Longtime assistant coach Brian Cabral takes over on an interim basis, but it’s a safe bet that Colorado will fill the job with someone else before next year’s move to the Pac-10. Who might that next coach be? Well, an interesting possibility is Bill McCartney, a national championship winning coach at CU who served as the CEO of the program between 1982-1994. Times have changed, so who knows if McCartney, who is now 70 and has been out of football since 1994, would still be able to have similar success, but all signs point to him being very much interested in the job. Another former head coach, Gary Barnett, thinks the possibility is real, and he’s of the school of thought that believes hiring a former head coach is a safer bet than going with an unproven guy that’s never risen higher than the coordinator ranks.

Barnett joined ESPN 1600 in Denver to talk about the head coaching vacancy at Colorado in the wake of Hawkins’ firing, the possibility of Bill McCartney being re-hired as head coach, whether or not he’s been contacted by potential candidates looking for information and opinions about the gig, how difficult it is for coaches to match expectation levels when the university is not willing or interested to make the commitments necessary to build a top-flight program, why it’s unrealistic to think that CU could lure away a coach like Les Miles who has infinite resources at LSU compared to what he’d have in Boulder, and the gamble of hiring a guy like Eric Bieniemy who’s not only been a head coach, but not even held a coordinator’s position yet.

On if he thinks it would be a good move for the university to hire former Buffs coach Bill McCartney:

“You know, I’m not in position to make those types of calls. I do believe Mac is very interested and I know just from reading and listening, there’s a lot of people who would like to do that. So that’s going to be Mike Bowen and the Stefano’s call. Everybody knows how much respect I have for Mac. Whether he’s the right guy at this point in time, who knows, but he is interested and he’s got a proven track record, and probably would pull a lot of the state together.”

On if he’s been contacted by any potential candidates for the job that are interested in gathering information about the job, university, etc:

“No I haven’t and I don’t expect to…well let me put it this way, I’ve been contacted by people who are interested in working at Colorado. And maybe one that’s interested in being a head coach. I think probably once they pair down and actually have conversations with coaches, then I may or may not get a call. But I would imagine if somebody is doing due diligence, they may call a number of us who were former head coaches there just to find out the climate – unless they’re already familiar with it. Mac’s not going to give me a call about what it’s like there. But there will be some other guys, and guys you know in the business might being a candidate in one form or another, either as an assistant or as a head coach.”

On the disconnect between the level of commitment between the university and ever-rising expectations:

“Yeah, but there’s a disconnect there. There’s a disconnect between what it takes to compete at that level and what’s being done. I think what happens is nationally, on the outside, people perceive CU and Boulder to be like it is in Oklahoma, like it is in Nebraska, like it is in places where we have defeated programs and played for National Championships and played for league championships. And in reality, we’ve scratched along and found a way to be competitive on those levels without having that same sort of culture and environment that other people have. And as long as that culture and environment doesn’t change and remains the same, then it’s going to be a constant scratch and claw. Yeah, there’s a disconnect between those that want and what the university is willing to do. And as long as it stays that way, there’s going to be this constant set of expectations that are unrealistic for any coach that goes in there. And that’s what’s really hard – on the outside the expectations are one thing, on the inside the expectations are something else. But you only hear the ones on the outside, and those end up being negative when the job gets harder to do and more complicated to do than you can perform or accomplish.”

On why it’s so hard to put together a good staff of assistants (short-term contracts, less money, etc):

“Well it’s not challenging getting those coaches here, but once they get here and realize the expectations that are put upon them and the resources that they actually have, and then they’re on a month-to-month contract…they’re not even on a year-to-year contract, they’re on a month-to-month…so they have absolutely no security. And then what happens is they get persuaded to go to other places with two and three year contracts. It just makes it difficult to maintain a staff. It’s not hard to get them there, it’s hard to maintain it once they’re there and realize the complications of the job there.”

On if he thinks it’s worth it to pick up the phone and try to lure Les Miles away from LSU:

“Not in my opinion, but that and a dollar and fifty cents will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. (Editor’s note:  What Starbucks has coffee for only $1.50?) No, I was just with Les last week and he’s got one of those places that everybody wants to try to get to. He’s got huge expectations, and they don’t like necessarily the way he does this or that. But the guy’s record is impeccable, and he’s got a large amount of money and he can hire as many guys as he wants, and give them as many years on their contracts as he wants. You know, it’s just a different culture and a different environment.”

On Eric Bieniemy as a possible candidate, and on the potential risk of hiring somebody without head coaching experience like him:

“Well really, anybody you hire that hasn’t been a head coach, because it’s not just one step from being a coordinator to being a head coach, it’s three. Even if you’re a coordinator which Eric has not been, if you’re a coordinator, you’ve at least organized other coaches, you’ve at least been responsible for half of the football team. When you become a head coach, you’re responsible for everything. As a coordinator you don’t deal with the politics, you don’t deal with the inner-workings, you don’t even know what’s going on; you don’t even know who most of the people are that are in the administration. So it’s a big leap, it’s a huge leap. And anytime you hire someone that’s been a coordinator, or even further down that hasn’t been a coordinator, it’s a crap shoot. But hiring a coach is a crap shoot anyway. It’s just how big a risk do you really want to take.”

