James Kelley Staff Writer

John Mackovic was hired to take the UA to the Rose Bowl. Now, the UA is in the toilet bowl.

I'm not saying you should bookmark www.firemackovic.com, but the UA football team was the second-winningest program in the Pacific 10 Conference in the '90s. Now it's the team you schedule for your homecoming game.

Sure, athletic director Jim Livengood said in an AP story yesterday that he's sticking with Mackovic, but very soon, Arizona will be looking for a new coach.

Forget the buyout. There are many rich UA alums, like the owner of the Angels, who will ÷ if they haven't already ÷ start a collection. And you want to be one in the know. Here are some candidates:

· Dick Tomey

If Mackovic is the anti-Tomey, fans should be begging for the return of the school's best coach. Currently the master of the San Francisco 49ers' nickel packages, Tomey went 158-110-7 over 24 years at Hawaii and Arizona, joining Bear Bryant and George Welsh as the only coaches to lead multiple schools in wins.

Mackovic has yet to win a home conference game, but Tomey's 60 Pac-10 victories place him eighth on the all-time list among Pac-10 coaches.

The UA won the 1994 Fiesta Bowl over Miami, 29-0, and went 12-1 in 1998, winning the Holiday Bowl, 23-20, over Nebraska. Too bad he wouldn't come back until Tempe freezes over.

UA tie: Led the Wildcats to a Pac-10 title in 1993.

Odds: 100:1

· Pat Hill

Hill has led Fresno State to a bowl game and at least seven wins for four years in a row. While he was offensive coordinator and o-line coach at the UA, the Wildcats went to the Aloha Bowl and were in the top five in the nation in rushing.

In 2001, the Bulldogs had 11 wins, were ranked in the top 10, beat Wisconsin, Colorado and Oregon State, and had a Sports Illustrated cover story.

UA tie: Four Wildcats coached by Hill earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors; offensive lineman John Fina was a first-round NFL draft choice.

Odds: 10:1

· Rich Ellerson

Ellerson vaulted up this list when his Division I-AA (No. 21) Cal-Poly Mustangs spanked UTEP 34-13 ÷ the school's first win over a I-A since 1997.

The UA's defensive coordinator from 1997-2000, Ellerson, a Tucsonan, made the Wildcats the No. 1 rushing defense in the Pac-10 in his final season.

UA tie: Ellerson's defensive coordinator is David Fipp, who played for the UA in the mid- to late '90s

Odds: Rising

· Dan Hawkins

The current Boise State coach is reportedly on a short list to replace Mackovic, according to Sportsline.com senior writer Dennis Dodd.

BSU went 11-1 last year, went undefeated in the Western Athletic Conference and was ranked in the top 20 of both major college polls for the first time in school history.

UA tie: Took over for Dirk Koetter, who was hired by ASU after being a UA candidate.

Odds: 5:1

· Ricky Hunley

In May, when Mackovic revealed that he thought outside influences were behind the mutiny trying to have a "favorite son" come in and save the day, former UA star Hunley was thought to be that guy.

Hunley is currently the linebackers coach for the Bengals, having served under Steve Spurrier and Marvin Lewis since he was associate head coach at Missouri. Hunley also started for the Broncos in Super Bowls XXI and XXII.

UA tie: In 1997, became first Wildcat inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Odds: 4:1

· Rick Neuheisel

Slick Rick took Washington to the Rose Bowl, is a good recruiter and is considered a whiz kid. He does have more dirty laundry than Monica Lewinsky on a trip to New York, but he should be cheap and cost will be a bit of an issue after paying off Mackovic.

UA tie: His sister was a UA cheerleader in the awesome '80s.

Odds: Don't bet on it, even though he probably already has.

· Mike Price

Price and Jim Livengood, who hired him at Wazzu, are good friends. Why did he get fired at Alabama? For doing the very nasty with that stripper who looks like the neighbor from "There's Something About Mary"?

If Price took WSU to three Rose Bowls, imagine what he could do back in civilization. In May, Livengood said, "I would hire Mike any time, anywhere, in a heartbeat."

UA tie: I heard a rumor last week that, if he comes, a strip club will be moved into the student union.

Odds: 2:1

· Hayden Fox

Fox built Minnesota State into a power. Unlike Mackovic, Fox was able to hold on to his assistants ÷ though I am talking about Luther and Dauber.

Plus, remember those "Coach" episodes where the Fox swallowed the Snake, his mentor, when his "injured" QB led the Eagles down the field to win the Pineapple Bowl?

UA tie: Craig T. Nelson, the actor who played Fox, went to the UA.

Odds: Too bad he's not real.