Interviews for Mark Hutson’s replacement began on Monday.

Hutson’s vacated position of Eastern’s co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach should be filled soon with three potential candidates traveling to Charleston this week.

Drake offensive line coach Dale Plossl interviewed with associate athletic director John Smith and the entire football staff on Monday afternoon.

“The interview went very well,” Smith said. “We got the answers to all the questions we wanted.”

Smith said Plossl opened up the interview with a presentation to head coach Bob Spoo and his staff who then asked questions about his coaching style and offensive philosophies.

Plossl talked about his block schemes and favorite runs and passes to use against different defensive looks.

“It went pretty well,” Plossl said. “They are a great group of guys, it’s a very successful program and they’ve won a bunch of games.”

Plossl, a 1992 Drake graduate, is in his second stint with the Bulldogs, first coaching the offensive line from 1996-1999 and running the offense in 1998 and 1999. Plossl spent the next two seasons as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line at Oklahoma State and Iowa State before taking the offensive coordinator position at California University in Pennsylvania for two seasons. Plossl returned to his alma mater to coach the offensive line again in 2004.

Plossl worked with Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni at Drake.

“[Plossl] is a very, very good football coach and an even better human being,” Bellantoni said. “He will fit in with the staff and the players and I know he will get the most out of the offensive line.”

The next candidate is former Portland State offensive coordinator Jeff Hoover, who will be interviewed today. Hoover was let go after the 2006 season with the rest of the Vikings coaching staff, when head coach Tim Walsh was replaced with former Hawaii defensive coordinator and Atlanta Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville.

Hoover spent five seasons coaching the offensive line at Utah State before returning to PSU last season. Hoover’s offense scored 22.3 points and averaged 287.3 yards per game in 2006.

Hoover’s play calling fits perfectly with Spoo’s run-first philosophy as the Vikings had 113 more rushes than passing attempts last season.

Ex-Buffalo offensive coordinator Roy Istvan will be on campus for the last interview on Wednesday.

Istavan was fired at Buffalo after the 2005 season when his offense managed only 14 touchdowns in 11 games and the Bulls finished the season with a 1-10 record.

Istvan worked at Milford Academy last season, a post-graduate prep school.

In 2005, Milford players, who often go to the New Berlin, N.Y., school because they are academically ineligible after high school, earned 26 I-A and I-AA football scholarships ranging from powerhouses like Miami, Iowa and Penn State to Ohio Valley Conference school Southeast Missouri.

Istvan was originally hired at Buffalo to be the offensive line coach in 2000 before taking over at offensive coordinator.

Before moving to Buffalo, Istvan was the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at Southern Connecticut State for seven seasons and the Owls broke 53 offensive school records. Istvan coached Cleveland Browns guard Joe Andruzzi at SCSU, who is in his 11th NFL season.

Smith said Plossl and the other candidates were chosen based on their offensive coordinator credentials and their experience with the offensive line was a bonus.

Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jorge Munoz interviewed on Sunday and is still in the running to be promoted to full-time offensive coordinator duties but a decision has not yet been made.

Smith said if one of the three candidates is liked, a move will be made to quickly hire him, probably by the end of the week.

If Munoz is named offensive coordinator, one of the three candidates will be made the new offensive line coach. If Munoz is not promoted from within, he will be solely the quarterbacks coach while the new hire will take dual roles as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Smith said.

Former assistant head coach Mark Hutson, now the offensive line coach at Tulane, talks to players at O’Brien Stadium this season. Three finalists interview this week to replace him. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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