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With the dismissal of Tyrone Willingham official, what's important in the next coach seemed a pertinent topic for this week's roundtable. Kevin Pelton of basketballprospectus.com and seattlestorm.com joined Seth Kolloen, the editor of SportsNW Magazine and sportsnwmag.com, and Todd Dybas, editor of Seattle Sports Online, to talk it over.

What does UW need in its next head coach?
Kolloen: At this point, it's going to have to be someone with good talent evaluation and coaching abilities. Gone are the days when the Huskies could just trade on being the best school in the Northwest, or having a winning tradition. High school kids now weren't even born during the '91 championship year. Putting on a Washington uniform will have no more allure to them than putting on an Oregon, Oregon State, or even Boise State jersey.

Pelton: If you were to arrange all NCAA head coaches on a scale, Rick Neuheisel would probably be on one end and Tyrone Willingham near the other. In some sense, I think you could say the Willingham hire (which I'm not necessarily criticizing) was an overreaction to the direction of Neuheisel. The goal here should be to find a happy medium, someone who can engage the fanbase, media and recruits in a way Willingham simply never could while also maintaining the standards and integrity that Willingham upheld during his tenure.

Dybas: A recruiter with panache. The best way to reinvigorate this program is simply to bring in more talent, and you can't do that unless there is something to sell. Right now, there is nothing to sell beyond, "Jake Locker has two more years." In order to win, Washington needs someone with zip in the head spot. Whoever the next coach is will not be in a bare-cupboard scenario. But the cupboard is not well stocked. So, a recruiter who can build depth and generate buzz is as key as Xs and Os at this point. Not to mention they would help find the cash for stadium renovations.

How long until that coach has a large impact?
Kolloen: Not long. Right away. Obviously the current team has completely lost faith in the coaching staff, there's no other explanation for the beating they're taking.

Pelton: I think a couple of years. As much as this year's group of Huskies has struggled, clearly there's talent there -- albeit very inexperienced. With the development of the skill-position players and a healthy Jake Locker, the offense can be competitive in a hurry. So the biggest area where a new coach could have an impact in terms of Xs and Os is on the defensive side of the ball, where we all owe Kent Baer an apology. Apparently it wasn't his fault at all. In a longer-term sense, we'll see the impact of the new coach when Locker departs. Will other playmakers be in place with a system that makes use of their abilities? Clearly Locker is Washington's only playmaker at the moment.

Dybas: Immediately. The opening game of the 2009 season is against LSU. Idaho comes to Husky Stadium in Week 2. Seems reasonable Washington is 1-1 prior to hosting USC in Week 3. The health of Locker obviously is paramount, but the development of D'Andre Goodwin, Terrance Dailey, and the return of Chris Polk provide hope. Defensively, Donald Butler, Mason Foster and Daniel Te'o-Nesheim will be back. Of the starters on this week's depth chart for the USC game, only six were seniors. Only three of those, offensive linemen Jordan White-Frisbee and Juan Garcia and cornerback Mesphin Forrester, have been starters all season. Five or more wins next season is reasonable. The real question will be if the new staff can deepen the ranks.

How important is having a local/alum at the helm?
Kolloen: Not important at all. All that Jim L. Mora stuff was such hokum. Sure, at first, everyone would be psyched to have a guy who "understands Washington tradition." But, after a week, people are going to start asking the same question: "When do we win?" The really good publicity will come when a coach starts winning, not when we learn that he used to be a graduate assistant at Washington or whatever.

Pelton: I think this is generally an extremely overrated factor. Can you imagine people fretting about Don James not having any ties to Seattle or UW when he was hired from Kent State? I do think there's value in someone with recruiting history in the area. If Will Muschamp was the guy, for example, I'd worry about whether his experience recruiting primarily in the south and in Texas would translate to California and the Pacific Northwest. Someone like Lane Kiffin should be fine even if he has no specific ties to Seattle or UW.

Dybas: It's nonsense. Players who want to come here because they revere the University of Washington come anyway. The coach having graduated from the university is irrelevant. This is more for boosters than players, and, as Seth said, it's always going to come down to winning. Just ask Tyrone Willingham.