Texas Christian committee meets with four coaches

Wednesday, December 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) _ A Texas Christian search committee has interviewed at least four candidates in the past two days in the search for the next Horned Frogs football coach, according to a published report Wednesday.

Sources told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Iowa State coach Dan McCarney, Kansas State defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, Auburn offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone and Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower have met with committee members.

Headed by athletic director Eric Hyman, the panel was scheduled to return to Fort Worth by early Wednesday after two days of visits.

Frogs football coach Dennis Franchione announced last week that he was leaving TCU to coach Alabama's Crimson Tide, signing a seven-year deal with the school expected to be worth $1.2 million to $1.4 million.

On Thursday, TCU defensive coordinator Gary Patterson and co-offensive coordinator Mike Schultz were scheduled to be interviewed. Early on, Patterson had appeared to be the leading contender to succeed Franchione and had been an assistant for the outgoing coach the past five seasons.

Schultz, who spent 11 years under Franchione, was the only other candidate on the current TCU staff with a shot at the head coaching job.

Mazzone, who met with the traveling TCU party in Auburn for about two hours on Tuesday afternoon, said he ``enjoyed the visit.'' He was quarterbacks coach at TCU from 1987-91 under Jim Wacker.

``We had a nice talk,'' he said Tuesday night. ``I was impressed with Eric and the direction that TCU has taken the last few years.''

Mazzone apparently turned down a coaching opportunity at Memphis last week to be in position for the possible TCU opening, according to the Star-Telegram. Hyman didn't indicate a timetable for hiring a coach.

Also, Mazzone said that talks were ``preliminary'' in nature and that he wasn't sure if or when TCU would contact him again.

Sources told the newspaper that McCarney, who led Iowa State to an 8-3 record and berth opposite Pittsburgh in the Insight.com Bowl, is intrigued by the possibilities at TCU. Also, McCarney is reportedly in delicate contract negotiations with a program off to its first bowl since 1978.

Bennett, a defensive assistant at TCU in 1982 and 1997, is definitely interested in the job, according to Jim Bennett, his brother and the Irving High School coach. The newspaper said Phil Bennett's meeting with the TCU committee probably occurred Monday in Kansas City.

Reports said two other coaches, Middle Tennessee State's Andy McCollum and Ohio University's Jim Grobe, are also believed to be in contention for the job and that McCollum was contacted by TCU officials over the weekend.

Both Patterson and Schultz are running a one-hour practice Wednesday that was called by Franchione. He has been in Alabama since Sunday.