Listen here to Barnett on ESPN 1600 in Denver with Vic and Gary

Hawkins’ lack of success at Colorado is mind-numbing. He helped put Boise State on the map as its head coach earlier this decade, a feat that once seemed impossible. Helping lead a resurgence in Boulder, Colo., seems a far less daunting task, but clearly it was not.

Hawkins went just 19-33 in his nearly five seasons at Colorado and the Buffaloes never had a winning record. Thus, Colorado had to basically say: Go coach intramurals, brotha.

Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn joined 104.3 the Fan in Denver with Mike Evans and Drew Goodman to discuss the timing of Dan Hawkins’ firing, the deficiencies he’s left the incoming coach, why it didn’t work out for Hawkins in Boulder, if he really wanted to make this decision last December, the timetable for finding a new coach and the need to hire a familiar name.

On whether he wanted to hold off on making the decision until the end of the season:

“Well, obviously we really wanted to hold on. … [It's just about] continuity of the young men in the program and trying to help them be in a comfortable in the environment. But the negativity, not necessarily just the KU game, but losing two heart-breakers at home when expectations were so high after beating Georgia and the negativity and disenfranchisement of so many of our people and parts of our program [made it necessary]. … I think [the negativity] really is what just pushed me over the edge and it was just time to end that and it’s not productive for our student-athletes and it’s not productive for trying to attract the next coach or the next group of student-athletes.”

On what deficiencies Hawkins left behind:

“To Dan’s credit, when he arrived, he had six offensive linemen in his first spring camp. I think we’re going to be OK up front and on the defensive front. Obviously it’s about speed, it’s about playmakers. We don’t have the depth at running back. Obviously, losing two NFL-caliber corners will be a big challenge for us. It’s about speed, it’s about talent and it’s about firepower offensively and that’s something that we’re going to have to try and fix quickly because in the Pac-12, speed seems to rule the day there.”

On what went wrong for Hawkins:

“I think if you both recall when we hired Dan, he was the hottest coach in the country. His name came up in virtually every job. … In the end, I think that he just wasn’t able to galvanize, not only a lot of our constituents that are important to us in the end, but being able to galvanize enough recruits to come. We had some challenges with some academic performance issues and things like that that just kind of ate away at it in a negative tone that didn’t allow it to click. The bottom line is, as much as we love Cody Hawkins — he’ll probably end up being the all-time quarterback — and Scotty McKnight, the all-time leader receiver, doggone it we love those kids, but they’re just not good enough, big enough, strong enough, fast enough to really put us over the edge.”

On whether he wanted to fire Hawkins last December:

“No, we talked about that scenario and a lot of people say that, but in the end, how we make decisions here at the university is the A.D. makes suggestions and recommendations to the chancellor and then the chancellor visits with the president and then maybe we all talk. In the end, it’s a collective decision. Too much was written about all that stuff. We work together good as a team.”

On finding a new coach:

“Our search committee is still being formed. We have an idea of where we’re going. … We’ll feel good about having a good group that can go out and attract the right coach.”

On whether the next hire has to be a familiar name:

“It’s going to be important for us to engage those folks. How many people knew who Bill McCartney was when [Colorado] hired him out of Michigan in the month of June? I don’t know. But a lot of people knew who Dan Hawkins was and obviously that didn’t work out so well for us. I don’t know the answer to that, but I think you certainly want to have some flair. … I think it certainly would help because we want to keep momentum and have that sizzle, if you will, and keep that going.”

Listen to Mike Bohn on 104.3 the Fan in Denver here

Hawkins joined ESPN Radio 1600 in Denver to talk about not being concerned about his team being too amped up for their opener against Colorado State on Sunday, the extra excitement that goes along with playing a rival in the opener, the swagger that others seemingly see in his team this summer, holding team meetings and practices in the morning for the first time in his coaching career, and how his team has really taken to the new routine.

On having to guard his team from being too excited for their opener against Colorado State:

“Well I think there’s always emotion in every game, we want that. I don’t think we’re guarding against being too high by any means. I think there will be a number of factors: one, they’ll be so happy they don’t have to play against each other anymore, I think both sides will be fired up about that; and then obviously the game, the rivalry, and the whole deal.”

On just how important winning their opener is this season:

“Well I mean obviously it’s a critical game for your opener. I’ve said many times, if you win your opener, the stats are pretty good that you end up having a winning season. So there’s a lot obviously just in that. And then you throw the rivalry component in there as well, and that even doubly enhances that. Everybody’s going to have an opener and be fired up, but there’s probably few teams across the country that are going to play a rival in their opening game.”

