University of Idaho athletic director Rob Spear is wasting no time in the search for a men's basketball coach.

Click the tab below to read an unedited story that will appear in Thursday's newspaper.

By Greg Lee
Staff writer

University of Idaho athletic director Rob Spear flew to an undisclosed location Wednesday afternoon to begin interviews for the next men’s basketball coach.

Spear said he had four initial interviews lined up. He was doing his first interview Wednesday evening and expected to conclude sometime Friday. He declined to disclose names of the candidates, saying he was meeting them at a “central location.”

“I’m playing my cards close to the vest here,” Spear said. “I want to protect these guys and do right by them and move as fast as I can to get this thing done.”

It’s believed that former San Diego coach Brad Holland and current Washington State University assistant Matt Woodley are among those being considered to replace George Pfeifer, who was fired Tuesday morning after two seasons. Others who may be considered are Utah State assistant Don Verlin, who interviewed for the job when Pfeifer was hired; Southern California assistant Gib Arnold; Portland State coach Ken Bone; and former Wyoming and current Colorado assistant Steve McClain.

Woodley said Tuesday he’s very interested in the Idaho job. McClain declined comment when contacted Wednesday. Holland didn’t return phone calls Tuesday or Wednesday. Verlin sent a text message Wednesday, saying he wouldn’t have a comment until USU, which was selected to play in the NIT, was finished.

Spear said he hopes to have the top candidates visit Moscow over the weekend or by early next week.

“If I can get it done early next week that would be ideal,” Spear said. “We will narrow it down and invite the top candidates in for the final round (of interviews) to make sure they can meet with the president.”

Spear said that high among the criteria for the next coach is someone associated with a winning program.

“I want somebody that has won, that has a winning mentality, somebody that can build a program,” Spear said. “Knowing how to recruit to Moscow is very important, and having an appreciation for the competitive league that we’re in is important.”

Spear said he is putting his evaluation of women’s head coach Mike Divilbiss and his program on hold until a men’s coach is hired.

Am I reading this right -- he hopes to have this done by next week?

This tells me:

1) Spear has had somebody in mind all along (Verlin?).

2) The search is questionable, because no coach (assistant or otherwise) who is playing in the post-season would distract himself by interviewing.

3) Spear is in over his head.

That's how it sounds to me as well DB why would he be keeping his cards close to him unless he doesn't have much of a list for coaches?

vandalfan, a "why wouold he be keeping his cards close to him"...

It's called being a professional, it's bush league to conduct a coaches search in the newspaper. It's all well & done for us to speculate. Spear has a responsibilty to the candidates to keep their names out of the press.

Greg-
Any word on what's happening to George's assistants? Are they out the door, too?

I think this is a good thing to keep it close to the vest. It is professional and the right thing to do.

I do wish letting Pfeifer go would have been handled better with the current kids.

By keeping it close to the vest, there could be some interviews done of current coaches in the post-season and not interfere.

Let me get this straight. Spear had time to conduct interviews of the freshmen women players, but he did not interview the men players before he terminated George?

Whoa. Smells like something bad brewin'

Why in the world would you want everybody to see all of your cards? What is left to play if that happens? Smart move by Rob in my opinion.

Another resume that Rob should look at (another coach that was screwed over and deserves another job)

Brad Soderberg
Position:
Head Coach

Brad Soderberg was introduced on April 12, 2002, as the 23rd head coach in the history of the Billikens' basketball program. He recorded the first 20-win season of his career in 2006-07, guiding the Billikens to a 20-13 overall record and a spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals. It was the program's first 20-win season since 1997-98.

Soderberg's most recent success came on the heels of a 2005-06 season that saw Saint Louis serve notice to their new Atlantic 10 Conference foes by finishing tied for third in the league. The third-place finish was the Bills' best since they finished second in The Great Midwest Conference during the 1994-95 campaign.

In his first two seasons at the Billikens' helm, Soderberg directed the Bills into the NIT each year after being eliminated in the Conference USA postseason tournament semifinals. He became the third Billiken head coach to guide SLU into the postseason in his first two seasons, joining legendary Eddie Hickey (1948 and 1949 NIT) and John Benington (1959 and 1960 NIT). The Billikens were in the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time since 1994-95 and 1995-96.

He was the first Billiken coach to guide his club into the C-USA Tournament semifinals in back-to-back years. Except for the Billikens 6-10 mark in their final season in C-USA in 2004-05, Soderberg has posted a winning conference record in every other season of his collegiate head coaching career.

In Soderberg's first season, the Billikens were 16-14 overall and 9-7 in C-USA, finishing in fourth-place in the league race. That matched the Bills' best league finish which occurred when national Freshman of the Year Larry Hughes led the Billikens to fourth place with a 10-6 mark in 1997-98. Soderberg's second campaign produced a 19-13 overall record and a sixth-place tie with Louisville in C-USA at 9-7.

