No, Daryl Gross will not yet place certain guidelines for the next Syracuse head coach. Prior head coaching experience? Northeast ties? Younger rather than older?

That’s to be decided. Right now, the Syracuse athletic director has but one requirement for a candidate that fits the Syracuse profile.

‘Winning,’ Gross said.

‘We need someone that has the capability to win. And that’s the bottom line. We’ll find that person.’

Of course, the now-fired Greg Robinson came to Syracuse with two Super Bowl rings but had only spent one season as a college coach from 1990-2004. Now Gross will make his second hire, and his most important.

‘If I could have gotten it done yesterday, I would,’ Gross said. ‘But we want to get it done the right way and be really smart about it and figure out every angle so we can win.’

Listing the early candidates is pure speculation at this point. Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall, a former Syracuse quarterback and assistant coach, could be at the top of the list. Edsall told the Connecticut media Sunday that he would not discuss the Syracuse job opening. He has yet to deny interest in the position, instead choosing not to comment on it at all.

‘I think Randy Edsall is a fine coach,’ Gross said. ‘He obviously demonstrated that again (Saturday) night. He’s done a terrific job. And there’s some other wonderful people out there as well.’

There’s Lane Kiffin, the ex-Oakland Raiders head coach who knows Gross from their time together at Southern California. But he’s already interviewed for the Clemson job and could be a top candidate at Washington.

Skip Holtz was the trendy pick for every potential opening early in the season, but his East Carolina team has lost four games since being ranked No. 15 in the country in September.

Turner Gill is the young hotshot head coach at Buffalo, who has turned a perennial laughingstock into a bowl contender in the Mid-American Conference. But he has yet to win at a consistent level.

Assistants like Mike Locksley (Illinois) and Chip Kelly (Oregon) and Steve Addazio (Florida) would be logical choices to move into a head coaching position. Locksley is one of the best recruiters in the nation. Kelly runs a dynamic offense and has head coaching experience at New Hampshire. Addazio, a former SU assistant, has the support of many former players.

‘The search is always ongoing,’ Gross said. ‘I’ve been in this a long time. I know where people are and who they are. There’s some good people out there, and we’ll see what happens.’

Gross does not believe money will limit the coaching search.

By firing Robinson, the school must buy out the head coach and his staff, which could cost upward of $1.5 million. As reported in The Daily Orange last April, Syracuse lost money in football for the first time since it was required to report financial data to the federal government in 1995. The athletic department as a whole has reported losses of $1.2 million in 2006-07 and $1.8 million in 2007-08, according to the school’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act reports.

‘We have some people that really care about Syracuse football,’ Gross said. ‘I’m sure people will step up. We won’t do anything that will limit us to win.’

Not only will the school have to buy out the current staff, but it could have to pay for the next coach’s buyout, too. Edsall, for example, makes $1.2 million per season at UConn and has a $1.5 million buyout in his deal.

The school may also pay for a consultant to assist in the coaching search. Gross said Sunday he is not sure if he will use the services of a coaching search firm. The New York Times reported in October that Syracuse had hired Chuck Neinas to help find a replacement, although Gross has denied that partnership.

Regardless of who assists him, Gross has the final say. And the search officially begins today.

‘There’s a lot of calculus that I’ll do,’ Gross said. ‘You take 100 names and you narrow it down to 12, to six, to three. And you do it as fast as you can. We’ll have all kinds of intelligence on this.’

magelb@syr.edu

Published on November 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm