BoomTown’s got nothing, which is not something I like to say very much.

I am talking about the Yahoo CEO search, which is either being done by the Internet giant’s board in such elegant secrecy and with such amazing stealth that it is getting by everyone.

That or it’s business as usual for the Yahoo (YHOO) board, which so far has never met a challenge for the company it could not drag out painfully and with great public dithering.

I am hoping, of course, it is the former–that my crack sleuthing skills have been frozen solid here in Buffalo–and the choice will be announced to great fanfare by year’s end (which is, er, tomorrow).

But from reporting I have done over the last several days, the latter seems to be the case and Yahoo might not have a new leader in place for a few weeks at least.

Still, I vote for tomorrow!

But, if I had to make a prediction, Yahoo will pick an external candidate among the several candidates it is vetting now, given the time this has taken and also the need to show Wall Street, investors, their employees and the rest of us it intends to change.

In any case, if Yahoo cannot land someone by the end of January, many sources I spoke to expect the board to pick one of its own–most likely, former Nextel head John Chapple, a new director.

I have also heard that longtime Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) exec, Vyomesh (VJ) Joshi, who runs its massive imaging and printing group, is also a possibility, as well as others on the board.

When Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang announced he was stepping down in mid-November, sources I spoke to said the board was ready to act with urgency and boldness to get a leader in place to drag the company out of the doldrums.

It even made a little list, as I wrote in a post:

The board, though, has apparently made a list of six–I have no idea why that is the number chosen–clear criteria for the new leader of Yahoo.

The first is that the candidate have ‘extensive’ experience as the CEO of a public company. Another calls for media and advertising expertise. And mergers and acquisitions experience. Also strategic skills.”

While sources inside and outside the company say several candidates were considered and contacted, thus far there is no clear front-runner, as some–such as News Corp. (NWS) COO Peter Chernin and former Vodafone (VOD) CEO Arun Sarin–have discounted their interest so far. (News Corp. is the owner of this Web site.)

One response to my progress of the Yahoo CEO search from an insider was typical: “Not a peep. Oddly quiet.”

A major reason for the lack of swiftness might be Yang, who is very involved in the search along with Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock (who might think twice about parking his chauffeured car with his name splashed on it somewhere else than in front of Yahoo, for all the emails I get about sightings of it).

Many sources said Yang is intent on getting the CEO choice just right, given so many other missteps made under his management.

“This is his last act and he is really serious about not making a bad choice,” said one exec who has talked to Yang.

That kind of consideration takes time, of course, even though many think that a bit of decisive speed might be a good thing to see from Yahoo right about now.

Still, with the holidays, as well as the weak economy, Yahoo is no Shangri-La for potential candidates.

In addition, Yahoo will wrap up a quarter this week that is sure to be especially weak, given all the internal and external turmoil.

“It is a very tough job and anyone worthwhile has to think long and hard before taking it,” said one person who has been contacted by Yahoo’s headhunter, Heidrick & Struggles, about interest in the No. 2 job at Yahoo, once a CEO is found.

This concept being bandied about is to put a new top team in place to replace Yang, and possibly President Sue Decker, who is the leading internal candidate for CEO.

Interestingly, a COO/President choice is perhaps the more interesting choice for Yahoo, since the field of candidates here widens considerably and has a lot more digital experience.

But first, of course, the CEO needs to be picked, and that’s still to come, delaying everything from doing a deal with Microsoft (MSFT) over search to buying Time Warner (TWX) online unit AOL, all of which are being pushed into 2009.

Well, only the Yahoo board knows for sure who that will be, although I am still digging away like a rabid gopher to find out more.

But here is a great music video of Val Emmich singing “(C’mon), Get On With It,” to spur the Yahoo board on:

With so many more ex-Yahoos out there now that the most recent layoffs have taken place, BoomTown put out feelers to a range of them to ask whom they would like to run the company they no longer work for.

After all, who better than to pick a new CEO than an ex?

The response I got was swift and varied wildly, depending on which way the ex-Yahoo felt the company should go, including quite a few who thought Yahoo needed to sell itself off completely.

Some considered Yahoo (YHOO) a media and advertising company, for example, while others thought of it as a more Web tools outfit. Still, others considered it a turnaround situation, requiring a wholly different kind of CEO.