The Billikens closed the 2003 regular season with a seven-game win streak, which was its best C-USA winning streak in the eight-year history of the league. Saint Louis stretched that winning streak to eight with a victory in the quarterfinal round in the C-USA Tournament, and that was its best winning streak since the 1997-98 Billikens opened their season with eight consecutive wins.

For his accomplishments during the 2002-03 season, Soderberg was named C-USA Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. Soderberg spent one year as an assistant coach at Saint Louis under Lorenzo Romar. The Billikens (15-16 overall, 9-7 C-USA) finished fifth overall in Conference USA in 2001-02.

Soderberg came to Saint Louis after a six-year run at the University of Wisconsin. He served as the Badgers' interim head coach after Dick Bennett's retirement early in the 2000-01 season. Bennett's unexpected retirement came in the wake of the Badgers' magical run to the 2000 NCAA Final Four. During his tenure at Wisconsin, Soderberg helped guide the Badgers to four NCAA Tournaments and one NIT bid.

He compiled a 16-10 record and became the first Wisconsin coach to lead the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament in his first season. He was just the fourth Badgers coach ever to win his Big Ten debut and the first since 1911 to win his first eight games.

Soderberg moved to Wisconsin in April 1995, after two seasons as head coach at South Dakota State. He guided the Jackrabbits to a 36-18 (.667) record from 1993-95, including a 21-15 mark in the highly regarded NCAA Division II North Central Conference.

Soderberg served as head coach at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, from 1988-93 and led the Duhawks to a 79-45 (.637) record during his five-year stint. Loras was runner-up in the 1992 National Catholic Basketball Tournament, and Soderberg was named tournament Coach of the Year. Soderberg served as assistant coach at Loras in 1987-88 before becoming head coach.

Prior to his arrival at Loras, Soderberg was an assistant coach at UW-Stevens Point (1984-85), graduate assistant at Colorado State (1985-86) and assistant coach at Fort Hays State (1986-87).

Soderberg is a 1985 graduate of UW-Stevens Point, where he was a guard and team captain for Bennett's 1984 NAIA national runner-up, a team that included Terry Porter, who is a former head coach of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. Soderberg and Porter started all 32 games in the Pointers' backcourt in '83-84, and Soderberg was a first-team All-Conference and All-NAIA District 14 selection. He earned the "Hustle Award" at the '84 NAIA Tournament. Soderberg shot 56 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line in his two years at UW-Stevens Point.

A native of Stevens Point, Wis., Soderberg attended Pacelli High, where his father was head basketball coach before retiring. He has a bachelor's degree in physical education fro

Bogus, bogus, bogus, ...

It's all friggin' bogus.

From DUI to DUH.

That's an impressive list if true. I'd be shocked if they could get Bone, who is being considered for Oregon State. The rest of the group -- except for Gib Arnold -- looks great.

Arnold is another Tim Floyd guy and it's time to quit having Floyd or Kermit Davis make the hires. McClain, Holland, Woodley? That's a nice list!

Verlin is solid, Arnold no freaking way ... so my guess is they'll hire Arnold because the UI blue hair boosters want to go retro all the way back to the 80's. Hope that doesn't happen.

I applaud Spear for making the change; I'm worried he might make the wrong hire.

Brad Holland would be excellent as would McClain. Spear (IMO) made a good call on Akey (I think), here's another chance to shine. (Just say no to Gib! Don't let Floyd make the hire!)

While I'm trying to stir up some McClain Kool-Aid - I must speak up in Gib Arnold's defense (seems pretty dang solid to me - top three recruiter in the nation etc). Take a look at number three.

