Mackovic Drops Out At UW Huskies A.D. Says She’S Picked Coach, But No One’S Saying Who

The University of Washington’s tight-lipped search for a football coach dragged on Friday with the only concrete news being John Mackovic withdrawing from consideration.

The ex-Texas coach said he didn’t know who UW will hire.

So, the wait continues for the two known remaining finalists, Idaho’s Chris Tormey and Toledo’s Gary Pinkel. Neither returned phone messages.

Tormey was expected to return to Moscow early Friday evening, but he apparently didn’t stop by his office. Pinkel was in Toledo Friday, according to Rockets’ athletic director Pete Liske.

Tormey also is considered a leading candidate for the Oregon State job if he is bypassed by Washington. He’s believed to have met with OSU officials Thursday in the Portland area.

UW athletic director Barbara Hedges told a Seattle newspaper Thursday night that she has chosen the new coach, but cautioned it might take more than a day to iron out contract details.

Even if UW had finalized its selection, an official announcement Friday would have been subject to being overshadowed by the Seattle Seahawks’ hiring of Mike Holmgren.

“I’ve had two different media people call me in the last hour. One said it was Pinkel; the other said it was Tormey,” said Liske, perhaps best illustrating the rampant speculation. “So I’m just chuckling about it all.”

The rumor mill churned out an interesting name: Colorado’s Rick Neuheisel. He was in Seattle visiting two recruits Wednesday, which probably fueled speculation, Colorado sports information director Dave Plati said.

“If he’s interested it’s surely the best decoy job in the history of sports,” Plati said. A Colorado newspaper reported Neuheisel had no interest in UW.

UI assistant coaches were in their offices Friday. An afternoon staff meeting was apparently postponed and rescheduled for this morning.

Oregon State A.D. Mitch Barnhart was apparently on the road visiting candidates. In addition to Tormey, Barnhart is believed to be interested in former Boise State assistant Al Borges, the offensive coordinator at UCLA.