Joe Alleva, a baseball enthusiast, takes an 0-2 count into his third football head coaching search at Duke. The last thing the school needs now is for its athletics director to swing blindly and miss again.

To move the program forward, Alleva has to change the blueprint that led to his hirings of Carl Franks and Ted Roof, a pair of longtime assistants with no head coaching experience and limited experience in offensive design.

Duke's next head coach needs to have a lot of everything Franks and Roof did not.

Head coaching experience at the college level should be weighed heavily. Nothing provides more sound staffing and organizational insurance than finding someone who has been through the drill before.

Roof's successor should have extensive offensive knowledge and the ability to adapt a system to Duke's personnel. More than anything else, the Blue Devils need an offensive innovator because Duke is never going to find enough talent to compete on recruiting alone.

In alphabetical order, here are seven coaches with a good chance to succeed:

Gary Crowton, LSU: The 50-year-old Tigers offensive coordinator and former Brigham Young head coach will get another head coaching job at some point. It's not inconceivable that he could be promoted at LSU if Les Miles leaves for Michigan. At BYU, Crowton had a winning overall record (26-23) in five seasons but resigned under pressure in 2004 after going 14-21 in his last three years.

Randy Edsall, Connecticut: A former Syracuse quarterback, the 49-year-old Edsall has built UConn into a competitive Big East team. The Huskies opened '07 with a 45-14 win at Duke.

In his nine seasons at the school, UConn is 46-47 including 9-3 this season with a bowl appearance to go.

Chan Gailey, Georgia Tech: Fired Monday by the Yellow Jackets, Gailey could be a good fit for Duke.

In six seasons, his Tech teams went 44-32 and played for the league title in 2006. He knows the ACC as thoroughly as anyone, is used to dealing with regional high school coaches and understands the academic demands.

Skip Holtz, East Carolina: Would he leave the Pirates for Duke? Possibly not, but the Blue Devils shouldn't be afraid of making an approach.

At ECU, Holtz has established that he can overcome long odds and do it quickly. He's done it while having to deal with a lot of different quarterbacks.

Paul Johnson, Navy: It would take a lot of money -- probably $1.5 million annually -- to lure him. And with Georgia Tech's job now open, the Blue Devils' timing looks sour.

But Johnson, 50, can win consistently under difficult admissions standards against decent opponents. His offensive system is somewhat like that of Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, and Johnson would arrive with a set staff.

Steve Logan, Boston College: Of all the potential Duke targets, the Eagles' offensive coordinator and former East Carolina head coach would come closest to fitting the Steve Spurrier profile.

Logan, 54, would also be expensive and, like Johnson, is probably going to be on some other search lists. But he loves the Triangle, would provide as much of a regional recruiting boost as Duke could get and obviously has a knack for developing standout quarterbacks. At ECU, he was 69-58.

Charlie Weatherbie, Louisiana Monroe: Among the lowest-paid head coaches in the country, the 52-year-old former head coach at Utah State and Navy gained national attention two weeks ago with a ringing upset win over Alabama and Nick Saban. Weatherbie had losing records at Navy (30-42) and Utah State (15-19), and his five years at Louisiana Monroe have been rocky despite a 6-6 mark in '07. But within the profession, Weatherbie is considered a solid program builder and a bright offensive thinker.