Paging Dr. Tyler. Dr. Suzanne Tyler. Paging Dr. Tyler.

Dr. Tyler, do what you have to do. What the law requires the University of Maine to do. Wait until the hockey season is over, and post the job for head men’s hockey coach at the University of Maine.

Form a search committee. Fill it with coaches, deans, professors, students and a millionaire alum or two. Have them conduct an exhaustive 10-minute nationwide search before announcing that Tim Whitehead has been hired.

Yeah, the same Tim Whitehead who has been behind the Black Bears bench all year. The guy who led the hockey team to a 23-10-7 record. The same guy who will lead Maine into the NCAA hockey tournament Saturday afternoon against Harvard.

Whitehead came to Maine at the request of former Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh, who was battling cancer and died from the disease in September 2001. Whitehead came to be an assistant coach and to serve as interim head coach when Walsh was unable to perform those duties because of his illness.

And Whitehead has spent the entire hockey season pacing behind the bench with Shawn Walsh looking over his shoulder. The hockey jersey hanging from the glass behind the Maine bench bearing Walsh’s name has to be a heavy load to carry for an entire season.

How many of you have said of Whitehead – “He’s pretty good, but he’s no Shawn Walsh.” Or – “Walsh would have handled that situation a little differently.”

That’s what Whitehead has dealt with this year. A season under a microscope. A season of constant comparison. And he hasn’t complained (at least publicly) once.

In fact, he has been gracious. He has gone out of his way to make sure that Walsh and his legacy are remembered. The jersey is an example.

But the comparisons should stop. Whitehead is his own man. He was successful at UMass-Lowell last year before leaving due to a contract dispute. That team, his team, reached the Hockey East semifinals this year.

He was handpicked by Shawn Walsh to come to Maine.

He is an excellent leader who took a team that could have played in grief, and he gave them purpose. He, more than anyone else, is the reason this team reached the NCAA tournament rather than falling apart and becoming this year’s Hockey East doormat.

Though quiet in comparison to Walsh (there we go again), Whitehead has been forceful when necessary. He benched his leading scorer at one point during the season. He has used the bench to motivate other players. He has been described by players as a straight shooter. A guy who tells his players what he expects and is honest with them.

And his players have responded. Let’s not forget he has put his personal stamp on this team. This is a high-flying team that passes beautifully and is fearless in the corners.

One only needs to think back to Maine’s Hockey East tournament semifinal against coach Jack Parker’s Boston University Terriers to see the difference. While Maine was freewheeling, BU played like a team of thugs looking for a fight on every street corner. The contrast in style was incredible.

It has been a few years since we’ve had a good coaching controversy. When Joanne Palombo-McCallie was around we could always count on her to flirt with other schools in order to get a raise or more money for the women’s basketball program.

Shawn Walsh himself wasn’t above whispering “Denver” or “UMass-Amherst” into the wind for contract purposes.

Whitehead is keeping quiet about this contract stuff. Earlier this year he spoke with the NEWS’ Larry Mahoney about his future.

“I don’t bother with any of that. I didn’t come here for that purpose. Shawn called me and wanted me to look into being an assistant and the interim head coach when he was out for health reasons. That’s all I’m focused on now,” Whitehead said.

And that’s where his focus has remained. But in less than a month the season will be over and Whitehead is likely to become decidedly more interested in removing the word “interim” from his name tag.

UMaine athletic director Dr. Suzanne Tyler is doing this by the book. The university is required by law to post the job. Tyler has said a search committee will be formed and she hopes Whitehead applies for the position.

It is hoped that when Dr. Tyler receives Whitehead’s application, she’ll tell the search committee that its job is over.

Don Perryman can be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or dperryman@bangordailynews.net.