Sports Editor Christopher Drexel wants Texas Tech coach MIKE LEACH
Mike Leach seems like a solid pick for ASU's next football coach because he's probably the candidate out there most like the Sun Devils' former coach, Dirk Koetter, who shouldn't have been fired in the first place - though that's a different column for a different day.
In Leach, ASU would land another offensive mastermind with a taste to air the ball out. Only Leach would bring a fresh relationship with fans, whose appreciation for Koetter had mostly faded.
At 45 years old, Leach already has been head coach of the Red Raiders for seven seasons, yet he's young enough to build the Sun Devils for years to come. During his time at Texas Tech, Leach's teams have rewritten many NCAA records. All the Sun Devils need is to ante up for a top defensive coordinator and they may have a dynasty on their hands.
Leach routinely has top gun-slinging quarterback recruits - regardless of what anyone says, the most important position on the field - salivating for the chance to play under him. Plus, he will have deep roots to recruit in Texas, an area ASU needs to explore further.
Finally, with Leach, ASU's offense wouldn't change too drastically from years' past - meaning many of Koetter's leftover player personnel will still be useful, and the Sun Devils won't have to take steps backward before moving forward.
Assistant Sports Editor Steven Bohner wants former Miami coach LARRY COKER
If ASU Vice President for University Athletics Lisa Love wants a high-profile coach, this guy is it. In six years at Miami, Larry Coker led the Hurricanes to a national title, two BCS championship games and three BCS bowl appearances.
Coker also won three Big East championships before Miami moved to the ACC and had a 59-15 record in his tenure there.
Granted, Coker's on-field success has failed to translate off the field.
On Oct. 14, his team engaged in a brawl with Florida International that resulted in the suspension of 31 players, 13 of which were Hurricanes.
Then a month later, senior defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed on Nov. 7.
Combined with a below-par 6-6 record this season, the Miami athletic department had seen enough and fired Coker with three years left on his contract.
But while Coker may have worn out his welcome at "The U," he's an opportunity ASU can't afford to miss.
Miami's discipline and off-field problems go beyond the head coach, and Coker should not be held solely responsible.
And his resume more than outweighs those issues.
Coker would bring a fury of hype for a program badly in need of a spark. Attendance at Sun Devil Stadium plummeted this year.
Coker could also give the team a bigger recruiting edge in the Southeast, a virtual goldmine for talent.
Most importantly, Coker's experience gives ASU the best opportunity to win right away, as opposed to rebuilding with a younger, current coordinator.
Staffer Chris Ramirez wants former Arizona Cardinals head coach and current Tennessee Titans assistant DAVE MCGINNIS
In her search for a new head coach, Love should search no further than someone who is already familiar with the Valley of the Sun.
Dave McGinnis, who is currently the Tennessee Titans' linebackers coach, has already done a tour of duty in Arizona as the head coach of the Cardinals from 2000-03.
In becoming the leader of ASU football, McGinnis would bring 33 years of coaching experience in both college and pro football. But no one should be quick to mistake McGinnis for football tacticians such as Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick because that is just not the man's strength.
Instead, McGinnis' intangible is his vibrant personality. He is known as a player's coach and had Cardinal players and fans alike believing he had the long-tortured franchise headed in the right direction.
Imagine then what McGinnis could do for a waning Sun Devil fan base and more importantly, the players, who need a coach that will reinstall their faith in what Love and ASU are striving for.
With his persona, it would be all but guaranteed that McGinnis would have ASU locked and loaded to take on the class of the Pac-10 - USC and Cal - on the field and in recruiting battles.
Staffer Taylor Price wants San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach MIKE SINGLETARY
The nominees for ASU head football coach 2006-10 are: Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien, LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe and my sleeper pick - San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach Mike Singletary.
And the winner is - Singletary.
The next football coach at ASU should be tough, competitive, inspiring and, most importantly, all about defense.
With that being said, my recommendation is an NFL Hall of Fame inductee and was a legendary Chicago Bears linebacker way before Brian Urlacher.
