AD aspirant Johnson has coaches in mind

UNLV athletic director candidate John Johnson did more than describe the type of football coach he would hire if he gets the AD job. He actually named names.

Johnson, Washington State's senior associate athletic director, said Friday the coaches who come to mind are Dennis Franchione, Robb Akey and Bobby Hauck.

Franchione, who works for ESPN Radio, has a history of turning around programs. Akey coaches Idaho, which will play in the Humanitarian Bowl, and Hauck coaches Montana, which plays today in the national semifinals of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

Johnson also said some coordinators could be considered, such as Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain.

But his preference was for those with a head coaching background, given the school's longtime struggles in that sport. That opinion should go over well with UNLV fans after the previous failed experiments with career assistants.

"Certainly, when you hire someone who's had head coaching experience, regardless of the level, I think the black box of what you don't know about a coach is smaller," Johnson said.

Johnson, 50, interviewed at UNLV on Friday as one of three finalists for the AD position. Former Oregon athletic director Bill Moos and Arizona AD Jim Livengood will interview early next week. Moos will be available to the public at 3 p.m. Monday and Livengood at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the UNLV student union (Moos in the ballroom, Livengood in the theater).

A job offer is expected to be made Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, and if Johnson gets the position, he said he could have a football coach hired within a week.

Filling that position is the new athletic director's most immediate task, and Johnson said two other priorities would be to evaluate every part of the department and to make UNLV coaches and athletes more visible in the community.

Johnson said it was premature to get into specifics of a department-wide evaluation because those answers would be revealed only by a close look.

Johnson said Washington State athletes have spent more than 15,000 hours in community service, including a reading program established by the football team. Coaches also are matched to service programs that most fit their interests.

Johnson said he is intrigued that UNLV is a young university, yet is well known nationally. He was impressed that the school reached a capital-campaign goal of $500 million in seven years.

"That's exciting," he said. "There's a new president. There's new excitement. I can be part of that with a new football coach. Then we can start building it from the ground up."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.