CEDAR FALLS, IOWA ? Two Kansas assistant coaches are on the short list of candidates for the head football job at the University of Northern Iowa.
The football job came open when Mike Dunbar resigned to become quarterbacks coach at Northwestern.
The list of candidates for football coach has been narrowed to five: KU aides Mark Farley and Bill Salmon; John Austin, coach at South Dakota; Mark Hendrickson, assistant coach at Western Illinois; and Nick Quartaro, assistant coach at Iowa State.
Farley and Salmon both came to Kansas from UNI with Terry Allen.
Farley worked eight years at Northern Iowa as assistant coach and was the Gateway Player of the Year for the Panthers in 1985.
“To tell you the truth, I’m excited about what’s going on here at Kansas,” Farley said. “I’m doing this for experience, but I’m really excited about what’s going on here.”
Salmon, the running backs coach at Kansas, was stripped of his offensive coordinator title after last season. He spent 15 years at Northern Iowa as an assistant coach and played for the Panthers from 1973-75.
John Austin has been at South Dakota since 1998.
Hendrickson has been at Western Illinois since 1999.
Quartaro, who played college ball at Iowa, has been at Iowa State for three years.
“Any of the candidates in this group has a tremendous opportunity to build on the rich tradition of Northern Iowa football and move the program forward,” said Kevin Buisman, UNI associate athletics director.
UNI also is seeking a replacement for head basketball coach Sam Weaver, who resigned.
The university has narrowed its list of finalists for basketball coach to three. Those candidates are Larry Hunter, former basketball coach at Ohio University; Greg McDermott, basketball coach at North Dakota State; and Brad Soderberg, former interim basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin.
