CU's New Coach

[Roy CO HSKR]

The speculation in the RMN this morn is that Jon Emgree, a former player, is the highly touted pick of AD Bohn. If this were any other Big 12 school. I would not believe that they would bring less than a top notch coach, but since CU has many many problems it makes sense. The legislature has limited long term contracts for state employees, the scandal is still brewing, Barnett is being investigated for alerting players regarding random drug testing and interfering with players and staff testimonies, President Brown has quit, their budget is strained with Barnett's payoff, the problem with students at games is not resolved for the future and Ward Churchill is still teaching!!!

 

If you were a prospective recruit what would you think?

[hack]

The speculation in the RMN this morn is that Jon Emgree, a former player, is the highly touted pick of AD Bohn. If this were any other Big 12 school. I would not believe that they would bring less than a top notch coach, but since CU has many many problems it makes sense. The legislature has limited long term contracts for state employees, the scandal is still brewing, Barnett is being investigated for alerting players regarding random drug testing and interfering with players and staff testimonies, President Brown has quit, their budget is strained with Barnett's payoff, the problem with students at games is not resolved for the future and Ward Churchill is still teaching!!!

 

If you were a prospective recruit what would you think?

personally... i'd be thinking, "there's no place like nebraska..."

 

but of course, i'm baised.

[huskerguy]

That is a very unatractive job I think. I saw on ESPN they believed it was a program under Barnett capable of being in the Nation Championship within 3 years

[Huskrz65]

I could care less about CU or their fans or their coaches or anything associated with the university to be quite honest.

These people in Boulder have much bigger issues other than a coach. They need to be like the University of the Pacific and just pack up their FB program.

CSU does fine in representing the state. Bradlee Van Pelt was a stud.

[Red Snow Sword: Husker Sentinel]

Honestly, I'd rather see CU get started in the right direction again. They've won a lot of N titles lately, but the problem is, their reputation isn't helping, obviously.

 

I would like to see Cu get strong again, so there can be a strong N division, and hopefully challenge the south. If there is one thing I don't like, it is warm weather football teams..... At least they get snow in CU.

 

Also, CU pakcing up its FB program would mean one more big game lost for NU to play in. It's unfortunate enoug as it is, that we see OU on and off as it is. I wouldn't want CU.

 

Most of all, I want the North to get strong again, and to get some respect back. Sure, I want Nebraska to win and dominate, but I'd rather have them do so in a strong conference (alla This years Big 10). If Nebraska was MU, and went 7-4 in the Big 10 having switched with NU's schedual, then I think that would be more significant on a national level.

 

But that's stretching things a lot to make a point.

 

 

Bottom line - I hope the best for CU.

Sure, some of their fans have been real losers in the past, but, they are a part of the Big 12, and the N div., and as long as they are such, I want them to act like they belong to be playing Division 1 football.

 

I want them to become a great, and worthy NU opponent, not slipping into some 2bit program that considers us a rivalry game every year in November.

[Hunter94]

i agree......but the problems they have will take some time to fix.....they need to find a good coach, not an avalable coach, but every program must move forward, and this guy they are looking at will only be there a few years, doesn't look like they can afford a good coach right now, having bought out the jerk, Barnett, who i hope fallls flat on his ass and gets no job....if Missouri is stupid enough to take him they deserve what he brings....no accountability to the program or kids!

 

hunter

[NamelessHusker]

Ward Churchill is still teaching!!!

 

If you were a prospective recruit what would you think?

The whole reason why Seth decided to commit to NU then CU. And no i am not joking. That's straight from the horses mouth

[NamelessHusker]

Colorado interviews Hawkins, Embree for coach post

 

Colorado officials confirmed that athletic director Mike Bohn interviewed two candidates to replace Gary Barnett over the weekend.

 

The first interview was of Boise State coach Dan Hawkins, in Idaho on Saturday. Hawkins confirmed Monday he met with CU and had informed his Broncos team of the meeting, but declined further comment.

 

In five years as head coach of the Broncos, Hawkins has a 52-10 record.

 

On Sunday, Bohn interviewed former Colorado player Jon Embree, who is now the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at UCLA. Embree was a standout tight end for the Buffaloes in the 1980s and, if hired, would be the football program's first African-American head coach.

 

"I would just like to say I was very appreciative of the opportunity," Embree told the Boulder Daily Camera.

 

Colorado media reports last week said that Bohn indicated he had a leading candidate immediately in mind after firing Gary Barnett on Thursday. It's unclear whether Hawkins or Embree are that person, or whether Bohn will interview other candidates.

 

Bohn said Monday said he plans to hire a head coach before the Buffaloes leave on Dec. 21 for the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.

