Much like a coaching search, the search for a new athletic director or any top candidate for a very important leadership position within a university should have a few tiers.

There are the exciting, young, new candidates who might offer a fresh perspective if it is needed. There are outsiders on the rise who might give new energy and vision to a job. There are proven veterans in the profession who offer needed experience. There are in-house candidates who might want the job and have the institutional knowledge needed to bring about a smooth transition. There are candidates who might simply meet the moment in terms of knowing how to handle a specific set of current or upcoming challenges. Then there are the rock stars, the people you simply have to make a phone call to and force them to say no.

Consultant Tony Altimore has his big board for the USC athletic director search, dividing candidates into several different tiers on Sunday night’s edition of Trojan Conquest Live with co-hosts Tim Prangley and Rick Anaya. You can watch the full show, but in the meantime, let’s look at different tiers of candidates from Tony, starting with the people Carol Folt simply has to make a call to. She has to force these people to turn down the job:

SUZANNE NORA JOHNSON, USC BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIR

GENE SMITH, OHIO STATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

AMY TRASK, FORMER RAIDERS CEO, CURRENT CBS SPORTS ANALYST

Notable: Trask told Tony Altimore no thanks, so it seems she has (unofficially) turned down the job.

CHRIS DEL CONTE, TEXAS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

GREG BYRNE, ALABAMA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

DANNY WHITE, TENNESSEE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire