Western’s last football head coaching search came when championship-winning coach Jack Harbaugh resigned in 2003 after spending 14 years at Western.
Current Head Coach David Elson was fired Sunday night, also after 14 years with the Toppers.
That might be where the similarities between 2003 and 2009 stop.
Now Western’s program plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision, facilities have been upgraded and the program’s budget tops $5 million — all factors Athletics Director Wood Selig said makes this job an easy sell.
“I think this is a gold mine,” Selig said Monday. “It’s a terrific opportunity for any head coach to come in here and really establish themselves and continue the progress that’s been made previously.”
But while the facilities have reached a peak, the on-field product is enduring an all-time low.
Western holds the FBS’ longest losing streak at 17 games, which is also the most in program history. Selig said that the administration’s consistent backing of Elson should guarantee any would-be coach ample support should the program not bounce back quickly.
“I think any coach coming in and looking at WKU would have to feel very good about the support that they would receive, both financially with regard to facilities and with regard to philosophy from the administration,” Selig said.
Selig told the Herald on Wednesday that about 50 candidates had already voluntarily contacted him about the job.
While Western alum Romeo Crennel, former coach of the Cleveland Browns, spoke to Western about the opening, he didn’t have any interest in taking the job, Selig said. But Crennel told Selig he would be willing to assist in the search on the university’s behalf.
Searching for expert assistance, President Gary Ransdell assembled a search committee comprised of Howard Bailey, vice president of Student Affairs; James Brown, NCAA faculty athletic representative; Alexander Downing, 2009 Hilltopper Athletic Foundation Board president; Deborah Wilkins, chief of staff and general counsel, Selig and himself.
Wilkins will serve as chairperson of the committee. Wilkins said that she will help the committee with the legalities of the search and make sure that they follow the hiring guidelines set forth by the university.
The committee met on Monday night and planned on meeting again next Thursday, Wilkins said.
Ransdell said the search committee will help narrow down a wide pool of candidates to conduct interviews with before making a hire.
“There are only 120 of these jobs,” Ransdell said. “There are a lot of highly qualified coaches that are head coaches at programs, or offensive or defensive coordinators for programs where this is a major step up for them. Take (a Southeastern Conference) defensive or offensive coordinator, and this is a great opportunity to be a head coach at an (FBS) program.”
Reporter Andrew Robinson contributed to this story.
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