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Madison – First while working from home Tuesday morning and then again in the afternoon while watching men’s basketball practice at the Kohl Center, I couldn’t stop thinking about Barry Alvarez’s search for Wisconsin’s next football coach.



Despite the fact some UW fans appear to be in meltdown mode, worrying about recruits/assistants bolting and top candidates resisting the overtures of Alvarez, the search to this point is barely more than a week old and rather mundane.



Here are a few thoughts, based on conversations with people around UW and college football, and, frankly, a hunch or two.



I don’t believe Alvarez wants to see UW endure another significant staff makeover after the Rose Bowl. Bret Bielema hired six assistants in the offseason and that number eventually rose to seven when he fired offensive line coach Mike Markuson after Game 2 and promoted Bart Miller from graduate assistant.



Every new head coach wants to hire “his” people and it would be unwise for any athletic director to order a new coach to retain certain assistants. However, I’ve always believed that given the quality of the assistants Bielema brought in Alvarez sees several candidates that should/need to be retained.



That belief was reinforced Tuesday night. Alvarez, speaking about the assistants during his monthly radio show on WIBA-AM, said:



“They understand what we’re all about. The kids respond to them. They’re committed. They’re smart. I’m really impressed.



“All these guys have job offers. I hope it works out – it’s all about timing – I hope our timing is right where we can hang on to a bunch of these guys.”



Alvarez clearly wants to see the bulk of the staff stay at UW in 2013 and beyond. I have to believe Alvarez will let UW’s next head coach know about the talent on the staff.



I also believe if that next head coach is someone who worked at UW under Alvarez or played for him, we’ll see a large number of the assistants retained.



Retention solely for the purpose of ensuring a smooth transition isn’t wise. But retaining quality assistants and quality people is always wise. And I can’t think of one assistant on the staff who doesn’t warrant strong consideration for 2013.



Alvarez said during the radio show that several candidates from his short list have already been eliminated from consideration at UW.



“With so many openings,” he said, referring to other schools, “a lot of my short list has disappeared.

“I had the right guys. And everybody went after them.”



I am certain those words frightened some UW fans.

However, Alvarez chuckled when he shared that information. Even if you believe Alvarez was being truthful about losing candidates, he didn’t sound like an athletic director who was fearful he was running out of qualified replacements for Bielema.



That reaffirmed a hunch I’ve had for almost a week: Alvarez identified his No. 1 target while sitting in his hotel room in New York City last week. Scratch that. He probably had his No. 1 target identified before Bielema blindsided him with the news he was leaving for Arkansas.



When asked last week what might happen if he couldn’t get his guy to run the program, Alvarez said without hesitation that he would get his guy.



Hunch: Alvarez has his guy and both sides are waiting for the right time to complete the courting process.



Some fans appear to be panicking over the length of the search. Remember, it is one week old and Alvarez was criticized for not conducting a search in 2005 when he tabbed Bielema as UW’s coach-in-waiting.



Alvarez is going to make sure everyone at UW – within the athletic department and on Bascom Hill – knows he conducted a thorough search for the best candidate.



He made that clear during the athletic board meeting on Friday.



So the search continues, at least on the surface.



We’ve heard at least one candidate (Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mel Tucker) say he isn’t interested in the job.



We’ve heard Alvarez state bluntly he won’t go after former UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst, who is in his first season as head coach at Pittsburgh.



I might be dead wrong – it wouldn’t be the first time – but in my mind Alvarez’s No. 1 choice is still on his short list.



Alvarez knows how to play the game, doesn’t mind one bit if nuggets of misinformation are floated to the public to take the spotlight off a potential candidate and wants to hand off the keys to his program to someone he knows intimately and trusts completely.



Despite some of the public statements we’ve heard in the last week, I’m not willing to rule anyone out.

