Glen Miller — the most successful coach in program history — is now at Penn and Brown finds itself looking for his successor. Athletic director Mike Goldberger can go in several directions with the hire, and those close to the serarch say he’s looking to have a new coach in place by early June. Here are some of the candidates who have been mentioned publicly and privately.
Kevin Jaskiewicz
Jaskiewicz has been with Miller since his days at Conn College, but the the 1988 Eastern Connecticut State grad is going after the Brown head job very hard. He is believed to be the top choice of many alumni and that, combined with his familiarity with the program and the league, makes him one of the favorites. This is one case where player input could swing the decision in Jaskiewicz’s favor or disfavor, depending on his relationship with the players.
Steve Silas
A member of Brown’s Class of 1996, Silas lettered in basketball all four years on College Hill. The son of NBA player and coach Paul Silas, he has experience as an NBA assistant with Cleveland and is currently a pro scout with Washington. His alumnus status is a plus, but a complete lack of college coaching experience is a major liability. Silas probably is receiving consideration only because of his connection to the school, as it’s very difficult to imagine Goldberger going with a guy with no collegiate coaching experience.
Dave Duke
There are confirmed reports that Duke is interested in and has applied for the Brown job. He recruited and scouted well at Penn and knows the league. Although things ended badly for him in his only Division I head coching stint at Lehigh, Duke showed early on in his tenure there that he can field quality teams. If Brown decides he’s their guy, Duke could get another chance at a head coaching gig. Otherwise, look for him to join Fran Dunphy’s staff at Temple.
Jim Engles
Engles has been with his friend Joe Jones at Columbia for three seasons now, and sources with knowledge of the search say he has thrown his hat in the ring for the Brown job. Working in Engles’s favor is his knowledge of the Ivy League and some strong recruiting work at Columbia. Working against him is the Lions’ lack of success in the league, as evidenced by a 13-29 mark in Ivy play in his time there. Engles is regarded by some as the Xs and Os guy at Columbia, so that could appeal to Brown after losing a talented game coach in Miller. One bit of trivia: He is the nephew of former Penn player John Engles.
Dave Paulsen
A very attractive candidate to Ivy schools after an impressive run at Division III Williams College, Dave Paulsen owns a 137-33 record in six seasons there, including a national title in 2003 and a national runner-up finish the following season. In recent years Paulsen was contacted by Columbia and Dartmouth about their openings, but ultimately decided against pursuing either job. He’s a Williams grad, so he’s going to be tough to pry away from his alma mater. Why might Brown succeed where other Ivies have failed? First of all, it’s not a rebuilding project like the other two jobs were, and second of all, it’s a southern New England job. If Paulsen can be lured away, he would appear to be a slam dunk with his track record of success at a school in an academic-oriented conference like the NESCAC.
Dave McLaughlin
McLaughlin is a rising star on the Division II coaching scene after leading Stonehill to the Division II Final Four this spring. The New England native has solid NESCAC credentials after serving as an assistant at Wesleyan for two seasons and playing collegiately at Colby. If Brown is looking to hire someone in the mold of Glen Miller and Paulsen opts to stay put, McLaughlin appears to be an excellent option. If Goldberger and the search committee feel similarly and can get past the fact McLaughlin only has three years of head coaching expereience, expect him to be finalist.
John Krikorian
The former Penn JV player and assistant has worked on the staff of Billy Lange at Navy for two years now after serving under Fran O’Hanlon at Lafayette for two seasons. The program’s record doesn’t reflect a huge improvement, but those who have seen the Midshipmen play the past two seasons rave about what the coaching staff there has done with limited talent. If Brown wanted to go with someone with Ivy League playing and coaching experience, Krikorian could be an interesting choice.
Rob Kornaker
Kevin McNamara mentioned Kornaker’s name in his April 26 article on the Brown coaching search in the Providence Journal. He has amassed an 110-30 record in five seasons at St. John Fisher, leading the program to the Division III Elite Eight this past season and an undefeated regular season in 2004-05. Kornaker doesn’t have the high-academic experience of the other non-Division I head coaches, but does have an impressive resume.
There was some talk about interest in the job on the part of a couple of current Ivy head coaches, but that appears to be just speculation at this point.
