head Coaching Experience: None

Coaching Experience: Assistant at Arizona, Texas Tech, Rice and
Temple.

The Skinny: Dykes served as John Mackovic's offensive coordinator from 2000-2002 when he went into the real estate business in Lubbock, Texas. Dykes, the son of former Tech coach Spike Dykes, recruited a handful of the current Wildcats, including current UA quarterback Kris Heavner.

Dan Hawkins

Head Coach, Boise State

Age: 42

Alma Mater: Cal Davis ('84)

Head Coaching Record: 61-17-1 in 8 years (Williamette 40-11-1; Boise State 21-6)

Other Experience: Assistant at Sonoma State, College of Siskiyous (Calif.) and Cal Davis.

The Skinny: In just his second year at BSU, Hawkins guided the Broncos to an 11-1 record and the school's first-ever WAC championship.

Pat Hill

Head Coach, Fresno State

Age: 51

Alma Mater: UC Riverside ('73)

Head Coaching Record: 46-30 in 6 years (all at Fresno State)

Other Experience: Assistant at Los Angeles Valley College, Utah, UNLV, Arizona, Calgary (CFL) and the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.

The Skinny: A former UA assistant coach under Dick Tomey operates a high-flying offense. Hill is a proven recruiter who has molded a tough-guy team without the bells and whistles of a major program.

Ricky Hunley

Defensive Line Coach, Cincinnati Bengals

Age: 41

Alma Mater: Arizona ('83)

Head Coaching Experience: None

Coaching Experience: Assistant at USC, Missouri, Florida and with the NFL's Washington Redskins.

The Skinny: A favorite son, Hunley was an All-American at the UA and an 11-year pro. He worked for his former college coach, Larry Smith, at USC and Missouri. Would galvanize boosters and be an energetic, positive force.

Glen Mason

Head Coach, Minnesota

Age: 53

Alma Mater: Ohio State ('72)

Head Coaching Record: 81-89-1 in 15 seasons (Minnesota 34-37, Kansas 47-54-1, Kent State 12-10)

Other Experience: Assistant at Allegheny College, Ball State, Iowa State, Illinois and Ohio State.

The Skinny: Has a national reputation for transforming struggling programs into winning organizations. The New Jersey native has coached on both sides of the ball, and served as offensive coordinator at Ohio State from 1980-85.

Mike Stoops

Defensive Coordinator, Oklahoma

Age: 40

Alma Mater: Iowa ('84)

Head Coaching Experience: None

Coaching Experience: Assistant at Iowa and Kansas State

The Skinny: A finalist for the 2001 Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach, Stoops has developed one of the nation's top defenses at OU. Standout defensive back at Iowa and played for the NFL's Chicago Bears.

Ed Zaunbrecher

Offensive Coordinator, Florida

Age: 53

Alma Mater: Middle Tennessee State ('72)

Head Coaching Record: 20-36 in 5 years, all at Northeast Louisiana (1994-98)

Other Experience: Assistant at Arizona, Purdue, Wake Forest, LSU, Michigan State and Marshall.

The Skinny: Dynamic offensive thinker who coached the Cats' offensive line under Jim Young (1975-76). Eight quarterbacks he has coached have set school passing records. Record at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) suffered from brutal schedule.