The search for the next University of Hawaii football coach will enter the interview stage today.

Texas assistant head coach Duane Akina, Baylor associate head coach Brian Norwood and Oregon State defensive coordinator Mark Banker are scheduled to meet with the six-member search/advisory committee today. They were scheduled to arrive in town Saturday.

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is expected to conduct his interview via Skype.

Utah offensive coordinator Norm Chow reportedly has received an interview invitation, but he has declined to answer messages left on his cell phone.

As of Saturday afternoon, no member of the UH coaching staff had received an interview request from the committee.

There were more than 40 applicants for the head coaching job vacated when Greg McMackin and the school reached a release agreement on Dec. 5.

According to that agreement, which was termed a "retirement," McMackin will receive $600,000, a buyout that supersedes the $1.1 million he would have been owed for the final year of a five-year contract that expires Jan. 15, 2013.

Former UH head coach Bob Wagner has endorsed Akina, claiming he has the most credentials of the applicants.

Akina, 53, is a Punahou School graduate who was a quarterback at Washington and coached at UH, Arizona and Texas.

"I’m excited about a chance to come back home and have an opportunity to interview with the University of Hawaii," said Akina, adding that he spent "some wonderful years" as a UH assistant coach in the 1980s.

Norwood, 46, a former UH defensive back, has coached at Navy, Richmond, Texas Tech and Penn State. He was Baylor’s defensive coordinator for three years before being promoted to associate head coach this year.

Norwood, who is a candidate for another head coaching position, has tried to maintain a low profile. But he was set to arrive in town Saturday and meet with the committee today.

Banker coached the UH outside linebackers in 1995, Wagner’s final season as head coach, and said he and his family enjoyed that year.

"It’s like we never left," said Banker, who has been Oregon State’s point-recruiter in Hawaii. "I really like the people and the culture there."

If hired, Banker, who has served as defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, promises to implement an "entertaining" offense.

"We’re in the entertainment business," Banker said.

Chow has been on the coaching staff of national-championship teams at Brigham Young and Southern California. He has coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, as well as Jim McMahon and Steve Young, who went on to win Super Bowls.