First of four coaching finalists surfaces

~ Washburn University coach Craig Schurig will interview for the head football position on Friday.

Southeast Missouri State athletic director Don Kaverman believes the university's search for a new head football coach is proceeding smoothly.

So smoothly, in fact, that Kaverman on Tuesday said one of the finalists for the position has already been identified.

Craig Schurig, the head coach at Division II Washburn (Kan.) University the past four seasons, will be in Cape Girardeau on Friday to interview with university officials.

Kaverman said Schurig will also be involved in an open forum on Friday, where boosters, students, the media and the public can meet with him. The time for that has not yet been announced.

Schurig has directed an impressive turnaround at Washburn, where his four-year record is 25-21, including some of the most notable football accomplishments in school history.

After going 3-8 and 5-6 in his first two years, Schurig's 2004 Washburn team went 8-4 for the program's first winning season since 1999. The Ichabods also claimed their first postseason victory since 1986 as they beat Northern State in the Mineral Water Bowl.

This year, Washburn went 9-3 -- the most wins in school history -- and captured the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with a 7-1 record. It was the Ichabods' first conference title of any kind since 1983.

Schurig was named the MIAA coach of the year, after his squad had been picked fourth in the preseason poll. The Ichabods, ranked as high as No. 5 nationally, lost to Northwest Missouri State 42-32 in the second round of the Division II playoffs. Northwest Missouri, also a MIAA member, will play in Saturday's national championship game.

Asked how impressed Southeast officials are with Schurig, Kaverman said simply, "Anybody we interview, we have done a considerable amount of research on and we feel good about."

Kaverman -- who is chairing the football coach search committee -- said Schurig is one of four finalists who will be brought on to the campus for interviews in the next two weeks, although Kaverman said the other three have not yet been determined.

"We've narrowed it down to about 10 at the most," Kaverman said. "We'll do some additional work over the weekend, and then decide who we want to bring in next week."

Kaverman said the other finalists will be in Cape Girardeau on Dec. 14, 15 and 19.

"I think things are going well [with the search] and we're making progress," Kaverman said.

Kaverman said Southeast received an overwhelming number of applications since the university announced Tim Billings' resignation on Nov. 18. Billings went 25-43 in six seasons at Southeast, including 2-9 this year.

"I haven't counted them, but I've got a box full and it's overflowing. And we continue to get them in every day," Kaverman said. "We had an excellent candidate pool."

Kaverman said Southeast received applications from college coaches spanning Division I-A, Division I-AA and Division II, along with applications from professional coaches.

Kaverman said there is no preconceived notion of what level the new coach will come from, but he added, "Clearly we're looking for someone who has demonstrated success where they have been."

While Kaverman did not release names of any other applicants, among those who reportedly have shown interest in the position are Nicholls State head coach Jay Thomas, Delta State head coach Rick Rhoades and Louisiana-Monroe offensive coordinator Todd Berry.

Berry, a former head coach at Army and Illinois State, is a former Southeast assistant, as is Thomas, who led Nicholls State to the Division I-AA playoffs this year.

Kaverman said Southeast's goal is to have a new head football coach hired before Christmas.

"We think we'll be able to get that done," he said.