It’s probably Mark Mangino’s most important hire to date.

So Mangino, Kansas University’s football coach, said he had no deadline to get the vacant offensive-coordinator position filled.

“Making the correct decision is more important than making a hasty decision,” Mangino said, “so I’m making sure that everything is well thought-out.”

Mangino is in the beginning stages of identifying candidates for KU’s offensive-coordinator opening, after longtime assistant Nick Quartaro announced his resignation last week to pursue opportunities outside of coaching.

One thing’s for sure – Mangino can expect plenty of candidates to take a stab at the vacancy. The coach is hoping to attend the America Football Coaches Association’s convention in San Antonio next week, where resumes and business cards switch hands at an alarming rate. He likely already has some hungry coaches getting in touch with him on their own, as well.

Mangino wouldn’t discuss anyone specific, not even when asked if an in-house promotion is possible over finding someone from outside the program.

“I want to weigh all options available,” Mangino said. “I’m carefully studying our offense and what we did the last three or four years. I’m carefully looking at candidates, listening to what people have to say, getting input from coaches on our staff. All options are available at this point.”

Quartaro had been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2002, Mangino’s first season in Lawrence. In that time, KU’s offense has been a five-year roller coaster. Behind the dual-threat capabilities of quarterback Bill Whittemore, the Jayhawks soared offensively in 2002 and 2003, then slumped in 2004 and part of ’05 before picking it back up recently.

The Jayhawks lose All-Big 12 running back Jon Cornish, three linemen and top wide receiver Brian Murph from last year’s 6-6 team. Several weapons are coming back, though, including both tackles, fullback Brandon McAnderson, tight end Derek Fine, several receivers and KU’s top two quarterbacks, Kerry Meier and Todd Reesing.

Making sure the players respond to the new hire is important to Mangino. So, too, is chemistry among the coaching staff.

“We’re certainly open to fresh ideas. You always want your team to evolve, and you want to get better year after year,” Mangino said. “We’re going to stay with the basic concept of the spread offense. We want to be able to attack the field in the passing game, with some vertical plays as well as horizontal. We want to develop a more detailed vertical game. We want to continue to run the ball well. We’re losing some offensive linemen and our running back, and we want to make sure we can establish a running game.”

If KU’s other coaches can fill in recruiting, the Jayhawks have some time to make a hire – spring practices don’t start until mid-March. A candidate is expected to be in place by that point, but until then Mangino has the opportunity to be careful about his choice.

“We want a guy with a lot of enthusiasm and vigor, and the kids are going to warm up to him and buy into him,” Mangino said. “That’s why I’m weighing all of my options, looking at this position very carefully. It’s an important hire, and I want to make sure that the person we have in place is going to do some great things for us.”