Brown’s top assistant, Chris Potter, had an on-campus interview for the Harvard job last summer, but said Mazzoleni hasn’t contacted him recently.
“I was interested last year, but I haven’t been contacted yet, so I’m assuming I’m not a candidate,” Potter said. “It’s getting kind of late, so I’m sure he has a couple top candidates that he’s talking to.”
John Riley could become one of them. He was the other finalist when Leaman was hired in 1999 and applied for the vacancy last summer. On Wednesday, Riley confirmed he is interested again.
“Anytime you have the opportunity to work at Harvard, you have to take a look at that,” said the 36-year-old Riley. “To be fair, I do not consider myself, as of yet, a serious candidate, but I am interested in the job.
“Let’s put it this way: If Mark Mazzoleni were interested in talking to John Riley, John Riley would be interested in talking to Mark Mazzoleni.”
In addition to his work for USA Hockey as associate director for player development in the Atlantic District, Riley recently became head hockey coach at Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn. He’s also a part-time scout for USA Hockey’s Under-17 National Team, meaning he already has many of the contacts necessary to be an effective college recruiter.
Another strong aspect of Riley’s candidacy is his familiarity with Harvard’s roster. He coached seniors Rob Fried, Tyler Kolarik and Dennis Packard, sophomore Peter Hafner and freshman Steve Mandes in USA Hockey tournaments.
Riley even taught All-American defenseman Noah Welch when the latter was a seventh-grader at Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury.
“I’d probably be pretty comfortable walking into that locker room,” Riley said.
US Hockey Report cited Providence assistant Rick Bennett as a candidate, but Bennett told The Crimson this week that he was not interested in leaving his alma mater.
New Hampshire associate head coach Scott Borek, who almost left a Division I head coaching job at Lake Superior State to become a Harvard assistant in 1999, and Joe Bonnett, Mazzoleni’s top assistant when he coached at Miami (Ohio), also said they are not candidates.
Mercyhurst assistant and recruiting coordinator Dave Smith, another of Mazzoleni’s assistants at Miami, declined to comment for this story.
With the hiring of John Micheletto at Vermont a near-certainty, four Division I assistant coaching vacancies remain: two that Leaman must fill at Union, Micheletto’s vacated post at Notre Dame, and Harvard’s.
Meanwhile, Mazzoleni said volunteer assistant coach Bruce Irving, who worked with the varsity goalies and coached the junior varsity team last season, would return for another year in the same capacity.
“Bruce is an established businessman here, but he just loves to coach,” Mazzoleni said. “I think he’s a tremendous asset to our program.”
—Staff writer Jon P. Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu.