Speculation begins: Who is next UW coach?

Tyrone Willingham said one reason he agreed to resign Monday is his hope that the Washington football family can now "come together."

That won't really happen, however, until the Huskies hire a new coach. Until then, the debate will rage — Jim Mora? Gary Pinkel? Jeff Tedford?

All of those names, and a few more, are thought to be on the short list of the two men who ultimately will make the decision: UW president Mark Emmert and athletic director Scott Woodward. The school will form a search committee, and also likely hire an outside search firm, but the decision will be made by Emmert and Woodward.

They will look for a coach who will combine some of the best of Willingham's attributes — namely, a heavy attention to academics and citizenship — with an ability to win games.

"It's not a 'who' so much as a 'what,' " Emmert said Monday. "For me right now, I want to make sure that we have a coach who continues what coach Willingham did very well, and that is to restore the integrity to our program and to bring the kind of positive character and quality that we have seen. What's missing, of course, is a lack of competitiveness on the field, so we need someone who is going to do both of those things for us."

If the coach also is a little more adept at dealing with boosters and media, two areas where Willingham struggled, all the better.

Ultimately, however, Emmert and Woodward will be looking for the proverbial home run, someone who immediately gets the fan base excited again and can snap UW's five-year losing streak.

The two who would do that best are Mora, a former UW player who has long been thought to covet the job; and Pinkel, a longtime Huskies assistant who played for and got his coaching start under Don James.

One problem — they might not be available.

Pinkel, who is 55-39 in eight years at Missouri, has a contract through the 2012 season that could pay him as much as $2.38 million annually by the end of the deal.

Emmert promised money won't be an issue. There are indications the Huskies could pay $2 million-plus per season.

"We'll do what we have to do to be competitive," Emmert said.

But Pinkel's hefty salary, as well as a comfortable situation at Missouri that includes facilities rated among the best in the nation, might make it hard for him to move.

Pinkel did not comment on the UW job when asked by reporters in Missouri on Monday, calling such speculation "a distraction."

Mora, meanwhile, has been named the successor to Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, and will become the team's head coach for the 2009 season, having signed a five-year contract with the team. Financial terms were not disclosed, but it's believed the deal averages more than $4 million annually.

Mora is in his second season as an assistant head coach and he works with the Seahawks secondary. He was not available to answer questions Monday and the Seahawks don't hold their next practice until Wednesday.

Other possibilities include California's Jeff Tedford, whom the Huskies tried to court in fall 2004 when they instead hired Willingham (the other two coaches UW interviewed then were Les Miles, then of Oklahoma State, who took the Louisiana State job that year, and Tom O'Brien, then of Boston College).

Also thought to be on the list are Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, a defensive coordinator at LSU in 2003 when the Tigers won the national title and Emmert and Woodward worked there; Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen, an Everett native who played at UW; Fresno State coach Pat Hill; Boise State coach Chris Petersen; Texas Tech coach Mike Leach; and maybe former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, who told AP that he's interested in the UW job.

Emmert said one advantage to making the announcement on Willingham on Monday is that the school can begin the search process in earnest. Emmert said there had already been a few "discreet" conversations.

"Scott and I are really committed to not doing things behind people's backs," he said. "If we were going to explore coaches, we sure didn't want to do that without Tyrone knowing his situation."

Some wonder how the job is viewed, given the losing and a likely long struggle ahead to renovate Husky Stadium. The school will again ask next year for $150 million in state funds to aid in that project.

Emmert, however, said, "I'm actually fairly optimistic about the attractiveness of this job," pointing to the school's tradition, setting and willingness to do what it takes to compete at the highest level.

He also thinks the right coach might be able to have success quickly.

"I think that the next coach can have some great success," Emmert said. "Now, that doesn't mean that you need to be making your reservations for the Rose Bowl in '09, but that does mean that I think a coach can come in and have some success. Will he have to do some rebuilding? Yeah, you bet he will, obviously. The program is at the lowest ebb of its history right now in this season, and that doesn't turn around instantly."