Could Cindy Blodgett be the new University of Maine women’s basketball coach?

What about former Black Bears star Stephanie Guidi, or current University of Southern Maine women’s basketball coach Gary Fifield? Would Cony High School coach Paul Vachon or ex-Maine assistant Jody Benner be interested?

Blodgett, the former Lawrence High of Fairfield and University of Maine star, didn’t respond to phone or e-mail messages Thursday afternoon. Although Brown University assistant sports information director Lyndsey Maurer said Blodgett, a current Brown assistant coach, likely wouldn’t comment, Blodgett is one of the names being mentioned to replace Ann McInerney, who suddenly resigned Wednesday.

McInerney, who replaced Sharon Versyp in 2005, coached the Black Bears to a 23-34 record in two seasons including a 1-2 in America East conference tournament play.

UMaine athletics department spokesman Brent Williamson said Wednesday the school would begin a national coaching search immediately.

As of Thursday afternoon the opening had not been posted on the NCAA News job market web site. There are openings listed for women’s basketball head coaching positions at NCAA Division I schools such as Duke and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Although she declined to comment Thursday, Clinton native Blodgett, the University of Maine’s all-time leading scorer with 3,005 points and the two-time NCAA scoring leader, hasn’t ruled out applying for the Maine coaching position when it has been available in previous years. She met with former University of Maine athletic director Patrick Nero before McInerney was hired in 2005.

Blodgett has been an assistant coach at Brown the past two years. She also served as an assistant at Boston University during the 1999-2000 season.

Blodgett, who lives in Boston, was the sixth overall pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft and played four seasons in the league.

Guidi, Blodgett’s former teammate, said she doesn’t think she hasn’t spent enough time on a Div. I bench to apply. But she didn’t rule it out.

“I don’t know. I just don’t think, to be honest, they could justify hiring someone with five years of experience and no head coaching experience,” said Guidi, who is now living in Springfield, Mo., and spent those five years as an assistant at Missouri State. “It’s a huge commitment and there are plenty of more qualified candidates. But now you’ve got me thinking.”

A 1996 UMaine graduate who scored 1,205 in her career, Guidi is out of a job after Missouri State head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson resigned last month. Guidi, who is getting married on July 7 to Missouri State running backs coach Andy Follette, said she’s not sure of her next career move.

Guidi does, however, have a few ideas about what traits the next Black Bear coach should have.

“The head coach needs to be a person who will embrace the community and be passionate about the surrounding areas and understand the fans there appreciate the tradition of University of Maine women’s basketball,” she said.

“I really do hope they find a high-energy [person], someone who knows what the program’s about, to reload and rebuild and energize the community, because [the fans] deserve it,” Guidi added.

Missouri State is the former Southwest Missouri State.

Guidi helped guide Southwest Missouri to three NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2005 WNIT championship.

One certain applicant for the Maine job, depending on career experience stipulations, is Cony’s Vachon, who has coached the Rams of Augusta to seven Class A state titles including the 2007 championship.

He said Thursday afternoon he planned to apply for the job as he did after the departures of Peter Gavett (1988) and Joanne Palombo-McCallie (2000).

“I’ve always been interested in that job and I will always be interested in that job,” Vachon said. “It would be a dream come true. That’s what I tell my kids all the time, to reach for the stars.”

Vachon doesn’t have any college coaching experience, which was the reason he didn’t apply for the Maine position after Versyp left in 2005 to coach at Indiana University. The job advertisement that year stipulated that applicants must have had prior college experience.

Vachon won’t apply if that’s the case this time around, but he feels his experience and record speak for themselves.

“I bring more than 30 years of experience coaching young women,” he said. “I just think, the kids know who I am and what I do. I think kids from Maine know who Paul Vachon is and the Cony program speaks for itself.”

Vachon cited his experience working at basketball camps, which is something most college coaches do in the summer, along with his connections to the University of Maine including his daughter, Amy Vachon, who is the program’s all-time assist leader.

Other Cony players who have attended Maine include Julie Veilleux, a 2004 graduate, and current senior Ashley Underwood.

Benner, a 1992 UMaine graduate who coached under Palombo-McCallie and left with Versyp to go to Indiana and then Purdue last year, said he was intrigued when he heard of the opening Wednesday but isn’t sure he’d want to leave his current job as a Purdue assistant.

“At this point, probably not,” said Benner, a Wiscasset High School graduate. “Having moved two years ago to Indiana and then last year to Purdue, I just can’t see moving my wife and kids too quickly. It’s probably way too early to speculate.”

Benner was an assistant coach at Maine during Guidi’s playing days.

Fifield, who did not return a call to his office, is one of the top Division III coaches in the nation. The University of Southern Maine has played in three NCAA Div. III championship games and advanced to the Final Four five times. The Huskies have qualified for the tournament 13 years in a row.