 

"I'd like the players to have the opportunity to meet him before the game," Bohn said.

 

Barnett reluctantly accepted a $3 million settlement Thursday, bringing to an end a tenure that was riddled by off-the-field problems but ultimately done in by recent bad results on the field.

 

The school named defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz interim coach Friday and said he will coach the team in the Champs Sports Bowl

 

ESPN.COM

[kramer]

Gary Barnett’s Farewell Party IS Going to be Freaking Awesome

December 14, 2005 - AP staff writer

 

With Gary Barnett’s tumultuous tenure as head football coach at Colorado finally coming to an end last week with his dismissal, plans are already underway for his farewell party. And those with details of the shindig say it will make Colorado’s famed recruiting parties look like bingo night at the VFW.

 

“I’m telling you, if there’s any way you can get on the list for this party do it,” said Colorado athletics director Mike Bohn. “It’s going to be like nothing anyone has ever seen before.”

 

Top prostitutes and strippers are being brought in for the event not just from Boulder or Denver or Colorado Springs, but from the entire Rocky Mountain region and some from as far away as New York and Miami.

 

“The coup de grace, so to speak,” said Bohn, “will be his farewell cake. We got Katie Hnida to agree to jump out of it naked. I can’t wait to see the look on Gary’s face when that happens.”

 

Bohn, who fired Barnett, said there is no conflict of interest in also coordinating the coach’s farewell party.

 

“None at all. I personally would have loved to keep the guy around. This campus has never been so much fun as when Gary was our coach. But eventually we had to start worrying about the reputation of our school nationwide, so I had to let him go,” said Bohn. “But he’s going to go out in style. If this party doesn’t end with some football recruits getting arrested for killing a hooker, I’ll be shocked. I expect it to be that good. Plus, since we kind of have an alibi on this party since Gary is no longer an employee. No matter what happens we can say the University of Colorado had nothing to do with it. We just need to make sure none of the trustees get arrested or knock up any co-eds or anything like that.”

[AR Husker Fan]

[rawhide]

That story isn't true. Damn I was all set to gas up the Lear and go.

[chad1971]

Boise State's Dan Hawkins is the new cu coach - I think he will have problems without having total control like he did at Boise State - cu will be an average team from now on.

[Benard]

Can't be no worse then this year. They looked like maine when we played them.

[NamelessHusker]

 

Buffs tab Boise State's Hawkins

 

 

Boise State coach Dan Hawkins has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Colorado, sources told ESPN. Hawkins will be introduced at a news conference on Friday.

 

Hawkins had been rumored as a potential replacement since former coach Gary Barnett's dismissal last Thursday.

 

Reached Wednesday night, Hawkins said, "the process is not complete."

 

"The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to be in the theater tonight with my boys watching 'King Kong,' " he said.

 

Hawkins interviewed with Bohn on Saturday, the first interview that CU athletic director Mike Bohn conducted. Hawkins, former Colorado player and current UCLA assistant Jon Embree, and Denver Mullen High School's Dave Logan were the three candidates that spoke with Colorado officials, according to a person familiar with the search.

 

"Dan Hawkins is the type of coach who represents virtually every expectation that I outlined," Bohn told Denver station KUSA-TV on Wednesday before the agreement was finalized. "We will be well on our way to restoring a sense of pride in the Golden Buffaloes."

 

Boise State won a share of its fourth straight Western Athletic Conference title this season and is 53-10 under Hawkins. He's been a hot name on the job market for the past couple years, and Boise has enhanced his contract and the football facilities to keep him.

 

However, Hawkins could just about double his $525,000 annual salary at Colorado. His contract calls for an $850,000 buyout, but that will be reduced to $700,000 after this season. At this point, it is unclear whether Hawkins will coach Boise State in the MPC Computers Bowl against Boston College.

 

ESPN has also learned that offensive coordinator Chris Petersen will remain at Boise State and replace Hawkins as head coach. Hawkins, however, is expected to take several of his assistants from Boise State with him to Colordao.

 

Link

[NamelessHusker]

 

This spud's for CU

 

With Dan Hawkins, what you see is nowhere close to what you get.

 

Here's what you see: a cherub in a headset, a boyish-looking 45-year-old who stands about 6 feet, weighs close to 200 pounds and still might pass for a college fullback (depending on the college).

 

Here's what you get: an intensely competitive head coach whose loyalty to his staff might be unparalleled, whose Saturday mantra often is "keep playing," regardless of how far his team is ahead, whose office bookshelves are lined with literary works ranging from Mother Teresa: In My Own Words to The Way of Life, by Lao Tzu, to his favorite, Phil Jackson's Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior.

