| POSSIBLE
CANDIDATES |
Bill
Beaney
Head Coach
Middlebury |
His
work at Middlebury has made him one of the most respected
coaches in the game, but he’s never tested himself
at the Division I level. After taking a year off for
a sabbatical, the timing might be right for Beaney to
make a move. |
Tim
Bothwell
Ex-Assistant Coach
Atlanta Thrashers |
Bothwell
coached the University of Calgary while new Vermont
A.D. Bob Corran ran the Dinosaurs’ athletic department.
The Brown alum and former NHLer – who has been
a finalist for U.S. college jobs with Brown and Minnesota-Duluth
in the past – was fired as an assistant coach
with the Atlanta Thrashers during this past season. |
Roger
Grillo
Head Coach
Brown |
His
seven years as an assistant coach at Vermont coincided
with the program’s glory days, something that’s
certainly not lost on the folks in Burlington. With
head coaching experience, ties to the school and familiarity
with the ECAC, he's probably the front-runner. |
Jeff
Jackson
Ex-Head Coach
Guelph Storm (OHL) |
After
parting ways with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey
League earlier this season, Jackson seems like a more
natural fit for the college game. Vermont could be just
the place for the architect of Lake Superior’s
powerhouse teams of the early 1990s to return to the
college ranks. |
Bob
Mancini
Scout
Edmonton Oilers |
Mancini
helped Jackson start the USA Hockey National Team Development
Program, and he too deserves a spot back in the college
game. He was a head coach for six years at Ferris State
and Michigan Tech in the 1990s, leading Tech to three
WCHA Final Fives. |
Mike
McShane
Head Coach
Norwich |
He
brought a national championship home to the state this
winter with Division III Norwich and the coach he beat
in the title game, George Roll, has stepped up to the
ECAC with Clarkson. As a former Division I head coach
(Providence), McShane has an element on his resume that
the other DIII candidate, Beaney, lacks. |
Mark
Morris
Ex-Head Coach
Clarkson |
With
a track record of success in the ECAC, his coaching
resume certainly warrants a look. Time will tell how
much the situation at Clarkson this past year will hold
him back. He’d be a logical choice to at least
receive an interview and tell his side of the story. |
David
Quinn
Associate Coach
USA Hockey NTDP |
The
Boston University grad and former assistant at Northeastern
and Nebraska-Omaha spent the last year as the head coach
of the Under-17 Team with the USA Hockey National Team
Development Program. |
Ron
Rolston
Assistant Coach
Boston College |
The
Boston College assistant coach knows the ECAC from his
six years at Harvard and Clarkson. He’s the Eastern
assistant most often mentioned as being ready for a
head coaching job, especially now that Jamie Russell
has taken over at Michigan Tech. |
Kevin
Sneddon
Head Coach
Union |
The
Union head coach was a candidate for previous ECAC openings
at Harvard and Princeton. He did a good job with the
Skating Dutchmen this season and may have an eye on
another of the conference’s more elite positions. |
| Wild
Cards? |
Keep
in mind that new Vermont A.D. Bob Corran took an untraditional
route on a big hire at Minnesota-Duluth, tabbing former
Canadian national women’s team coach Shannon Miller
to lead the Bulldogs. That resulted in three straight
national titles. Could he make a similar statement here?
Perhaps, if someone like U.S. national women’s
coach Ben Smith expresses an interest. |
When
Mike Gilligan 