Perhaps therein lies the problem–it is still hard to define precisely what Yahoo is and is not, even for its ex-employees.

In any case, here are some of the best suggestions:

1. The Media Mogul

“I think they need to sell to a media company,” said one ex-Yahoo, who posits the move needs to be drastic enough to truly reset Yahoo.

In this scenario, search gets sold to Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo’s online content is combined with media assets of a big entertainment and news conglomerate.

That would make the leader of Yahoo one of the following: Bob Iger of Disney (DIS); Rupert Murdoch/Peter Chernin of News Corp. (NWS); Jeff Zucker of General Electric (GE) unit NBC Universal; or Les Moonves of CBS (CBS). (News Corp. is the owner of this Web site.)

2. The Insider

A lot of votes here for former Yahoo COO Dan Rosensweig and not so many for current President Sue Decker.

Why? Several ex-Yahoos mentioned a need to refocus intently on products and the need for a product-obsessed leader, but one who also knew Yahoo well and could get things moving without needing a lengthy learning curve.

“Since Dan R. left, I think there’s been a definite void (at the senior exec level) on the product/consumer expertise and advocate front,” said another ex-Yahoo.

Other execs mentioned are former Yahoos Jeff Weiner and Jeff Mallett.

But several also pointed to board member John Chapple, who is the one most insiders say they are guessing will be the next CEO, especially since he has been reaching out to Yahoos on many levels and asking questions.

3. The Microsoftie or Googler

The new top name here is obviously recently departed online ad exec Brian McAndrews, former CEO of aQuantive, whom many think would be a strong pick and would focus the company on advertising.

In addition, most of those leaving–including several technical people–all seem to agree that Yahoo needs to get out of the search business, and pronto.

Said one engineer: “I hate to say this, but as good as we can be, we cannot compete in the war that is breaking out between Google and Microsoft. And it will only get uglier.”

Other names mentioned in this category include Yusuf Mehdi and Kevin Johnson of Microsoft, as well as Tim Armstrong of Google (GOOG).

4. The Fixer

While there are a lot of different opinions out there among the ex-Yahoos I spoke to, all agree that the company is in need of a sharp operator and someone who can do what it takes to turn the company around quickly.

That means someone like former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, whose name has popped up recently, or even nontechie execs known for operational skills.

“We need a decisive leader, given how slowly it takes for things to change at Yahoo, who has a real sense of urgency from the minute he or she gets the job,” said one ex-employee.

Another former exec described it as a “two-step process.” First, the turnaround CEO needs to come in and reorient, focus, and get the company going in the right direction, then a more product-oriented person can be installed under that CEO later.

5. The Holy Grail-Steve Jobs Option

I think the most interesting idea I got from all the many former Yahoos I spoke to was that Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs swoop in and buy Yahoo.

When I laughed out loud at this notion at first, the exec insisted that it was a feasible idea, given that Apple was interested in expanding its platform beyond its now-popular devices.

It’s an interesting bit of wishful thinking, of course, to imagine a “great leader” to calmly guide the company back to its roots.

Jobs, in fact, memorably addressed a meeting of Yahoo VPs in the fall of 2007. As I wrote then: “Jobs basic message [to Yahoo]: You have great assets–just like Apple did–and now it is all about execution.”

Yes, that tiny little detail.

6. Raise the Yangtanic

Interestingly, pretty much all the ex-Yahoos I talked to–as angry as some are at him for his tenure as a CEO less successful at execution and the ensuing loss of market value at Yahoo–said they did feel there was a need for Co-Founder Jerry Yang to stay around in a significant way.

“Jerry has been a really bad CEO,” said one former employee. “But he could still be an important leader at Yahoo and give the company the kind of inspiration it so desperately needs.”

Not everyone is on board with that.

“I completely disagree that Jerry should stay around. Jerry is one of the main issues at Yahoo and he and [David] Filo must go, as well as most of the board,” said one former Yahoo. “There needs to be free rein for the new CEO to make changes and that won’t be possible if Jerry is still there. Jerry is a nice guy and his heart is in the right place but he has failed as both board leader and CEO and the company needs to start fresh if it is to have a chance.”

Adds the ex-Yahoo: “Steve Jobs would be great, but I think he is busy.”

