Missouri AD back on recruiting trail in search for new football coach

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) _ Missouri athletic director Mike Alden insists he has no timetable for hiring a football coach, but with recruiting season under way the program could fall behind if he doesn't

Wednesday, November 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) _ Missouri athletic director Mike Alden insists he has no timetable for hiring a football coach, but with recruiting season under way the program could fall behind if he doesn't move quickly.

Alden has been searching for a head coach since Larry Smith was fired hours after Missouri ended its 3-8 season Nov. 18 with a 28-24 loss to Kansas State.

Toledo football coach Gary Pinkel ``briefly'' visited the Columbia campus on Tuesday, but was not offered the job, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

Alden was back on the road Tuesday night. Although he declined to identify his whereabouts, Alden told the newspaper that he was not in Columbia and added that ``you won't see me there for some time.''

The Kansas City Star reported that Alden interviewed Kevin Cosgrove, defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, in St. Louis on Tuesday afternoon. And the Star quoted Alden as saying it was ``probably true'' that his former associate and longtime friend Dennis Franchione of Texas Christian is not in the running.

``I don't see that changing, either,'' Alden said, saying that Franchione and his wife are very happy at Texas Christian.

``I don't know what his involvement may be at any other school,'' Alden said. ``But TCU has been very good to Dennis.''

For his part, Franchione said he hadn't been talking to anybody about another coaching job.

``No, I haven't been contacted by anybody,'' he said. ``No, I'm not on my way to talk to somebody.''

He said his only talks have been with TCU about extending his contract, which has another five years to run.

Besides Pinkel and Cosgrove, others reported under consideration for the Missouri job are Western Michigan head coach Gary Darnell, Purdue offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and Florida State offensive coordinator Mark Richt.

Alden has said the candidates reported so far generally reflect his interests, but he added he has not offered the job to anyone.

``There is a whole list of candidates out there who I think are really good, solid football coaches,'' Alden said. ``It is really important that we address the substance issue rather than the sizzle issue right now. I think it is just as important that we have the substance over some type of sizzle.''

Smith, 61, was 33-46-1 in seven years at Missouri. Alden cited Smith's poor recruiting after taking Missouri to consecutive bowl games in 1997 and 1998 as a reason for his dismissal. The two stars of the bowl teams, quarterback Corby Jones and running back Devin West, graduated after the 1998 season and Smith was never able to find adequate replacements.

While Alden maintains he feels no pressure to replace Smith immediately, coaches nationwide began contacting high school seniors this week, and Missouri falls a bit further behind every day it is without a head coach.

Alden also is competing with several other top-tier programs for a new coach, including Arizona State, Arizona, Southern Cal, North Carolina and Maryland.

``Other people want the people that we're talking to, and we view that as a positive,'' Alden said.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who had dropped off Alden's list, could still be in the running.

Venables said last week he was no longer a candidate because he couldn't meet Alden's timetable to discuss the job. Oklahoma plays Kansas State Saturday in the Big 12 Championship game. If the Sooners win, they will play in the Orange Bowl for the national title.

``I have never spoken to him in my life,'' Alden said. ``I'd like to thank him for some of the nice things I've seen that he's said about our program, but I've never talked to him.

``He, of course, doesn't want to talk until after the Big 12 championship game. I respect that.''