On if he would agree that there’s a swagger about his team during summer practice sessions:

“A couple of different guys have said that. It’s just so hard when your nose is stuck right in there because you’re just trying to close the gap and you’re not always exactly sure where that gap is, in terms of, is that between B and C, or F and G, or where is that gap? So I think that’s hard to tell. On paper I think we have some good things going, but we’ve just got to see that thing played out.”

On having practices and meetings in the morning for the first time:

“Oh my gosh, I’m very disappointed it took me 28 years to figure this out. I’m not kidding you. Our guys love it, our coaches love it. It’s awesome. It really is”

On how his players don’t mind getting up early to work:

“Well the thing you have to remember Vic is you didn’t have a strength coach breathing down your neck to get you out of bed. Our guys would normally be lifting at 6:30 in the morning anyway, so I think for them, to be able to get up, they’re fresh and they’re ready to go, their minds are clear, and they’re focused on that. And then they can go focus totally on academics, so it’s nice on both ends. They’re able to take more classes, a better variety of classes are available in the afternoon. So they love coming over here and doing football, and basically getting it over with, and then going and being a student. So it’s worked out really well.”

Listen here to Hawkins on ESPN Radio 1600 in Denver with Vic and Gary

Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn joined ESPN 1600 in Denver with Vic and Gary to talk about the decision to make the move and join the Pac 10.

On taking a risk but not waiting until finding out what happens with the Big 12:

“You’re exactly right.  It certainly was a high stakes initiative and one that we had to be on top of.  It’s really interesting that its really come down to this summer, this time of year when so many things are moving.  It appears we have two years left in the Big 12 Conference and that will be a challenge in itself with so many of the details associated with the move, what’s going on, where other institutions are going.  Now it almost like things are changing hourly.  As I look back in the fish bowl we were in or maybe the environment where we’re trying to take moves and kinds of stuff, it was really a challenge, but yet we have so many people helping us.  We had a lot of people just all committed to the same goal.  I think in the end that really served us well and allowed to move quickly and allowed us to have great intelligence about what was going on around the country.  That’s a tribute to so many people that were helping us with relationships.  You were able to call different people and get good information about what was moving and what was happening and therefore we were able to make the adjustments we needed to make.  We’re really excited.  The Rose Bowl officials will be here today and it should be  a really special day for the University of Colorado.”

On what is so good about going to the Pac 10:

“Let’s put the brand aside for a moment and talk about the University of Colorado.  There are 50,000 thousand more University of Colorado alumni in the Pac 10 footprint than there is in the Big 12.  That’s 20 percent more of the alumni in the history of the University of Colorado.  Where do a majority of our students come from that come from out of state that help keep this operation running here at the University of Colorado.  We’re one of the number one institutions in the country relying on out of state tuition.  Obviously that’s gonna be very important to be visible in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, and who knows? Maybe even potentially Texas.  Then you start to look at the institutions that you will play against, their storied histories, what they stand for academically, what they stand for as far as they run their operations.  You’re often judged by the company that you keep and there’s some great institutions in that league.  That’s not to say there aren’t some in the Big 12 but west is where our orientation is and where we believe our future is.”

On whether or not he expects more teams to join the Pac 10:

“We could not be happier with the lineup that were gonna have.  The question is it 12, is it 14 is it 16?  We don’t know.  We have a lot of confidence in Larry Scott to pull that together and we believe the league understand the importance of our connection to California and Arizona and were looking forward to that lineup.  I don’t know what’s going to happen to Texas and others.  The key for us is to continue improving and going.  It’s really fun to come to work every day and see that basketball court coming up, watching our student athletes that are excited about this and this is really a galvanizing opportunity.  We’ve got to find a way to get our collective bus all on the same page and rolling in the same direction.  This is really an opportunity to do that as we really work hard to redefine what we’re doing and our plan as we move forward.”

Listen to Mike Bohn on ESPN 1600 in Denver here

Ok, ok. I doubt we’ll ever hear something quite as hysterical from a college football coach, at least no time soon. I suppose Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy gave him a run for his money with his ‘I’m a man’ rant last year.

As I digress.

This is a big year for Hawkins and the Buffs. Last year they were young, got piss poor play from the coaches’ son at QB, and were ravaged by a litany of injuries to their offensive linemen early in the season. The result was a 5-7 record and just two conference wins. Hawkins did land prize RB recruit Darell Scott last year so there are things to be excited about in Boulder as he gets ready for his sophomore year.

How about this year’s crop of talent though? Let’s find out. Hawkins joined KKFN on Wednesday to talk about his incoming class.

Listen here

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SRI NCAAFB National Signing Day Posts:

ACC Coaches

Former NFL Coaches Edition

Non-BCS Conference School Coaches

Firing Hawkins would be unfair considering all the injurys the Buffs have had to deal with

Listen here to Hawkins on KKFN