Toot Cahoon stepped down in a mutual agreement with Athletic Director John McCutcheon three weeks ago yesterday. Players are due back a month from tomorrow. The season starts three months from tomorrow. UMass as of tonight still does not have a coach.

There has been little information regarding Mark Carlson’s status as a candidate after he spent the last two days in Amherst, whether he was offered, and just what, if any, timeline UMass has to fill this vacancy. UMass fans can only be patient in this search however it appears, in conversations with others and in following social media, that most of them lack confidence in McCutcheon to do what’s right for the Minuteman hockey program. Given the rumors swirling after Cahoon stepped down regarding the lack of administrative support for the program, McCutcheon’s missteps and lack of action in the coaching search have seemed to only solidify that notion. He may be starting to change the type of candidates he’s considering, but he really needs to change the way he’s approaching the interviews and the candidates themselves because so far it doesn’t appear to be paying off in terms of results. Not to be overly pessimistic but as this search progresses all I can think is “this is how Kevin Morris got hired for the UMass football program”. Let’s hope it turns out differently.

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A couple more names to add to the “been interviewed” list. USHR reported that UMass interviewed Air Force Associate Head Coach Mike Corbett. I have a lot of respect for the Air Force program and what they regularly accomplish. Mike Corbett has some very good credentials. Totally wrong fit for what UMass needs.

Masslive’s Harry Plumer reported that UMass interviewed Vermont sssociate head coach John Micheletto. I like his extensive experience with USA Hockey, but I’m having a tough time finding distinction from all the other candidates we’ve heard about. Micheletto, Bavis, Brown, Cavanaugh, Borek. How do any of these candidates differ, what exactly is McCutcheon looking for, and when will he figure it out?

I apologize for being direct and curt regarding my personal evaluation of candidates, but frankly this is getting to be exhausting. My candidate list, filled with only people I’ve been able to actually link to the job not just speculation, is up to 20 names. Twenty! So please don’t fill up the comment section with nasty remarks because I didn’t give your favorite candidate the respect you think they deserve. It doesn’t matter anyway. My opinion obviously is completely out of whack with the Athletic Department. Otherwise UMass would have a coach by now.

From what I hear there may be a few people out there who have interviewed in the last couple days that neither I or the media have been able to identify.

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Now for the few updates.

The Cedar Rapids majority owner does not want to replace his coach.

The Republican had this article on Jon Quick’s agent, a Longmeadow native.

Eddie Olczyk as well as the father of Hockey East, Lou Lamoriello, are heading to the US Hockey Hall of Fame.