I wrote:

Many would not be surprised if one of these current directors is named to lead Yahoo, even temporarily, and to get a new CEO in place by the New Year (a board priority): John Chapple, Maggie Wilderotter or Frank Biondi Jr.

But a dark horse outside CEO–with the public company experience the board of Yahoo is looking for as its top priority–could emerge.”

The Wall Street Journal raised such a name in a piece today–former Vodafone Group (VOD) CEO Arun Sarin (pictured here).

It’s an intriguing idea, to be sure, and the mobile phone experience is important going forward. (Also interesting is the one-time idea floated of merging Yahoo and Vodafone.)

More to the point, Sarin meets the list of key criteria the board has created, as noted in a previous post I did here:

The board, though, has apparently made a list of six–I have no idea why that is the number chosen–clear criteria for the new leader of Yahoo.

The first is that the candidate have ‘extensive’ experience as the CEO of a public company. Another calls for media and advertising expertise. And mergers and acquisitions experience. Also strategic skills.”

The 54-year-old Sarin fits all that, according to the Journal story; plus he also served on the Cisco (CSCO) board with Yang. He is also quite friendly with the Yahoo (YHOO) co-founder (another important thing, since Yang is sticking around as Chief Yahoo).

While his Vodaphone tenure was not without controversy–apparently, some thought he was too slow to diversify, a major uh-oh for the glacial Yahoo, and a less-than-firm central leader–Sarin did do a lot of turnaround work and has been involved in big acquisitions and cost-cutting.

Sarin also has lots of Silicon Valley experience–he ran InfoSpace (INSP) during the Web 1.0 bubble and was also involved in the troubled joint-investment venture between Accel Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Two more clear uh-ohs to me. But nobody’s perfect, I guess, and stumbles are not necessarily negatives in Silicon Valley–they’re called experience!

In that dark horse vein, sources mention several names like Sarin, who also fit the Yahoo board’s list. One I have mentioned before–Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) exec Todd Bradley–has a similar background at palmOne as CEO, for example.

And here’s another idea (all mine!) for the still-mulling Yahoo board: former Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen (pictured here), who left the media software company after many years, in November, quite abruptly, despite a very good reputation as a leader.

I have no idea why Chizen left Adobe (ADBE). But he is only 52 years old and has lots of acquisition, strategy and cost-cutting and tech experience.

Whatever names are funneling into the final pool, the Journal story noted the selection could be weeks away, although sources I have spoken to close to the situation said Yahoo was trying to move much faster and by year’s end.

That’s a better plan, since Yahoo needs clarity, and soon, in order to decide quickly what to do about both its potential search deal with Microsoft (MSFT) and its merger talks with Time Warner (TWX) online unit AOL.

While the board of directors should spend as much time as it needs to pick the right person, the fact that it has wasted so much time on not doing something about long-term and obvious leadership problems at Yahoo is the clearest sign of its true failure.

Apple had initially planned to sign a distribution deal with a single pan-European operator, leading many observers to conclude that Vodafone–Europe’s largest carrier–was the front runner to secure exclusive European rights to the iPhone.

It’s not yet clear why things don’t seem to be playing out that way, although it may be that Apple’s terms were a bit too onerous for Vodafone. Certainly, it’s not difficult to imagine Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin wincing over the AT&T-style arrangement that is rumored to give a portion of monthly subscription revenue to Apple.

One last point to make here: Contrary to current speculation, people close to the situation said European iPhones will not operate on 3G mobile networks of companies such as Vodafone, but on their slower 2.5G counterparts–just as they do in the U.S.

Apple had initially planned to sign a distribution deal with a single pan-European operator, leading many observers to conclude that Vodafone–Europe’s largest carrier–was the front runner to secure exclusive European rights to the iPhone.

It’s not yet clear why things don’t seem to be playing out that way, although it may be that Apple’s terms were a bit too onerous for Vodafone. Certainly, it’s not difficult to imagine Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin wincing over the AT&T-style arrangement that is rumored to give a portion of monthly subscription revenue to Apple.

One last point to make here: Contrary to current speculation, people close to the situation said European iPhones will not operate on 3G mobile networks of companies such as Vodafone, but on their slower 2.5G counterparts–just as they do in the U.S.