RIVALS.COM'S 10 ASSISTANT COACHES READY TO MOVE UP
1. John Groce, Ohio State
What can you say about a recruiting class that included Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr.? You can say it netted the Buckeyes a berth in the national championship and earned Groce the title as Rivals.com's Recruiter of the Year in 2006. How did Thad Matta and his right-hand man follow up? With a five-man class that Rivals.com ranks sixth in the nation, including a five-star prospect and two four-star prospects. Groce, 35, has been alongside Matta for the past seven years, and last year Groce was promoted to associate head coach at OSU. It's only a matter of time before someone comes along and erases the word "associate."
2. Cameron Dollar, Washington
The former UCLA guard has come up against his alma mater on the recruiting trail and has won his fair share of battles in the Pac-10. One of Rivals.com's top 25 recruiters in 2006, he helped the Huskies land the nation's No. 7 class, led by five-star center Spencer Hawes. Dollar has backed up last year's work with another stellar group in '07, a four-man class ranked 20th by Rivals.com. His high-water mark came with the No. 3-ranked class in 2005. Dollar has spent the past eight seasons with Huskies head man Lorenzo Romar, but he's clearly ready to step out on his own.
3. Gib Arnold, USC
The rise of the Trojans under Tim Floyd also has something to do with the recruiting efforts of Arnold. One of Rivals.com's top 25 recruiters in 2006, he has secured one of the best classes in school history for 2007. It's a group that Rivals ranks third nationally, and it includes five-star guard O.J. Mayo. Arnold had a brief taste of head coaching, spending two years at the helm of junior college power College of Southern Idaho before jumping back into the Division I ranks.
4. Joe Dooley, Kansas
Recruiting is a team effort for the Jayhawks, but the point man has been Dooley. He's a two-time member of Rivals.com's top 25 recruiters list, having helped land classes ranked by Rivals.com as No. 4 in 2005 and No. 12 in 2006. He was brought to KU by Bill Self when Self came to Lawrence four years ago. Dooley spent four seasons as the head coach at East Carolina in the 1990s and compiled a 57-52 mark. He'll get a shot to improve on that soon.
5. Tony Jones, Tennessee
Bruce Pearl rightfully gets a lot of credit for the Vols' turnaround, but he's quick to dish plenty of it to his right-hand man. Jones helped Pearl make a big splash in recruiting circles when UT landed a pair of five-star prospects (Ramar Smith and Duke Crews) in 2006. Jones also has been with Pearl for six seasons and has been associate head coach for the past two.
6. Ray McCallum, Indiana
McCallum has had a couple of runs as a head man, at Ball State and at Houston. He has spent the past three seasons on Kelvin Sampson's staff. He also grew up in Indiana and played high school ball there, so he's a natural fit in the Hoosier State. With the arrival of five-star shooting guard Eric Gordon to pair with D.J. White, IU could have a big season. If that's the case, McCallum could earn his third tour of duty as a head coach.
7. Derek Kellogg, Memphis
Kellogg was the 3-point specialist on John Calipari's great UMass teams. For the past seven seasons he has been helping Coach Cal build great teams at Memphis, both through his recruiting efforts and his scouting of opponents. The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the Rivals.com preseason poll, and the deeper they go the greater the likelihood Kellogg lands his first crack at running his own show.
8. Duke assistant
Regardless of the performances of past Duke assistants (read Quin Snyder, Tommie Amaker), anyone on Mike Krzyzewski's staff is going to get a look when a job comes open. Since it appears Johnny Dawkins is comfortable staying with Coach K, the furtive glances will be cast toward Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski. Both are young, personable and ready for the next level.
9. Mark Montgomery, Michigan State
The Spartans appear to have the horses to return to the top of the Big Ten, and such a push would thrust Montgomery into the spotlight. He has been with Tom Izzo for the past six seasons. He's also a Michigan native who played for the Spartans while Izzo was an assistant coach there. He has done well on the recruiting trail (he was the chief recruiter of Raymar Morgan) and in player development.
10. Larry Shyatt, Florida
Shyatt is one of the oldest coaches on our list, but that doesn't mean he'll lack for opportunities to land another head coaching job after previous stints at Wyoming and Clemson. He has been on Billy Donovan's staff for the past three seasons, and that

Here is USC's roster - not a single J.C. kid. But I'm still on the McClain bandwagon (all Arnold's recruits).

0 Austin, Kyle 6-7/205 Forward SO Pasadena, Calif. (Pasadena High)
33 Cromwell, RouSean 6-11/225 Forward JR Memphis, Tenn. (IMG Academy-Fla.)
43 Cunningham, Kasey 6-7/225 Forward RS FR Albuquerque, N.M. (Cibola High)
14 Diarra, Mamadou 7-0/230 Forward FR Bamako, Mali (Stoneridge Prep)
3 Dunleavy, James 6-6/190 Guard FR Los Angeles, Calif. (Harvard-Westlake)
22 Gibson, Taj 6-9/225 Forward SO Brooklyn, N.Y. (Calvary Christian High)
30 Green, Terence 5-11/180 Guard JR Aliso Viejo, Calif. (Aliso Niguel)
13 Hackett, Daniel 6-5/205 Guard SO Pesaro, Italy (St. John Bosco (CA))
5 Jefferson, Davon 6-8/215 Forward FR Lynwood, Calif. (Lynwood High)
1 Johnson, Angelo 5-11/180 Guard FR Minneapolis, Minn. (Stoneridge Prep)
21 Lewis, Dwight 6-5/215 Guard SO Metairie, La. (Taylor High (TX))
32 Mayo, O.J. 6-5/200 Guard FR Huntington WV (Huntington High)
20 Simmons, Marcus 6-6/200 Guard FR Alexandria, La. (Peabody High)
2 Wetherell, Ryan 5-11/175 Guard SO Calgary, Alberta, CN (Sr. Winston Churchill)
23 Wilkinson, Keith 6-10/225 Forward JR Mission Viejo, Calif. (Capistrano Valley)

Do NOT buy into those assistant rankings. Leonard Perry was rated as the No. 1 assistant in America when he was at Iowa State. Sports Illustrated did the rating. Perry was a horrible coach, lazy recruiter, bad floor coach, just awful.

