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CU targets Hawkins

Sources say Boise State coach is Buffs' top choice

B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 14, 2005 at midnight

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BOULDER - The University of Colorado's search for a new football coach has zeroed in on Boise State's Dan Hawkins, sources close to both schools confirmed Tuesday night.

Hawkins, 45, is believed to have received a verbal offer to replace Gary Barnett, who was fired Thursday as CU's 22nd coach.

The fifth-year Boise State coach interviewed with CU officials and/or an intermediary representing the school Saturday in Idaho.

Hawkins, who did not leave Boise on Tuesday on a scheduled recruiting trip, told The Idaho Statesman, the "process is not complete" - the identical wording offered Tuesday night by CU athletic director Mike Bohn.

Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier did not return telephone calls.

Also known to have interviewed with CU is former Buffaloes player and assistant Jon Embree, the assistant head coach at UCLA. There also has been unconfirmed interest in successful local high school coach and radio personality Dave Logan.

Hawkins, whose name has surfaced in connection with at least half a dozen searches conducted by Bowl Championship Series schools during his stint with the Broncos, just completed the first season of a five-year extension worth more than $2.6 million.

Boise State believed the pact was sheltered by a buyout that dropped from $850,000 to $700,000 on Dec. 1.

Hawkins' base salary at Boise State is $525,000 with incentives that could push his total income above $600,000. Barnett was making about $1.6 million annually; his settlement with CU was $3 million.

At Thursday's news conference announcing Barnett's firing, Bohn set a timetable of Dec. 27, the date of CU's game against No. 23 Clemson in the Champs Sports Bowl, or sooner for hiring a replacement.

Since then, Bohn said a new coach could be in place within 10 days, a time frame that would allow CU a better chance at remaining competitive in filling its 2006 recruiting class. With nine known commitments, CU's class is about half filled.

National signing day is Feb. 1.

Bohn also has said he hopes to lure a coach who will view CU as a long-term, perhaps permanent, stop instead of someone who will bolt after four or five years.

Boise State apparently had similar aspirations about Hawkins, who joined Dirk Koetter's staff in 1997 and coached Denver Broncos tight end Jeb Putzier at the Western Athletic Conference school.

After succeeding Koetter on Dec. 2, 2000, Hawkins, a two-time WAC coach of the year, guided Boise State to league championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004, with the Broncos finishing 8-0 in conference play in each of those seasons.

During that span, Boise State romped to a 36-3 overall record and was among the national leaders in scoring and total offense in Hawkins' prolific West Coast offense. The Broncos, who play Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl on Dec. 28, are 9-3 this season, making Hawkins' five-year record at the school 53-10 with four consecutive WAC championships (the Broncos shared the title with Nevada this season).

Hawkins, who is married (Misti) with four children, has western bloodlines. He attended UC Davis, earned a master's degree from Saint Mary's (Calif.) College and began his coaching career at his alma mater.

He also has coached at College of the Siskyous (Calif.), Sonoma (Calif.) State University and Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where he was 40-11-1 from 1993 to 1997 and was the American Football Coaches Association's District Five coach of the year in 1997.

He arrived the next season in Boise, and by all indications, is determined to remain in the West. During his Boise State tenure, his name has surfaced in connection with vacancies at Notre Dame, Stanford, Washington, Utah, Baylor and Kansas State.

Sources in Boise said the CU job appealed to Hawkins because of the school's tradition and recent football success (four Big 12 Conference North Division titles in five years) and Boulder's size.

According to The Idaho Statesman, Hawkins recently built a home in Boise. His oldest son, Cody, a quarterback at Bishop Kelly High School, was named the newspaper's 4A player of the year and planned to walk on at Boise State next year.

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