 

A source close to the University of Colorado said Hawkins and the school reached an agreement Wednesday that will make him the Buffaloes' 23rd head football coach. The official announcement of the hiring of the coach, who is leaving Boise State, is expected Friday afternoon.

 

When Hawkins officially arrives at CU, Boulder might embrace him as a prodigal son returned - without him having yet lived there.

 

By all accounts, CU is getting far more than a student of the game. Hawkins, a 1984 graduate of UC Davis, is "a real visionary. He sees the big picture, and he keeps it in front of him, his staff and his players," said Mark Speckman, the football coach at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where Hawkins' assistants included Speckman.

 

"He doesn't go for your stereotypical rah-rah stuff," Speckman said. "He hits it at a little deeper level, and that seems to hit the target with his kids. He's a unique coach, a unique guy. He sees football as a great educational tool, and he gets a lot out of that part of it."

 

Hawkins, who will coach Boise State in its MPC Computer Bowl game against Boston College on Dec. 28, is huge on motivational quotes from a variety of sources, and they are as much a part of him as his profession. Among them:

 

• "The ultimate freedom in life is to determine one's attitude in a given set of circumstances." - Viktor E. Frankl, concentration camp survivor.

 

• "Leadership is the art of making something happen that the science of management says is impossible." - Anonymous.

 

• "While you're celebrating success, someone else is laying plans to move up in the world, and you better know it." - Pat Riley, NBA coach.

 

• "There are two kinds of class - first and no." - Anonymous.

 

Hot commodity

 

Hawkins is no stranger to being pursued. His 53-10 (five seasons) record at Boise State, an offense that punches up points with video-game speed and a philosophical bent usually not found in guys who scribble X's and O's for a living have made Hawkins a hot property among Bowl Championship Series schools with head-coaching vacancies.

 

Oregon State made a serious run at him two seasons ago, but he withdrew his name from consideration, citing an improper fit in Corvallis, Ore., which he indicated to The (Boise) Idaho Statesman was hampered by the absence of an airport nearby and an economy reflective of a statewide decline.

 

He also has been targeted by Washington, Stanford, Utah, Notre Dame and two Big 12 Conference schools, Baylor and Kansas State. In Washington's search, Hawkins reportedly made an issue of taking his entire Boise State staff with him to Seattle.

 

The position he apparently wanted badly was Notre Dame's, which went to Charlie Weis.

 

Had the opportunity presented itself to jump to any of those schools, it would have meant a step up to a BCS program, a larger paycheck (he's making about $525,000) and the challenge of competing at a level purportedly higher than the Western Athletic Conference.

 

None of those factors apparently appeared on Hawkins' radar, which is not common for a football coach.

 

"It's not about bigger and better, although everybody gets hung up on that - and that perplexes me from the standpoint of maybe that drives everybody's ambitions so hard they just cannot believe that that wouldn't be your motivation," he said after backing out of contention for the Oregon State opening.

 

A perfect fit?

 

According to those who have spent time with him, Hawkins has talked up the Boulder area because of its size, its being conducive to family life (he has four children ranging in age from 15 to 21) and its location, the Rocky Mountain West, a region he apparently favors.

 

Plus, said Colorado State women's basketball coach Jen Warden, who coached at Boise State before returning to her home state, "Boise is so much like Boulder - but without a Denver (nearby)."

 

Warden's interaction with Hawkins during her three seasons in Boise was limited, but she witnessed enough to characterize him as "very much a family guy, and that extended to his football family.

 

"He believes in that side of coaching, and what he was able to do in football, with its national exposure, did so much for the rest of the athletic department."

 

Hawkins' affinity for family - his, and his players and staff - made a lasting impression on former Boise State tight end Jeb Putzier, now with the Denver Broncos.

 

Putzier called Hawkins "one of the best guys I know (and) the best coach I ever had . . . He's one of those types of guys that puts a lot of responsibility on you just to be a good person. He helped me mature as a person, and he'll make you think."

 

To that end, Hawkins went to his bookshelf during Putzier's season and removed The Art of War for his tight end.

 

"That's just the kind of guy he is," Putzier said. "That's the type of environment he creates for everyone. He wants you to learn, he wants to think about things. He wants you to be better prepared for every aspect of life."

 

The cerebral type

 

Hawkins might specialize in emphasizing the mind over the material.

 

In a question-and-answer session with The Statesman, he was asked what he might do with $5 million. After twice answering he didn't think about it, he said, "I've made so little in my life (and) I've been doing this for 20 years.

 

"I bet you the average balance in my savings account the past 20 years has been $50. Never made any investments. Never made any dent in retirement until I got to Willamette (in 1993). I don't have any stocks. I don't have any land. I don't have any property. I don't have a vacation home . . .

