Alaska interim head coach Dallas Ferguson and Wisconsin assistant coach Kevin Patrick are the two finalists to replace Doc DelCastillo as head coach at Alaska.
Kevin Patrick recently withdrew his name from consideration for the vacant head coaching position of the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL to focus on this job.
Both coaches will participate in public forums this week, and athletic director Forrest Karr hopes to make a final decision by the end of next week.
If I had to take a guess, I think Ferguson will be the one named head coach. I'm not saying Patrick isn't qualified, because he most definitely is qualified to be a head coach somewhere, but I don't see him getting the job. During last year's coaching search, it seemed like there was a big push from locals/alums for a change in direction in the program, which probably helped DelCastillo get hired. But after the disaster of DelCastillo's one year(regardless of if you believe the speculation about why he left, the fact remains that he didn't leave a lot of friends behind when he left Alaska), I think there's going to pressure for Alaska to stay with "one of their own". That sounds like it has been the case so far with a lot of alumni throwing their support behind Ferguson.
Kevin Patrick recently withdrew his name from consideration for the vacant head coaching position of the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL to focus on this job.
Both coaches will participate in public forums this week, and athletic director Forrest Karr hopes to make a final decision by the end of next week.
If I had to take a guess, I think Ferguson will be the one named head coach. I'm not saying Patrick isn't qualified, because he most definitely is qualified to be a head coach somewhere, but I don't see him getting the job. During last year's coaching search, it seemed like there was a big push from locals/alums for a change in direction in the program, which probably helped DelCastillo get hired. But after the disaster of DelCastillo's one year(regardless of if you believe the speculation about why he left, the fact remains that he didn't leave a lot of friends behind when he left Alaska), I think there's going to pressure for Alaska to stay with "one of their own". That sounds like it has been the case so far with a lot of alumni throwing their support behind Ferguson.