There's no shortage of worthy candidates for Edmonton Eskimos GM job

The Edmonton Eskimos haven't established a timeline as to when they'll appoint a replacement for Danny Maciocia, who was fired Saturday as the CFL club's general manager and director of football operations.

That's good, because there's no shortage of candidates.

In no particular order, here's a list of potential replacements and their background:

Eric Tillman — A strong candidate who has helped build Grey Cup-winning teams in B.C., Toronto and Saskatchewan. A knowledgeable football mind who did a wonderful job transforming the Roughriders into a CFL championship squad. However, Tillman endured legal woes this off-season that forced him to step down as the Riders' GM. A solid choice, indeed, but Tillman would come with some baggage.

Neil McEvoy — In his 15th season with the B.C. Lions, and is currently the CFL club's player-personnel co-ordinator and assistant to GM Wally Buono. He joined the Lions in '95 in the ticket sales department and has worked his way through the organization. Currently, McEvoy handles the day-to-day activities of the football operations department, including player contracts and assisting the coaching staff. While he has no previous GM experience, McEvoy has certainly learned from one of the best in Buono.

Marcel Desjardins — Back in his second stint as the Montreal Alouettes assistant GM, Desjardins remains one of the league's young, bright football minds. He has previous experience with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and while Desjardins' time there ended with a firing, he did show he wasn't afraid to take a chance and sign big-name players. And like McEvoy, Desjardins has the added benefit of working under one of the CFL's top GMs in Jim Popp.

Duane Forde — An interesting candidate. The former CFL fullback does a very nice job breaking down Canadian talent as a football broadcaster with TSN. An articulate and well-spoken individual who is as classy as he is knowledgeable, Forde would be a great face of an organization. There's no denying Forde's football acumen, it's just a question of how long it would take him to get up to speed with the other elements of the GM's job.

Greg Mohns — He has plenty of CFL experience — roughly 20 years — working either as a player-personnel director or assistant GM in the league. Mohns has two Grey Cup rings to show for his time with the Toronto Argonauts and is currently available after being let go by the club this off-season. Has impeccable and detailed scouting reports and a solid network south of the border.

Mike McCarthy — A veteran CFL talent evaluator who has earned Grey Cup rings with Hamilton, Toronto and most recently Montreal. Has previous GM experience with the Argonauts and was instrumental in the club signing superstar receiver Raghib (Rocket) Ismail and giving him his pro start. Also puts together very thorough scouting reports and has contacts on both sides of the border.

Roy Shivers — The B.C. Lions player-personnel director is another solid talent evaluator and recruiter who has extensive CFL experience. Shivers has served as both an assistant GM (Calgary) and GM (Birmingham and Saskatchewan) and first entered the CFL as an assistant coach with B.C. in 1983. Might take a solid offer to entice Shivers to move to Edmonton full-time considering he and his family live in Henderson, Nev.

Miles Gorrell — The former all-star offensive lineman made a seamless move into Toronto's football operations department. He worked with Mohns and GM Adam Rita in scouting and talent evaluation. Gorrell was let go by the Argos in the off-season and his lack of GM experience would make him a long-shot.

Darren Gill — Another interesting candidate. The Montreal-based agent is well respected and has done a solid job recruiting Canadian college talent capable of playing at the next level, like linebacker Shomari Williams and offensive lineman Simeon Rottier, who've been the first players taken in the last two CFL Canadian college drafts. Another factor in Gill's favour would be his familiarity with CFL football operations departments.

Gil Scott — Another respected CFL agent. Scott has long represented CFL players and is also very familiar with many aspects of the CFL game. However, Scott also has clients in the NFL and NHL and it would likely take quite the offer to entice him to head into a CFL front office. But like Gill, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

John Murphy — In his second stint with Calgary, Murphy is currently the CFL club's player-personnel director. Murphy earned a Grey Cup ring with the Stampeders in 2008 as the team's assistant director of scouting. He left to become Winnipeg's player-personnel director last season before being let go. Murphy also worked as college and pro area scout with Montreal in 2005 and 2006 before joining the Stampeders. The six-year CFL veteran can find talent and knows the inner workings of the league.

Notes: Some potential good news for the B.C. Lions: running back Martell Mallett has been released by the Philadelphia Eagles. Mallett played for the Lions last season before signing with the Eagles in the off-season.