Copy of story from Minot Daily news (LINK)

MSU narrows list to four

By MICHAEL LINNELL, Sports Editor mlinnell@minotdailynews.com

Whittling down a list from more than 60 to four should be the hardest part. But, for officials at Minot State University, the work is only beginning.

The university announced four finalists for the vacant head football coaching position Tuesday. The list includes former MSU assistant coach and current assistant coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Tony Biesiot; former MSU quarterback and current offensive coordinator at St. Cloud State University, Paul Rudolph; current offensive coordinator at the University of Dubuque (Iowa), Joseph Austin; and current athletic director and offensive coordinator at Concordia University (Wis.), Robert Barnhill.

“I am very happy with the process so far and happy with the list we have,” MSU Athletic Director Rick Hedberg said. “We ended up with 60 applicants and these four make a good group to choose from.”

Biesiot is in charge of the defensive line and is the academic coordinator at Duluth. He was an assistant coach in charge of defensive line at Minot State in 2003. Prior to coaching at MSU, Biesiot was the offensive line and inside linebackers coach at Sacramento City College (Calif.) He is a graduate of Dickinson State University and was an NAIA All-American linebacker for the Blue Hawks. He has a B.S. in physical education and a master's degree in secondary education.

Rudolph has spent the past seven seasons as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at St. Cloud. He was head coach at Upper Iowa from 1996-99, served as the school's athletic director from 1996-99 and was the head track and field coach. He graduated from Minot State in 1988 and earned a B.S. in physical education while playing quarterback for four years. He is also a member of the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Austin has been a coach at Augsburg College in Minnesota and Concordia College, Minn. He played football at St. Ambrose University (Iowa) and has a B.S. in communication studies and a master's in organizational management.

Barnhill is in his eighth year as the AD and offensive coordinator at Concordia University. He has served in various capacities at University of Wisconsin-Stoudt, the University of South Dakota, Panhandle State and Southwest State University prior to Concordia. He holds a B.S. in business and a master's in education and an Ed. D. in educational administration.

While the university is calling the four candidates finalists, Hedberg was quick to point out that the job is open until filled. He indicated — without specific names — that there were other candidates who had been in contact with him, but had not formally applied with the university.

“There could be others we will consider,” Hedberg said. “It isn't closed until filled — so there could be another person or two who we will look at.”

There will be two possible coaches that MSU won't pursue further as the two withdrew from consideration in the past week. Dickinson State University assistant coach Pete Stanton and Montana State University-Northern head coach Mark Samson both informed Hedberg they would not continue in the interview process.

“You expect that to happen in any search,” Hedberg said. “They were both good candidates for the job. I made it clear from the beginning that we wanted someone who wants to be at Minot State University. There are many factors when it comes to hiring — for both sides.”

The next step will to bring the four to the campus for interviews. Biesiot will be the first Friday, followed by Rudolph on Dec. 26, Austin on Dec. 27 and Barnhill on Dec. 28. The in-person interview process is as much for the university as it is for the candidates.

“Thus far, we have been interviewing them but they are checking us out, too,” Hedberg said. “Tony and Paul know about Minot, but I'm not sure Joe or Rob have even been to North Dakota.”

Hedberg said the timetable for an actual hiring is still on track. The university hopes to have a decision by Jan. 1 and a new coach in place the first week of January.

“I shot for Jan. 1 and I feel that we are still on that,” he said. “The actual hiring might be that week with everything that goes into negotiating a contract.”