Illini coaching search heats up

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Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is on Illinois’ list. | Al Goldis~AP (left), Nick Ut~AP

Updated: January 5, 2012 8:36AM

INDIANAPOLIS — Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas reportedly is interviewing up to four candidates here this weekend as he closes in on a successor to Ron Zook. At least two coordinators and one head coach are believed on Thomas’ interview list, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said.

A lot of speculation centers around Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst and Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi are receiving head-coach attention, but neither looks like a slam-dunk at Illinois.

Both are talented coaches, but Chryst is not known as a top recruiter. And Narduzzi doesn’t fit the profile if Thomas wants the buzz of an offense-oriented coach. But he is charismatic, and he was an assistant at Cincinnati when Thomas was the AD there.

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin is expected to have more attractive options, such as Texas A&M, if he doesn’t agree to an extension at Houston.

One candidate who might address Illinois’ needs is Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who directs the nation’s second highest-scoring offense and is a Wheaton native with a strong Chicago-area recruiting reputation.

If Monken is on Thomas’ list, it’s unlikely they met in Indy. Monken was preoccupied with coaching the Cowboys in their showdown with Oklahoma on Saturday night.

The job posting at the university website says the application period will close at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Thomas, who wants to move quickly for recruiting purposes, could announce his choice by Wednesday or Thursday.

10 Big Ten bowls?

When the bowl lineup is announced Sunday night, look for the Big Ten to place 10 teams in postseason games, which would tie the conference record set in 2007.

Michigan is expected to receive an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl. That would mark the seventh year in a row that the Big Ten has placed two teams in BCS bowls.

Wisconsin earned a Rose Bowl appearance by beating Michigan State 42-39 in the inaugural Big Ten title game Saturday night. One drawback to the championship game is that the conference’s second-best team is expected to drop down to the Outback Bowl.

The positive is that two Big Ten team were attractive enough to move up behind the league champion. Besides Michigan, newcomer Nebraska is expected to make its first bowl appearance as a Big Ten team in the Capital One Bowl.

The Insight Bowl is expected to take Iowa for a second consecutive year, ignoring the usual bias against taking a team in back-to-back years, because the Hawkeyes travel so well, and because Penn State might not travel well this year.

The murkiest situation is Illinois, which is likely to go to a bowl that doesn’t have a Big Ten tie-in. Although some experts have the Illini in the New Orleans Bowl, that game is on Dec. 17, which is problematic for a school in which exams end Dec. 16.

An Illinois-UCLA matchup on Dec. 31 makes a lot more sense: Two solid programs playing for interim coaches.