BANGOR — Maine Athletic Director Karlton Creech said Wednesday that there are four finalists to be the next football coach, and that all of them either played or coached at the university previously.

Creech would not release any of the names, or confirm that interim coach Joe Harasymiak is among the finalists to replace Jack Cosgrove on the Black Bear sidelines.

He said his seven-member search committee wrapped up 30-minute video interviews with the finalists Tuesday and that it will next identify two or three of them to bring to campus for more exhaustive interviews next week. Creech hopes to make an offer next week and have the new coach in place before the Christmas break.

“They all have Division I experience, they all have a tie to UMaine, they all want to be the football coach at UMaine,” Creech said. “They aren’t people that are interviewing for every job out there. They are people that want us. So that’s a great thing.”

Creech said none of the four coaches work for teams still alive in the postseason, so that won’t be a hindrance to scheduling the in-person interviews. He said none have previous head-coaching experience, but that they are diverse in age.

Creech said a connection to the university wasn’t vital, but it did help the four candidates rise above the rest of the pool.

“I would say, all things being fairly equal, a UMaine tie is a good thing. We are so unique,” Creech said. “I think it’s powerful when somebody, as long as they’re qualified, as long as they have the relevant experience, that UMaine connection is a great thing. Especially, in the sports world, it’s about recruiting and about relationships.”

 

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