 

"That's not what drives my boat. It's funny; even when you meet with a financial planner, they ask you when you want to retire. I go, 'I don't really want to retire.' I am very non-materialistic. I mean, I don't wear Gucci. As long as my car starts and I can get where I need to go. . . . I'm a person who's got my feelers out on life."

 

Hawkins rarely reads fiction, preferring autobiographies and philosophical literature. His fundamental philosophy might be found in a favorite statement, one of unknown origins, but one that he latched onto: "Success is the ability to control the quality and balance of your life."

 

Speckman said Hawkins has the ability to "make the grind a little bit more enjoyable. People truly enjoy being 'round him and working with him. . . . He does a great job of keeping the goal in sight and in front of everybody."

 

Under Hawkins and offensive coordinator Chris Petersen, who has fielded as many job inquiries as his boss, Boise State featured one of college football's most prolific attacks. The Broncos offense might most resemble Louisville's, featuring an H-back and tight end, but there are elements of Florida coach Urban Meyer's spread offense and possibly a trace or two of a West Coast look.

 

But the notion that Boise State presented a Texas Tech-style air barrage is false. This season, Boise State was the picture of balance, averaging 215.8 yards rushing (35 touchdowns) and 214.6 passing (19 touchdowns) and 37.3 points a game. The Broncos ranked No. 23 nationally in total offense and No. 8 in scoring offense.

 

Defensively, Hawkins' 2005 team ranked No. 55 in total defense (368.5 yards a game) and No. 52 in scoring defense (24.2 points).

 

'North champions right now'

 

Given time to recruit to his system, Putzier said, there's no doubt a Hawkins-coached CU team will be as competitive in the Big 12 as Boise State is in the WAC.

 

"Boise State would destroy Iowa State, would beat Kansas, would beat all those teams in the North," said Putzier, whose April marriage was attended by Hawkins. "They would be the North champions right now; they would've played Texas (in the league championship game, which CU lost 70-3).

 

"I don't know what type of underclassmen they have (at CU), I don't know who's leaving or what, I don't follow CU that much. (But) as soon as he gets his guys in there, it definitely will be one of the high-scoring colleges in the NCAA."

 

Observers in Boise believe Hawkins can recruit players who can play in any conference. In comprising a racially diverse roster, Hawkins heavily recruited California, traditionally a fertile area for CU, as well as Oregon, Washington, Arizona and, of course, Idaho. He also developed a fairly productive pipeline for Canadian talent.

 

At Willamette, where Hawkins coached from 1993 to 1997 and compiled a 40-11-1 record, Speckman said Hawkins "did a great job with a program that was down in wins, numbers (of players) and funding. He turned it around."

 

Like Putzier, Speckman has no doubt Hawkins can make a successful transition from the WAC to the Big 12, as he did from an NAIA school (Willamette) to Division I-A.

 

"He's won with both kinds of kids - those at the lower and upper levels," Speckman said. "That's not an issue. This is not rocket science, it's football, and it's what he excels at. He'll get it done."

 

Hawkins' deal

 

Expected terms of Dan Hawkins' contract as Colorado's 23rd head football coach:

 

• Length: Five years.

 

• Annual salary: $1 million (approximately), including radio/TV package, Nike pay, etc.

 

• Probable incentives: Based on winning the Big 12 Conference North, winning the conference, appearing in a Bowl Championship Series game, winning a national title, top-10 national finish, players' graduation, etc.

 

• Boise State buyout: $700,000.

 

Hawkins' head coaching résumé

 

Year School Overall Conf. Postseason

 

1993 Willamette 5-4-0 3-2-0 None

 

1994 Willamette 7-2-0 4-1-0 None

 

1995 Willamette 6-2-1 4-0-1 None

 

1996 Willamette 9-2-0 5-0-0 NAIA quarterfinals

 

1997 Willamette 13-1-0 5-0-0 NAIA runner-up

 

Totals 40-11-1 21-3-1

 

2001 Boise State 8-4-0 6-2-0 None

 

2002 Boise State 12-1-0 8-0-0 Beat Iowa State 34-16 in Humanitarian Bowl

 

2003 Boise State 13-1-0 8-0-0 Beat TCU 34-31 in Capital Fort Worth Bowl

 

2004 Boise State 11-1-0 8-0-0 Lost to Louisville in Liberty Bowl 44-40

 

2005 Boise State 9-3-0 6-2-0 MPC Computers Bowl vs. Boston College on Dec. 28

 

Totals 53-10-0 36-4-0

 

Career 93-21-1 57-7-1

 

 

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