Dolphins assistant coach Mike Shula might be the front-runner in Alabama's coaching search, but he's certainly not the only candidate.

Along with Shula, Alabama athletic director Mal Moore and president Robert Witt have also met with Carolina Panthers assistant Richard Williamson and Green Bay Packers assistant Sylvester Croom, according to newspaper reports.

The three are the top candidates to replace fired coach Mike Price.

Price's Sons Want To Stay

The sons of fired Alabama coach Mike Price are willing to remain on the next coach's staff, contrary to comments from athletic director Mal Moore indicating they planned to leave, Aaron Price said. Aaron Price is the Crimson Tide's receivers coach while brother Eric is offensive coordinator. University president Robert Witt fired their father on Saturday for off-the-field conduct that included a trip to a Pensacola, Fla., topless bar and a woman's huge room service order billed to his hotel room the next morning. "I'm trying to get rehired,'' Aaron Price told The Birmingham News in a story Tuesday. "That's what all the coaches are trying to do. We've never said anything different. "The players stood up for us and we're going to stand up for them.'' Aaron Price did not immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press. Eric Price declined to talk about his father's firing. "There's no need to talk about Saturday's decision. It was made,'' he said. "Mike Price's ties have been cut with Alabama, and that's over.'' Moore said Monday that Aaron and Eric Price had both told him they planned to leave. "They've expressed their strong feelings for the university but said they are not planning on returning,'' Moore said. -- The Associated Press

"I will admit, I'm an alumni, I had great memories there. I love Alabama, just like everybody else that ever played there and that's really all I have to say,'' Shula, a former Crimson Tide quarterback, told reporters in Miami on Monday.

Shula, 37, has never been a head coach. Moore said Monday head-coaching experience wasn't mandatory for the hire as it was in his previous search five months ago when Dennis Franchione left Alabama for Texas A&M.

That was when Moore hired Price, who was fired Saturday, months before he could coach his first game, because of questionable off-the-field conduct that included spending hundreds of dollars at a Pensacola, Fla., topless bar. A woman reportedly ordered about $1,000 in food from room service sent to his hotel room the following morning.

University sources familiar with the search also told ESPN.com on Monday that Moore privately acknowledged that he erred in hiring "outsiders" -- Price and Franchione -- to coach the team and is determined to turn over the foundering program to someone with strong school ties.

"I'm looking for who I think is the best for this situation and who could come in with this very awkward time frame," Moore told The Associated Press.

The Birmingham News and Mobile Register reported a decision could come as early as Tuesday, but university spokesman Larry White said no announcement was scheduled and the job hasn't been offered.

"I don't know where that's coming from,'' White said Wednesday. "Those are inaccurate. We certainly are not in any negotiations.''

Moore was en route to Orlando for a meeting of SEC athletic directors. Then he and Witt were bound for more interviews with little time to waste four months before the season.

"The players deserve a quick decision, and I want to deliver,'' Moore said.

He said he had four candidates in mind for what could be a crucial hire for a program that is on NCAA probation and has been changing coaches about as frequently as it used to win national championships under Bear Bryant.

Moore wouldn't disclose any names or confirm the interview with Shula, but sources said the talks in all likelihood will end with the youngest son of former NFL coaching great Don Shula. Shula was the Tide's starting quarterback from 1984 to 1986, twice earning All-Southeastern Conference honors.

Moore may not move on to other potential coaches until he determines whether Shula wants the job.

"I have to wait and hear more about what it might be,'' Shula, a 15-year NFL assistant, told The Miami Herald on Sunday. He did not return calls Monday from The Associated Press.

"The feeling people have gotten (from Moore)," said one source with strong insight to the search, "is that he believes this situation has to be fixed by an Alabama man. That's the only way, in his mind, to restore the program. And he's going to direct all of his efforts that way, to exhaust the possibilities, from a very short list."

The No. 2 candidate, the sources said, would be Croom, another former Alabama standout.

Croom, a Tuscaloosa native, coached at Alabama from 1977-86 but has been in the NFL ever since. He is currently the Packers' running backs coach.

He started at center for Bear Bryant in 1973 and 1974, helping the Tide to a 22-2 record.

Croom did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press on Monday, but Packers coach Mike Sherman made a pitch for him Sunday.

"There probably isn't a better prospect in all of football, college or pros for that job than Sylvester Croom,'' Sherman said. "I'd hate to lose him because he's such a quality person and coach. There's no better candidate.''

A civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, urged Alabama to consider hiring a black coach, such as Croom. The SEC has never had a black head football coach.

"The crisis at the University of Alabama creates an opportunity for them to consider a qualified African-American football coach,'' Jackson, who didn't suggest any specific candidates, told The Associated Press Monday.

Then, there's Williamson, 62, who played at Alabama in the early 1960s and also was an assistant coach under Bear Bryant. He was a finalist for the job when Gene Stallings was hired in 1990.

And unlike Croom and Shula, Williamson has head-coaching experience. Williamson coached Memphis State from 1975-80 and was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coach for the final three games of the 1990 season and for all of 1991.

"I've always said I wanted to return to Alabama and be the head coach,'' Williamson told the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette. "Right now, it's about the only job I would take. If it happens, it happens. If not, I still have a great job here with the Panthers.''

Former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin, who has expressed interest in the Alabama job through intermediaries, likely will not be considered. Moore and some other prominent officials in the Alabama hierarchy agree that Coughlin, fired by the Jaguars after last season, possesses the respect, discipline and image that want in their next coach.

There is an underlying concern that, if Coughlin accepted the job and succeeded in resurrecting the once-powerful program, he might eventually be lured back to the NFL. Moore has had enough of revolving doors the last few years.

Given the time on the college football calendar -- post-spring practice and the middle of the evaluation period for next fall's high school seniors -- it's not surprising that Alabama has focused on NFL assistant coaches. This is a relatively quiet period in the NFL.

Coughlin said Monday that he hadn't been contacted by any representatives from Alabama. "There's nothing going on,'' he said.

ESPN.com senior writers Len Pasquarelli and Ivan Maisel contributed to this story. Information from The Associated Press also was included.