CSUN NOTEBOOK: DEFENSE COACH WANTS CSUN JOB.

Byline: Marc J. Spears Daily News Staff Writer

While there is no clear-cut candidate for the Cal State Northridge football job, an interesting one from within put his name in the hat today.

Matadors defensive coordinator John Rosenberg, who has more than 25 years of coaching experience on the college and pro level, applied for the job that became open when Jim Fenwick left to become the offensive coordinator at New Mexico on Jan. 5.

``I don't have any desire to go anywhere else or climb any ladders,'' said Rosenberg, who has coached in 11 bowl games and likes the passing offense used last season. ``I would be happy and content being here and building a successful program. There are a lot of creative things that can be done here if you think outside the box. It can be very exciting.''

Rosenberg, 52, came to Northridge last season after serving two years as a head coach and general manager at the professional level in Europe. During that time, he also helped gain corporate sponsorship and had a combined 17-5 record.

Rosenberg spent 11 seasons as an assistant under legendary coach Joe Paterno at Penn State and was on the staff of the 1982 national-championship team. He was an assistant under recently named Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora during the 1983 season with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL, who advanced to the league's championship game. He also has been on staffs that included Carolina Panthers coach Dom Capers and Arizona Cardinals coach Vince Tobin.

From 1984-90, he was the head coach of Brown of the Ivy League. At the Division I-AA school, he owned a 24-30-4 record for a program that had zero scholarships but played many schools that did.

``Regardless of material things like budgets and stadiums, football is about people and not about things,'' said Rosenberg, who has a degree from Harvard and a master's degree from Penn State.

Search Update: About 25 candidates have turned in their paperwork for the opening. Although CSUN athletic director Paul Bubb just returned on Tuesday from the NCAA Convention in Atlanta, members of the search-and-screen committee have been coming in separately to review resumes and grade them.

The committee is trying to narrow the candidate list down by Thursday and possible interviews will be set up soon after. A finalist list is expected to be announced and CSUN is expected to hire a coach by the end of the month.

Some of nonarea candidates include ex-Hawaii coach Bob Wagner, ex-Idaho State coach Brian McNeely, San Jose State and ex-CSUN assistant Ron Ponciano and Monterry Peninsula College coach Ron Mims. Other assistants who have applied for the job are Arizona's Rob Ianello, Northwestern's Greg Brandon, Kentucky's Mike Leach, Eastern Michigan's Dave Hoover and Cal Poly Pomona and ex-CSUN assistant Bob Bostad.

Local candidates include Rosenberg, CSUN assistant Jeff Kearin, Cal Lutheran coach Scott Squires, Westlake High coach Jim Benkert, St. Francis High coach Bill Redell, West L.A. College coach Rob Hager and Santa Ana College coach Dave Ogas, whose son Mike is a wide receiver at Northridge.

``The new coach has to share a vision for the future whether they're high profile or not,'' Bubb said.

Streak halted: The women's basketball team recorded its first four-game winning streak in eight years with a 67-65 road victory against Big Sky Conference opponent Montana State last Thursday. The streak was snapped on Saturday, however, when the Matadors (6-7, 3-1) shot a season-low 28.2 percent from the field and fell 75-38 to Montana, the only undefeated team in the Big Sky.

Freshman guard Edniesha Curry, a graduate of Palmdale High, registered six 3-pointers in two games last week, extending her team-leading total to 36 this season. Curry leads the conference in scoring with 15.6 points per game.

The women tonight host Sacramento State (3-8, 0-2), which holds a 16-game winning streak over the Matadors.

Staff Writer Rizza Yap contributed to this report.