Do NOT buy into these rankings. Gib Arnold would be awful and he did NOT recruit O.J. Mayo. Mayo called USC sight unseen. Also, he did NOT recruit all those USC guys, I got that on record. He recruited some, not all. A complete myth. Everyone knows the Mayo story, I'm amazed Arnold is taking credit for it. Mayo called Floyd.

Just say no to Gib, he'd bring in more selfish JC players to Idaho. They need to change the culture of the program, a culture which has failed them for 20 years.

I'm predicting the next coach will be just right down the hall again. Is there anyone other than me who thinks Spear is keeping everything close to his chest because he some other boneheads on his recruiting list? I can't believe so many of you have faith in Spear's ability to hire a decent coach. Just look at who he's replacing.....

For 20 years they've let Tim Floyd, Kermit Davis, and Larry Eustachy make the hire ... or the other alternative has been to walk down the hall and make the hire.

I want to see if Spear has the guts to tell the Southern Slimeballs no and hire his own guy.

Well, if we want to get away from the Tim Floyd/Kermit Davis tree, we should also scratch this guy from the list:

Matt Woodley enters his second season on Washington State's bench as an assistant coach. A highly respected recruiter, Woodley primarily deals with recruiting at WSU, while actively involved in practice and game day coaching.

Woodley joined the Cougar family in 2006-07 with over six years of coaching experience under his belt. A graduate of Drake University, Woodley came to the Palouse after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee.

With the Blue Raiders and head coach Kermit Davis, Woodley's responsibilities included recruiting, scouting, scheduling and film exchange, as well as the day-to-day preparation of the team. His strong work ethic was evident on the recruiting trail as he helped land several players within Middle Tennessee's young and talented signing class in 2004.

I hope Rob "0-23" Spear is at least interviewing McClain and Soderberg.

I will be disgusted if the hire Gib Arnold. I'm guessing that will be the next coach based on what UI typically does. I mean, hell, why do a real search that requires work when you can pick up the phone and call Tim Floyd, Kermit Davis or Larry Eustachy and hire a coach. TR is right, the culture needs to change at UI.

I'd really like to see a guy with HC experience so to me it looks like you make a hard run at either Giacoletti or McClain.

Man I fear we are going to be stuck in the same model with Arnold. Come on UI, it hasn't worked in 20 years, don't do it again.

Woodley cleansed himself of Kermit by working with Tony Bennett for two years. WSU has defeated USC four out of the last five times they've played and UI wants to hire the USC assistant instead of the WSU assistant? Yeah, that makes sense.

Floyd's program is pretty shakey, too. They recruit shakey, they take shakey guys, Floyd ran a slush fund while he was in Moscow, Davis offered Larry Johnson all kinds of illegal goods to come to UI. That era was won the wrong way and the NCAA wasn't paying attention.

It's time to get out of the 80's and move forward. Take from good, classy programs like WSU or Gonzaga. Don't let the Southern Slime trio make the hires for UI! For 20 years they've made the hires and it's failed UI horrifically. To keep going down that path is insane.

Just say no to Gib Arnold. We don't need another shakey used car salesman who just wants to build his resume.

God, don't UI fans ever get to a breaking point? Don't they get tired of being sold a bag of goods from the southern slime trio? I know I'm tired of it.

It makes no sense to me either. The Southern Slime Trio has a combined winning percentage of 58% this year.

By comparison, the two programs you should hire from (Gonzaga and WSU) have a combined winning percentage of 77%

In addition, you get coaches who actually recruit 5 year guys (they have even seen Seattle and Portland and know they exist) and they run class programs.

Come on Rob Spear, prove me wrong, just once, stop listening to the boosters who want to live in the past.

Does Rob Spear even consider the fact that WSU and USC played twice this year and WSU destroyed them both times? Let's think about that for a minute. WSU, with the worst budget and most remote location in the PAC10 (boy that sounds like Idaho to me) blows out USC (you know, lots of money, great talent in your backyard, pick you players, etc) twice, don't you have to wonder about picking assistants off USC instead of WSU.

I mean really, WSU doesn't have anywhere near the talent that USC does, or the money or anything else. Yet there they are, kicking the crap out of USC. Why is Rob looking at a USC guy, because he called Tim Floyd and asked him who he should hire.

As I've said many times, this isn't rocket science, the model is right in your backyard, stop pretending they are some sort of hated rival and start copying them!

Oh yea, and stop hiring coaches from the Southern Slime Trio!

All you have to do is go to the Vandal Venue website and you'll see the Tim Floyd fan club, the Gib Arnold supporters.

Turn off the Culture Club music, it's not the 80's anymore. I'm begging UI to move forward in athletics, just once. I hope Spear doesn't blow this. He should tell Floyd to hit the road, just quit listening to these guys! They handed Idaho Kermit II, Farrar, Perry, and eventually Pfeiffer ... nice track record.

You're giving Woodley way too much credit for the Cougars' victories over USC. WAY too much. I'm not saying UI should hire either one of them, but let's catch a clue here.

