HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - For Ron Jirsa, it was like going through the want ads until he found the job he wanted.

Jirsa checked out several possible college basketball coaching positions before zeroing his efforts on Marshall University.

Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum liked Jirsa's resume and job experience, so Jirsa was introduced Monday afternoon as the new Thundering Herd basketball coach.

"When you're a candidate for several jobs, the most important thing is to find a place where you can win a championship," Jirsa said. "Marshall has the tradition and facilities to do that. Those are the types of places I am interested in.

"I was struck by the enthusiasm of the community. When you talk to people in college basketball, it's a no-brainer to get involved with the Marshall program."

Jirsa, 43, knows something about coaching in the postseason. He has coached for 22 seasons including 15 at the Division I level. He has been part of nine NCAA tournaments with three teams advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

Marshall was just 14-15 last season and leading scorer Ronald Blackshear has opted to bypass his senior year for the NBA draft.

Jirsa has spent time watching tapes of Marshall games in an attempt to evaluate the players. He said the Herd has the potential to succeed.

"We're going to win with talent, but you're not going to win with just talent. You have to win with talent and chemistry," Jirsa said.

Chemistry and talent will be key factors, but Jirsa said that the team will play an aggressive style with an emphasis on defense.

"I met with the players (Sunday) night, we talked about defense first," Jirsa said. "When you look at Marshall's success in the past it was due to defense and rebounding. That's a winning statistic. Defense and rebounding is going to be there every night.

"We're going to be aggressive (on offense). We're going to attack. But to win the big games, you have to win in the halfcourt game and you do that with discipline. The players want the same thing we want."

Jirsa replaced Tubby Smith at Georgia in 1997 and was 35-30 in two seasons with two NIT appearances. He was fired despite having three years remaining on his contract.

After leaving Georgia, he spent the past four years as an assistant to Purnell Oliver at Dayton. Oliver was hired recently to coach at Clemson. Jirsa followed Oliver to Clemson after being passed over by Dayton as the head coach in favor of Michigan State assistant Brian Gregory.

The new coach received a four-year contract with a base salary of $130,00. Jirsa replaces Greg White who resigned June 3 after failing to secure a contract extension.

White, who played at Marshall, had a 115-84 record over seven seasons but went just 29-30 the past two years. He returned to the University of Charleston citing personal reasons.

Jirsa and his wife, Laura, have a daughter, Hannah.