Immediately after men's hockey Head Coach Ronn Tomassoni resigned last Friday the rumor mill cranked into high gear in projecting a replacement.

Today all potential candidates remain just rumors because, well, Athletic Director William J. Cleary Jr. '56 has other sports vacancies to fill.

He spent Monday conducting interviews for a new men's squash coach.

Harvard has not officially begun its search for a new coach. If Cleary has a list of names inside his head on potential candidates, he has not officially informed them.

"I think this will rise to the surface quickly as a priority," said Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations John Veneziano. "But we've taken no steps so far."

The process, once underway, will be time-consuming but fairly straightforward.

Like any job search, Harvard will begin by advertising the vacancy in appropriate publications. The Athletic Department will then form a selection committee to narrow the applicants and give Cleary a formal recommendation.

As athletic director, the final decision rests with Cleary, who coached the team for 19 years before ascending to his present position in 1990.

"Historically, we don't make fast decisions," Veneziano said. "We go at a deliberate pace and Billy [Cleary] has final say."

Cleary will look for more in a candidate than just a strong hockey mind. Most of the selection criteria centers around character.

Most coaches at Harvard have exceptionally long tenures. This new coach will be just the fourth men's hockey coach in the past half century.

Likewise, football has only had three top men in the last 50 years, as has men's basketball.

"People come here and want to stay," Veneziano said. "You look at our hires, a large amount of our coaches have long tenures."

The caliber of the man plays a large factor in this. Despite having five straight non-winning seasons, Tomassoni was excellent in this department and competed in the spirit that Cleary wants to inculcate.

"[Tomassoni] really emphasized the whole Harvard experience," said Assistant Coach Jerry Pawloski '88. "He knew students were not here just to play hockey, but to get an education that included being involved...and not just hiding under a rock."