Nobody knows who Spear will hire, but his firing of Pfeifer (and retaining of Divilbiss) should give us all pause to wonder about his decision-making skills.

All I'm saying is that if you are going to hire an assitant from another program, you hire off WSU way before you hire of USC. On the one hand, you have WSU, a school very much like you are. They are tough, disciplined, focus on high school guys and develop them, play solid defense and are good citizens. On the other hand you have USC, which has every advantage imaginable to mankind, yet WSU destroyed them. Maybe its because the Floyd line of coaches don't teach the game very well. Maybe they rely on superior talent to win games over solid coaching. That formula won't work at Idaho, the evidence is there, that's what Idaho has been doing for 20 years and it's not working.

OK, Woodley shouldn't get all the credit, just like Arnold shouldn't get credit for recruiting O.J. Mayo since the player called Tim Floyd without any prompting. Intersting that people are saying Arnold recruited him. Not true.

I do know if you ran a business with a model that has failed for 20 years and you went back to that model you'd be filing bankruptcy.

The reason UI loses so much in athletics is because of poor leadership and complicit fans who keep putting up with the Dennis Erickson and Tim Floyd hires because gosh darn it, it sure felt good back in the 80's when we were playing in the Big Sky!

If that's the attitude, then go back to the Big Sky. If you want to play in the WAC, you need to change the model.

Personally, I want to play in the WAC, but not with the Big Sky model.

Idaho (and Spear) definitely need to look outside the box. I'd consider Woodley, for sure, but I'd look beyond 8 miles, too.

There are some good candidates out there, which is why I'm a little concerned Spear made the comment he hopes to finish this up by next week. He realizes darn near every coach and assistant will be in San Antonio (Final Four) in just a couple of weeks, right? He realizes any assistant with a team int he post-season won't interview until his program is through playing, right?

Sadly, I agree with TR. It's obvious Spear zeroed in on Erickson from the get-go, and I'm afraid he's already zeroed in on somebody (without conducting a legitimate search).

Correct! UI belongs in the WAC. Granted UI has a lot of problems to fix, but they are all fixable. This one is by far the greatest. The biggest reason UI loses in sports is because we hire this way. Yea, facilities could be better, yea, we could have more money, but WSU is in a worse condition relative to the PAC 10 than Idaho is to the WAC.

Idaho is losing because they've hired Kermit II, Farrar, LP, GP, Tom Cable, Nick Holt.......want to keep losing, add Gib that list.

When Idaho starts treating their hires like a business, things will get better.

Gib Arnold has coached two years out of his entire coaching career for Tim Floyd. That makes him part of the Tim Floyd tree? He also coached three years under Paul Westphal. I guess that doesn't count. I'm not sure, but were Dave Farrar and Joe Cravens part of evil Tim Floyd coaching tree?

We should hire the best person available, period.

You people who are advocating hiring a WSU guy because they have beaten USC 4 of 5 are more clueless than the current AD at Idaho. That statistic has nothing to do with who would be a good coach or a good fit for a program. When I read that crap I almost fell of my chair laughing in disbelief. Hopefully, Spear won't be picking a new coach based on who beat who the past few seasons. The players and Tony Bennett and Dick Bennett for that matter are the reason the Cougs have turned the program around. I am sure their assistants play a small role and that is it. It will always fall on the ability of the "head guy." That guy could very come from USC or WSU. Are you people going to abruptly change your mind IF USC goes further in the tournament???

You are totally missing my point so I'll try again. What I'm saying is that WSU's program is doing it the right way. WSU is a school similar to Idaho (most of the same challenges) WSU has to recruit lower ranked guys and coach them up. USC just has to recruit okay and roll the balls out. What I'm saying is that the WSU model is a better fit for Idaho. I'm just pointing out that WSU is beating USC with less talent. So if you are going to hire off a "successful" program as Rob says he wants to do, hire of a program that's much more like you than not. I don't think the USC (floyd) model will work at Idaho, in fact, I know it won't because it hasn't in 20 years.

To keep doing the same thing and failing but always expecting different results is the definition of insanity -- Albert Einstein.

It baffles me how UI athletics does business.

Ray Lopes is your next coach.

If Ray is the next coach, the NCAA investigators are going to rent an apartment in Moscow, not far from the Kibbie Dome. The same goes with Cam Dollar.

Tons of great coaches out there, I just hope Rob picks the right one.

RAR:

That makes more sense to me. I understand your point and agree with it.

Lets hire Dick Bennett as a consultant. I'm sure he would campaign for McClain, Soderberg, and Woodley (not sure why Soderberg is being ignored here). Two out of three of those are the sexy choices on this board.

Great idea on hiring Dick Bennett as a consultant -- he'd do it, too. Dick Bennett is so well-respected in the coaching profession. He knows coaching and he knows class people. Soderberg would be recommended and he would be a fine coach.

He would build the program on discipline and defense and developing young players ... not sure UI fans would be good with that.

