AUSTIN WARD Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:00 am
LARAMIE - Tom Burman has his short list of coaching candidates.
The Wyoming athletics director openly admits he's had it for quite some time.
But that doesn't mean Burman can or wants to operate a nationwide search on his own, which makes a $35,000 expense for some assistance more than palatable - particularly since UW isn't going to cut corners to build a winning football program.
"The search firm (Neinas Sports), there's multiple things a search firm does but primarily it's very detailed background searches, relative to what other coaches in the nation think of these people," Burman said. "The reality of it is in our case, Chuck Neinas knows the college football circles better than anybody."
That doesn't mean Burman is soliciting an abundance of advice, and he likely didn't need much help tracking down the candidate he reportedly interviewed first to replace Joe Glenn.
Nebraska wide receivers coach and former Cowboys player and assistant Ted Gilmore is no stranger to the program, and an interview Tuesday in Lincoln, Neb., likely wasn't all that difficult to put together.
Another, scheduled Tuesday or today at Missouri with Dave Christensen, might have been a bit more challenging. Even so, the Tigers' offensive coordinator is well-known in coaching circles and widely considered to be a good fit at UW.
In that regard Neinas might not be as valuable for identifying candidates as much as researching the few on the secret short list, but Burman insisted the firm was worth the price on Monday.
He didn't return a call from the Star-Tribune on Tuesday.
"I can bring up a candidate to him and he can say, 'Well, let me tell you this and this and this,'" Burman said. "And then he'll say, 'But let me check on this and I'll call so-and-so.'
"He really accomplishes a lot of things that I could not do or would take a significant amount of time to accomplish."
And the faster Burman can get a new coach in place the better, especially since the Cowboys are so far behind in recruiting.
UW won't rush to a decision just so it can go out and build an incoming class of freshman, and it really doesn't need to with a solid group of upperclassmen returning next year.
Even the nation's lowest-scoring offense has enough talent coming back to drum up some optimism, and with Burman almost assuredly hiring an offensive mind to take over for Glenn, improvement there is the top expectation for the next coach.
It's no coincidence Gilmore and Christensen both work on the offensive side of the ball, and though former Michigan State coach John L. Smith is known more for his defense, he's a spread offense disciple who succeeded with it in the Big Ten.
UW probably didn't need a search firm to track down Smith - the job is desirable enough Burman is getting almost as many calls as he's making.
"Some of them are contacting us through others, through third-parties, sometimes their agents have contacted me in advance of (the firing)," Burman said. "But I've probably had 50 e-mails and phone calls (Monday) from people who had a coach or contact for a coach.
"Generally, we know who we're interested in. There's not usually going to be one where we go, 'Ooh, I never thought about that.'"
But Burman is still going to check with his search firm just in case.
Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@trib.com.
Cowboys Tracker
TUESDAY: Wyoming athletics director Tom Burman reportedly started the search for a new football coach with a trip to Lincoln, Neb., to interview former Wyoming assistant and current Nebraska wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore.
SHORT LIST: Burman has flatly refused to address any specific candidates, but a group of favorites appears to be emerging - led by Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen and former Michigan State coach John L. Smith.
Gilmore obviously is on the list as well, as is former Colorado coach Gary Barnett.
HE SAID IT: "Generally, we know who we're interested in." - Burman.