If Bill Peterson has his way, he won't have to log too many miles en route to his next job.

Peterson, an assistant coach at Colorado State the past seven seasons, hit the recruiting trail after the Rams were eliminated from the Mountain West Conference tournament last week, so he was on the road Monday when he learned the Dale Layer era, as well as Peterson's job security in Fort Collins, had ended.

Peterson, though, hopes his coaching days in Colorado are not finished. He has set his sights on the vacancy at the University of Denver.

"It's a sleeping giant," Peterson said. "I like to take programs that are struggling and turn them into winners, and I've done it before."

Peterson plans to get his résumé into the hands of DU athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes by the end of the week.

Bradley-Doppes is about two weeks into the search for a replacement for Terry Carroll, who was fired March 2 after he took an unexplained leave of absence before the holidays that lasted through the conclusion of the Pioneers' 4-25 season.

Bradley-Doppes said she is not restricting the search to the list of candidates she helped put together after Carroll's firing.

DU's situation as an international private university that plays in a midmajor conference in a major metropolitan market presents a set of challenges and job requirements that differ from the other coaching vacancies in the region.

"Just like every other A.D. in the country, I want to take advantage of the national exposure generated by March Madness," Bradley-Doppes said.

"The carousel is going, and I need to make sure we get a great hire because we've got a long way to go.

"We need someone who will reach out to the students, reach out to the community and help put DU basketball on the map again."

Peterson has proved he can swiftly turn around struggling programs.

At Union College in Kentucky, Peterson recorded 18 wins in his debut season after inheriting a team that had won four games the previous year.

At Alabama Huntsville, Peterson produced the school's first winning season in 15 years.

He also boasts a reputation as a developer of post players and has led clinics in Europe that have generated connections Peterson believes can help him land international recruits.

"To be successful in a place like Denver, you have to have a niche," Peterson said.

"I know I can recruit big kids and get a 7-footer to say, 'I want to go there.' "