It's time to start listening to the likes of Dick Bennett, not former UI coaches who haven't been around in years.

Why do I have a bad feeling about Rob Spear being in an undisclosed location interviewing for a coaching job?

Visions of Saddam in the underground bunker plotting a winning strategy!

Idaho Statesman is reporting it's Verlin.

If it's Verlin, good. USU has a great program with great kids. I read in USA Today that Gonzaga and Cornell finally defeated long time powers in their league, Gonzaga and Penn, by stealing their top assistants. I knew that about GU, did not know that about Penn.

Spear is starting to gain my respect with the hirings of Akey and Verlin and not letting the Erickson and Floyd lovers make the calls.

If true, good move Spear -- props.

I think you mean San Diego. Anyhow, for what its worth. Here is the post from Brian Murphy:

1:21 p.m. (MDT) -- The Turf keeps hearing that Utah State assistant Don Verlin is going be Idaho's next coach. With the Aggies out of the NIT Tournament — thanks to Thursday night's loss to Illinois State — it could happen soon. Like Monday soon.

Hope its true. Not my first choice, but a good choice nonetheless.

Not my first choice, but I don't want Tim Floyd or Kermit Davis making the UI's hires anymore ... same with Eustachy. We've had Farrar and LP dumped on the Vandals. If I was the A.D. I'd tell Floyd and Kermy, thanks but no thanks, you're no longer employed by the University of Idaho, we've moved on and we want to hire someone with class and integrity.

By going in that direction, it will signify a new mind-set by UI athletics. It would be very symbollic in that UI wants to get out of the '80's and join the 21st century.

By hiring Gib Freaking Arnold it will be business as usual. Just say no to Kermit the Frog and Flim Flam Floyd! Say no to Gib Arnold, too. If he wanted a D-I job, why didn't one of those many Cali mid-major schools hire him? Monson beat him out of the LBSU job.

Maybe I'm missing something here but what is with the anger towards Tim Floyd. I understand why people have a problem with Kermit but could someone please explain the hatred for Tim Floyd?

He began a successful period in Vandal basketball in the late eighties and I don't believe he has been forcing the University to hire his candidates. Did he kick your dog?

How about the coach from Great Falls University? You know...that guy....

I've got nothting against Floyd, I just think that hiring a coach from a school with infinite resources is not the best fit (might be a bit too much of a culture shock) - a coach like Verlin or McClain have won at Division I outposts (which is the best way to describe the U of I), and that, I feel, would be the best fit. But, I'm young compared to a lot of these people, so Floyd may have kicked someone's dog/stolen someone's girlfriend. I don't know.

Floyd is a known cheater, he brought in some guys who were pulling guns on people in the dorms at the UI.

Also, the more Tim Floyd keeps making the hires, the more UI is his b--tch.

Start being yourself, start being and acting like the flagship, not someone's towel boy.

That counts as kicking someone's dog in my book - down with Floyd.

Floyd is a known cheater?? Name an instance he cheated since you seem to be an expert on the subject. Please provide actual fact and not rumors you have heard from an "inside source". I think a lot of people who attended the U of I have had run ins with athletes. Is this also Floyds fault?

You sound like someone with a vendetta against Floyd and you provide no agrument why Arnold would be a bad coach other than he coached under Floyd for two years.

They ran a slush fund while Floyd was at UI -- a Vandal booster confirmed it while defending Floyd. He's a very shakey dude, the whole basketball world knows this ... that is except the Kool-Aid drinking Vandal fans.

I do have a vendetta against Floyd: I think he's a bad person and an average coach. They lost to K-State tonight with much more talent than K-State sans Michael Beasley.

Manhattan, Kansas, or L.A.? Gee, who should? Yeah, let's hire another underachieving coach from a slimey program, yeah, that works in Moscow, Idaho.

SP, you need to get more educated on the world of college hoop.

UI's Floyd formula hasn't worked for 20 years, probably time to leave it.

FOX Sports has announced Verlin as GP's successor. Looks like it's been in the works for awhile, maybe.

Nice outside the box hire. I've watched USU live for a couple years, and they flat out run a great offensive system. Verlin is in charge of that offense and you're taking from a program that has won 20 games for 10 straight years.

Also, Spear has guts to hire outside these long pipelines dating back to the 80's from some coaches who long ago have dismissed the University of Idaho.

Quality hire if true. Nice move Rob Spear, it took guts to not listen to the people who wanted to status quo hires.

An average coach who apparently is good enough for the NBA and major college programs. I guess we will have to agree to disagree. And don't question my knowledge of college basketball because I think it is short sighted to discredit someone soley based on the fact that they coached with Floyd in past.

If in fact they hired Verlin, then I will definetly support him. Hopefully he can turn things around so we dont have to have these debates every two years.

Here is the article:

Verlin expected to be named Idaho's coach by Jeff Goodman.

Less than a week after firing George Pfeifer after two years at the helm, Idaho is expected to announce Utah State associate head coach Don Verlin as his successor on Monday night.

