CU's Barnett canned, will receive $3 million

'On many fronts, it was time for a change,' Bohn says

B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 9, 2005 at midnight

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BOULDER - The University of Colorado's Gary Barnett era, often an equal mix of heady success on the football field and turbulence away from it, ended Thursday with his firing by first-year Athletic Director Mike Bohn.

Barnett, 59, will receive a $3 million settlement, financed primarily by the addition of a 12th football game in 2006. Bohn said a widely reported settlement figure of a nearly $1.8 million was erroneous.

Instead, Bohn said, the $3 million figure "is where the settlement ended up," in compliance with the terms of Barnett's last contract extension, a pact signed in 2002 that included a $2 million retention clause, if he completed the terms of the contract, and a salary of about $1.6 million a year.

Speaking separately - Barnett went first, with his wife, Mary, watching from the wings - at a crowded news conference at the Coors Conference-Events Center, neither man clearly specified why the school's 22nd head football coach was ousted, other than Bohn noting, "On many fronts, it was time for a change."

CU President Hank Brown noted, too, that Bohn's decision "will take the football program in a new direction."

Barnett said that Bohn, as the head of CU's athletic department, has "responsibilities, and some are to make tough decisions. . . . In the last 24 hours, he made a decision to change coaches.

"I respect his decision. I did not like it, but I wholeheartedly respect his decision. . . . It's not my job to question it."

Asked if the football program's tumultuous period in 2004, when CU came under national scrutiny over a recruiting scandal, or more recent allegations against Barnett played a part in his decision, Bohn said that "no single factor or incident" prompted the removal of Barnett from what the coach had called his "dream job" when he took over the position seven years ago.

A national search for Barnett's replacement began shortly after the decision was made to fire him, and Bohn said he already had a "No. 1 all-star candidate" in mind.

Barnett said he was given the opportunity to coach one more game - the Buffaloes' Champs Sports Bowl appearance against No. 23 Clemson on Dec. 27 in Orlando, Fla. - but said he did not want "to make a decision at an emotional moment."

Bohn, though, said the decision was made - and it was Barnett's: "Gary chose not to coach . . . I think that's pretty clear."

Barnett informed his players of his dismissal at a 4:30 p.m. team meeting at CU's Dal Ward Athletic Center. Most were aware of the possibility of losing their head coach, but to finally hear the decision from Barnett nonetheless was stunning.

"I've never been through something like this," junior quarterback James Cox said. "It's such a hard thing to deal with, especially with everything this team's been through. We all love Coach to death, and he's done everything he could to make this program strong."

Senior tight end Quinn Sypniewski and other players termed the meeting with Barnett emotional for them as well as their coach.

"He was upset like any coach at being let go," Sypniewski said. "He spoke passionately and emotionally to us and conveyed all his thoughts and feelings, and he told us to be the men they brought us in here to be."

Barnett leaves CU with a 49-38 record in seven seasons, a mark that included four Big 12 Conference North Division titles in the past five years and a league championship in 2001.

Before coming to Boulder, Barnett guided Northwestern University to consecutive Big Ten Conference championships (1995-96) and was the near-consensus National Coach of the Year in 1995. He also was honored as The Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year twice (in 2001 and 2004). His career record as a Division I-A head coach is 84-83-1.

A native of Mexico, Mo., Barnett attended the University of Missouri and often has cited that school's relatively untapped football potential over the past decade. Even before his ouster at CU, his name was being linked to any future opening at his alma mater.

Less than a month ago, Barnett and the Buffs appeared headed for a special season. CU already was bowl-eligible at 7-2, ranked No. 22 by The Associated Press and enjoyed a two-game lead in the Big 12 North.

Contract negotiations were underway at that point, although Bohn declined to say Thursday night whether Barnett was ever made an offer. Bohn said discussions were proceeding in a fashion to extend Barnett as head coach.

Then the season - and Barnett's tenure - began to crumble.

A three-game losing streak, initiated by a 30-16 loss at Iowa State on Nov. 12, signaled the beginning of the end for that possible special season.

CU took its traditional week off before Nebraska visited Boulder the day after Thanksgiving, a respite Barnett said was welcomed by his players. But against the rival Cornhuskers, a team with whom Barnett had split the previous six games, the Buffs appeared to be stuck in their off week.

Their 30-3 loss proved as debilitating as CU's 62-36 rout of Nebraska had been in 2001. And for the Buffs, the worst was still to come.

A fourth trip in five seasons to the Big 12 championship game ended in a 70-3 loss to No. 2 Texas, CU's worst modern-day defeat since a 76-0 thrashing at Texas in 1946.

The Longhorns led 42-3 at halftime - the final score of the Buffs' loss against No. 2 Oklahoma in the 2004 Big 12 championship game. After defeating Texas in the 2001 league title game, CU dropped its next three appearances by a combined score of 141-13.

Following last season's championship game loss and a lopsided regular season defeat against Texas (31-7), Barnett launched off-season conditioning work with the motto "Close The Gap."

Like his RTD (Return To Dominance) slogan unveiled upon his hiring on Jan. 20, 1999, it never reached fruition. CU's last two wins over ranked opponents were in 2003 (42-35 over No. 23 Colorado State and 21-16 over No. 22 Missouri).

Barnett closed out his CU career not having beaten a top 15 team since a 35-31 win in 2002 against No. 13 Kansas State. In seven seasons, he was 1-7 against opponents ranked No. 3 or higher.

Yet Barnett, who coached at Fort Lewis in Durango before joining Bill McCartney's staff at CU in 1984, encountered almost as many off-field problems at CU as he did unbeatable top-ranked opponents.

His program endured a widely publicized recruiting scandal in 2004, initiated by an off-campus party in 2001 that led to a handful of rape allegations against players. No charges were ever filed.

His off-the-cuff remark about former CU placekicker Katie Hnida - "Not only was she terrible, she was a girl" - landed Barnett a suspension by then-CU President Betsy Hoffman for the Buffs' 2004 spring practice.

Reinstated in May 2004, Barnett eventually became the last man standing among the major CU players during the recruiting scandal. Hoffman resigned, Athletic Director Dick Tharp was forced out and Chancellor Dick Byyny took another position in the CU system.

If those were forgettable, dark days for Barnett, he will reflect on brighter times. He cited his association with the "special people" in the athletic department during his tenure, a 79 percent graduation rate among his players, his team's four divisional titles and four Big 12 championship game appearances in five seasons.

"I would probably deem that a success," Barnett said. "Others might not."

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5466

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