With the retirement of Joe Novak, the head coaching vacancy is wide open at this point.

A couple popular names that have been thrown around are North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl and head coach of the Arena Football League’s Georgia Force, Doug Plank. However, here are a list of possible candidates with ties to NIU.

Doug Mallory

Position: Defensive Backs coach

Current school: Louisiana State – three years. Under Mallory, the Tigers defense ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 nationally in pass defense efficiency (2005-2006).

In 2006, LSU ranked third in the nation in total defense and is currently third in the same category this year. In 2007, free safety LaRon Landry was the sixth overall pick in the draft by the Washington Redskins, the highest drafted defensive back in school history.

Affiliation to NIU: Doug Mallory, son of former NIU head coach Bill Mallory (1980-1983), graduated from DeKalb High School in the early 1980s. Mallory played at Michigan for four years as a defensive back and went to four bowl games.

Mike Mallory

Position: Secondary coach

Current school: Louisville – one year

Affiliation to NIU: Mike Mallory, brother of Doug and son of Bill, was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at NIU in 1999. He helped the Huskies to a 5-6 record, their best since 1992, while posting the Mid-American Conference’s third-best pass efficiency defense.

Pat Narduzzi

Position: Defensive coordinator

Current school: Michigan State – one year. Narduzzi previously coached at Cincinnati for three years and helped rebuild the program as a contender in Conference USA. Three defenders from the 2004 Bearcats’ team were drafted in the NFL.

Affiliation to NIU: Pat Narduzzi was the linebackers coach at NIU from 2000 to 2002. He helped the Huskies to two MAC West titles during his three years and in 2002, NIU had the best rush defense in the MAC.

Dan Roushar

Position: Offensive Line coach

Current school: Michigan State – one year. Roushar coached at Cincinnati for two seasons prior to landing at MSU and has 23 years of coaching experience.

Affiliation to NIU: Roushar earned his undergraduate degree from NIU and was quarterback for the Huskies under head coach Bill Mallory in the early 1980s. The Huskie alum was the offensive line coach at NIU for six seasons, from 1997-2002. As O-line coach, Roushar helped develop Super Bowl champion offensive lineman Ryan Diem.

Matt Canada

Position: Offensive Coordinator

Current school: Indiana – four years. Canada was the Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator the previous three years at Indiana. In 2006, the IU graduate coached Kallen Lewis, who totaled 2,662 total yards, the fourth highest output in IU football history.

Affiliation to NIU: Canada coached at NIU from 1998-2003. After serving as the Running Backs coach and Quarterbacks coach, Canada was the offensive coordinator during the magical 2003 season, which saw the Huskies go 10-2 and beat the likes of Maryland, Alabama and Iowa State.

Scott Shafer

Position: Defensive Coordinator

Current school: Stanford – one year. This year, Shafer coached a defense that helped the Cardinals pull off one of the biggest upsets in college football history when they went into Los Angeles and beat USC, despite being 41-point underdogs.

Affiliation to NIU: Shafer coached at NIU for eight seasons, from 1996-2003. In 2003, with Shafer as defensive coordinator, NIU led the nation in interceptions, with 23, and five defensive players were named to the All-MAC team.