According to sources close to the situation, a news conference is scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday.
Verlin, 42, has been with Utah State coach Stew Morrill for the past 15 seasons — including 10 with the Aggies.

Pfeifer was 12-48 in two seasons.

Hope its true - a great hire if so.

My vote is for Coach Tommy Connor from Westminster College in Salt Lake, a NAIA school. He is my darkhorse hire as the Vandals next mens roundball coach. Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The more I heard about Arnold the more I'm finding out Idaho dodged a bullet on this one. Then again, if Arnold had coached at a classy program like Stanford with no UI connections, UI fans would've had nothing to do with him. It's time to get over this infatuation with a coach who was at UI for two years in the 80's.

Verlin comes from a great program, a CLASSY program, who learned under a great coach, Stew Morrill, who if given Floyd's talent at USC would still be playing in the Big Dance, not choking it away. WSU has beaten USC four out of the last five times with much less talent.

Utah State is a very similar school to UI, land grant in a rural area. USU has 10 straight 20-win seasons. You steal from programs like this, not crooked Los Angeles-based programs that have nothing in common with UI except a shakey coach who keeps wanting to make your hires for you 20 years after the fact.

Bold hire by Spear, very bold. There are some sacred cows in Moscow, one is the Dennis Erickson coaching tree, another the Tim Floyd coaching tree, the third the Crappy Dome. Two of the three sacred cows -- which have destroyed UI athletics of late -- are long gone. The blue hairs are going to have to bite the bullet on this one and realize it's the 21st century, not the 1980's. Put away your Flock of Seagulls albums boys and girls, it's not the 80's anymore, it's a new era.

Good job Spear.

Verlin is the best Spear can do? Geesh....

Maybe Verlin is really good. My first choice was Giacoletti (who didn't want it) and then Steve McClain. But the longer this went on, the more Tim Floyd and his band of slimeballs would've got involved. It's time to quit being owned by Tim, Kermit, and Larry, and be your own man and own athletic department and actually resemble what goes on in D-I.

I'm glad it's Verlin and real glad it's not Gib Freaking Arnold. I'm finding out more and more about that guy and am so glad he wasn't hired.

I would have made a b-line for McClain, but I am happy with this one. Utah State and Idaho have soooo much in common, and I think Verlin may be the best fit for this program. Good break from the incestuous pattern that has given us 4-8 win seasons for almost a decade. Things are starting to look up (I'm being cautiously optimistic)

GO VANDALS!!!!!

I wanted McClain, he has some big issues that are the same with Pfeiffer (well, that's what I heard) and that is a disconnect with his players. He can coach it, he can be real volitile, too.

Idaho fans on the Venue are already teeing off on Verlin. Why? Because he's not "one of them," i.e., not part of the Floyd family tree.

Forget that, the guy comes from a great program learning under a great coach. I carefully watched Verlin and USU's offense this year and it's fabulous, full of motion and tons of screens for their great shooters. Idaho's was stand around and jack 3's. Most UI fans don't follow things like offenses, sets, etc., they just want Timmy Flim Flam Floyd to make their hire for them.

This guy can coach ... funny how at each and every time out the first guy Stew Morrill turned to each time was Verlin. Always look for that: First guy Tony Bennett looks at is Matt Woodley, first guy Romar used to look at was Ken Bone and now it's Jim Shaw (not Cam Dollar). If UI fans just pay a little more attention, they'll figure these things out ... it's not rocket science, you just have to put giddy emotion from the 1980's in your back pocket and look at things logically.

I don't know how I feel about Verlin, but I'm impressed with Utah State's program. They continually do well with average talent, and play with great fundamentals. I also noticed their players seem to hit the weight room much harder than ours from watching the last game. I'll be looking forward to what Verlin has to say in his news conference. I'm also slightly curious who and if other interviews were actually held.

I'm not sure of the process, who was interviewed, who was not, or whatever. But I'm real pleased with the hire. I just read in USA Today that San Diego and Cornell couldn't beat long time juggernauts Gonzaga and Penn in their league. So what did each respective school do? They stole the top assistant from those staffs.

Both teams made the NCAA tourney.

You steal from great coaches who have great staffs. Stew Morrill is a great coach with a great staff and he's been beating up on the WAC for some time now (10 straight 20-win seasons).

Astute hire. Time will tell if Verlin is great, good, average, or poor. But it was a think outside the box hire and no longer are Tim Floyd, Kermit Davis, or Larry Eustachy making the UI's hire.

Ding dong the coaching trees are dead! And that's a good thing.

Divilbiss, Spear, and White. What a triumverate.

Who is responsible for the WBB debacle?

Meanie, Weenie, and Teenie.

This is from the USUAGGIES website:

CBSSportsline is reporting that Don Verlin will be leaving Utah State to become the next head coach at Idaho.

Idaho is set to introduce Utah State assistant Don Verlin as its next basketball coach, a source has told CBSSports.com.