The only negative on Singletary's resume is his lack of head-coaching experience. To that, I say hire the best coaching staff money can buy.
Considering just five of 119 Division I coaches are African-American, this hire would be huge in national exposure for ASU, not to mention recruiting.
What defensive recruit wouldn't want to play for an NFL Hall of Famer who has improved every player he has worked with, including Ray Lewis?
The hiring of Singletary wouldn't be a public relations move; it would be a sound football move.
Singletary has been interviewing for NFL head-coaching jobs and is going to get his shot somewhere. Why not here in Tempe?
And besides, I'm not sure about Mike Ditka's availability, so this seems most logical to me.
Staffer Matt Waggoner wants USC assistant coach STEVE SARKISIAN
According to reports, USC coach Pete Carroll contacted former USC volleyball coach Love sometime last week to recommend that his assistant head coach, Steve Sarkisian, be looked at for the opening at ASU.
And when Carroll opens his mouth, people listen.
Sarkisian is currently the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at a program that breeds two things - winning and professional-level quarterbacks.
Though Sarkisian is only 32, his resume is about as impressive as one his age can get - not necessarily because of what he has accomplished to date, but because of who he has coached for and who he has coached with.
He worked under offensive guru Norm Chow for three years and helped develop two of the best arms in college history in the form of current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart.
He even spent a year as a coach for the Oakland Raiders.
Critics can fault Sarkisian for nothing more than his age, and whether Love selects the Trojan to become a Sun Devil will be a reflection of her courage.
For those that think Sarkisian is too young, remember when Bowling Green gave its head-coaching position to a 30-something wide receivers coach from a major college program?
His name is Urban Meyer and his Florida Gators are BCS bowl-bound.
Staffer Matt Storey wants Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator NORM CHOW
Question: What do Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Vince Young have in common, besides being among the best young quarterbacks in football?
Answer: They've all been coached by the man who should be ASU's next head coach - Norm Chow.
Before becoming the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator last season, Chow spent more than 30 years as a college assistant with a sparkling record.
He won three national titles, and he helped to produce a bevy of talented quarterbacks that included three Heisman Trophy winners and six NFL first-round picks. Think Rudy Carpenter could do pretty well in Chow's system? I sure do.
Yet Chow has never received a chance to be a head coach. Whether it be his age (He's 60 now.), his ethnicity (He would be the only Asian coach in Division I-A.), or some other reason, Chow has been denied the shot to run his own program.
It's time to correct that injustice. Sure Chow would need to hire a good defensive staff, and he'd need assistants who could help with recruiting, but that can be addressed in time.
For now, let's just hope Love, who was at USC when Chow coached there, will do everything in her power to give one of the best assistants in college history his long-overdue chance to be a head coach.
It's Chow time for ASU.
Staffer Devin Hicks wants Texas-El Paso head coach MIKE PRICE
It isn't even a question who should be the next head coach of the ASU football team.
The 1997 National Coach of the Year Mike Price is more than deserving of another chance in the Pac-10.
Currently, he is running things at Texas-El Paso, where he has turned around a perennial loser.
Aside from this year's 5-7 record, Price has accomplished big things as the Miners' head coach.
In the previous two years, Price went 18-6 and had UTEP nationally ranked for the first time in the school's history.
From 1989-2002, Price was the head coach at Washington State, where he recorded three 10-win seasons and led the Cougars to five bowl appearances.
At the same time, it is obvious what critics will say makes him a bad choice.
After winning a share of the Pac-10 title in 2002, Price left the Cougars to accept the head-coaching position at Alabama.
Before his tenure could begin, Sports Illustrated chronicled Price in an intense night of drinking and partying with strippers that resulted in his immediate termination.
He had reportedly been warned by Alabama officials to tone down the partying before the incident.
It should also be noted that message boarders skewed most of the details, and he also won a lawsuit against SI for the infamous article.
UTEP was willing to give Price a second chance, and he has made amends.
Price could work wonders with Carpenter just like he did with Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf (the college version).
Price's hiring wouldn't reinforce ASU's party-school moniker; instead, the Sun Devils would return to Pac-10 glory.