An official announcement is expected Monday.

Hat tip to Hurricane John Newbold for tracking this down.

Best of luck to Don Verlin stepping into a very difficult situation. Winning in Moscow has not come easy.

There are a couple signs of a good coach and a good program: winning a lot of games, getting good recruits, getting your team to the post-season and having your assistants in demand for other coaching positions. Stew continues to exemplify each one of those criteria.

Don has been a mainstay on Stew’s bench for a long, long time. It’s too bad he’s getting this job in the WAC where USU will continue to compete against them every year on the court and on the recruiting.

From 950 KOZE-AM:

Report: Utah State assistant to be named UI basketball coach.

FOX Sports is reporting that Utah State associate head coach Don Verlin will be announced as the University of Idaho’s next basketball coach on Monday.

Idaho fired coach George Pfeifer after two seasons Tuesday. Athletic director Rob Spear had said that he would interview four candidates Thursday and Friday.

Verlin, 42, just completed his 15th season with head coach Stew Morrill, the last 10 at Utah State. He was promoted to associate coach before the 2006-07 season.

Verlin was a candidate during the Vandals’ last coaching search in 2006. He has also coached at Colorado State, Cal State Bakersfield and Columbia (Calif.) Junior College.

And from the CBSSports website:

Idaho to introduce Utah State's Verlin as head coach
March 20, 2008
By Gary Parrish

Idaho is set to introduce Utah State assistant Don Verlin as its next basketball coach, a source has told CBSSports.com.

An official announcement is expected Monday.

A longtime assistant to Stew Morrill, Verlin just completed his 10th season at Utah State. He graduated from Cal State Stanislaus in 1991 and subsequently earned a master's degree from Colorado State, where he later served as an assistant coach.

Verlin, 42, will replace George Pfeifer at Idaho.

Pfeifer went 12-48 in two seasons.

411 - Davidson just beat Gonzaga.

And finally - The Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City Utah):

Utah State basketball: Aggie assistant to coach Idaho
By Jay Hinton
Deseret Morning News
Published: Friday, March 21, 2008

The Deseret Morning News has confirmed that Utah State assistant basketball coach Don Verlin will be named the new head basketball coach at the University of Idaho next week.
Foxsports.com and CBSsportline.com are reporting that a news conference will be held Monday night.

Verlin will replace George Pfeifer, who was fired after going 12-48 in two seasons with the Vandals, who are also members of the Western Athletic Conference.

Verlin just completed his 15th season as an assistant under head coach Stew Morrill. He was with Morrill at Colorado State for five years and Utah State for the last 10 seasons.

This will be Verlin's first head coaching job at the Div. I level.

Verlin was considered one of the top candidates for the position when Leonard Perry was fired following the 2005-06 season but he turned down the job.

Terms of the contract are not known, but Pfeifer, who was fired with one year remaining on his contract, will be paid the final $170,000.

According to the Idaho Statesman, Gib Arnold (USC assistant), former Utah head coach Ray Giacolleti (Gonzaga assistant) and Leon Rice (Gonzaga assistant) were also candidates for the position.

The Aggies (24-11) finished up the season with a 61-57 loss at Illinois State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament Wednesday night.

Utah State won a share of its first-ever WAC crown and were the No. 1 seed in last week's WAC Tournament. They were ousted in the semifinals by Boise State.

Thanks for the links, Rice and Giacoletti were never candidates for this job. Can't believe the Statesman printed that.

Idaho fans on the other site are already upset, sheesh. Who do they think will coach Idaho, Lute Olson? Verlin is a nice hire, very solid.

Verlin is the guy, and was in before firing Pfeifer. There was no real search. A couple of assistants likely stay. The biggest name recruit who was headed to Idaho is likley now headed elsewhere in the region, to a team just out of the tournament today. Time will tell.

It will be intersting to see what happens when Verlin gets an everyday view of his facilities and his AD. Utah State is a top-drawer operation. There is a reason he turned this job down repeatedly in the past.

Glad they didn't hire anyone from that slimey USC program and that dirtball Floyd ... or that slimey Middle Tennessee program ... or that shakey Southern Miss program.

Goodbye Southern Slime trio, thanks for dumping Kermit II, Farrar, and LP on us you no good losers! Nice job Flim Flam Floyd and your punk assistant Gibby Arnold for losing to K-State in the NCAA. With way more talent than K-State (except Beasley), you got pounded. All that L.A. talent and he couldn't win.

Have fun at LSU Mr. Floyd since you're courting them after telling USC you'd be there till you retire. Sheesh, I'm glad UI is not tying themselves to those losers anymore.

I wonder if Verlin will get canned if he can't pull off a turn around in two years. Anyone who thinks turning around a program in a matter of 2 years - especially Idaho...is out of their mind. I hope that there was more of a reason than just the win/loss record.

That is what happens when you hire someone who has never been an AD before. In my opinion, Idaho should have found someone with more experience from the start.