CU's coaches carry on despite storm clouds of job insecurity

BOULDER — Coaching changes usually are rougher on the assistants. Head coaches of top programs receive fat financial settlements. Their staff usually does not.

A shroud of uncertainty has hung over the Colorado football department for weeks, if not for much longer — perhaps dating to the 16-point loss at Toledo on national television in September of last year. These days, nobody dares talk about “job security” within earshot of the football offices.

“(Pressure) is inherent in the business,” CU offensive line coach Denver Johnson said this week. “There’s the old adage, ‘There are two kinds of coaches: those that have been fired and those that are going to be.’

“But, please, in our case, don’t read anything into that.”

The job status of Colorado coaches may already be on life support. The Buffaloes (3-4, 0-3 Big 12) enter tonight’s game at 11th-ranked Oklahoma needing three victories to become bowl eligible. at this point, qualifying for postseason play with a 6-6 record may not be enough to save Dan Hawkins’ job.

With few exceptions, athletic directors allow coaches a five-year window to get things moving in a positive direction. Turn the program into a winner within five years or else. “Else” usually means getting shown the door.

Hawkins stands 19-37 in his fifth season. Colorado has not completed a season with a winning record under his watch. CU linebackers coach Brian Cabral and colleagues know the score.

“(Getting fired) would be different for me,” said Cabral, who played for Colorado in the 1970s and has worked the past 22 years as an assistant at his alma mater for coaches Bill McCartney, Rick Neuheisel, Gary Barnett and Hawkins.

“The only time we got fired as a staff was at the end of Gary’s last season (2005), and we didn’t see that coming at all,” Cabral added. “But in this situation, it’s a possibility. we know it’s a possibility.”

Imagine going to work not knowing if there will be a tomorrow. It’s a wonder the staff can operate under these circumstances. Coaches must somehow block out any thoughts about their long-term future or at least certainly not be preoccupied with it, running backs coach Darian Hagan said.

First and foremost, he said, is remaining determined to go about one’s daily business. That’s coaching, teaching, being a mentor.

“You have to do right by the players,” said Hagan, the star quarterback on Colorado’s 1990 national championship team. “You can’t let them see that you’re down. If you start doing something you normally don’t do and act differently, they see that. If you don’t correct them on things you normally correct them on, they’re going to wonder, ‘Why is Coach packing it in?’ “

Job insecurity associated with the coaching profession is probably harder on spouses and children, Cabral said.

“We’re at work. We’re at our tasks,” he explained. “But our families have to think about it. They understand our occupation; they understand the risks of the job. They don’t like it. But most of them have been through it before.”

Amazingly, offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau is smiling as much as ever during practices. he said he understood the challenges and the risks when he signed on with Hawkins five years ago.

“Honestly, I knew when I took the job what we were getting into; I knew the situation,” Kiesau said. “My wife and I and my family have all talked about it. You really can’t think about it. You’ve got to stay focused and believe that, hey, God has a bigger plan for us and we’ll put our trust in him. That’s where we are as a Kiesau family.”

You certainly won’t find Colorado coaches reading newspapers, listening to radio talk shows or looking at Internet fan sites that might be critical of the program.

“If you don’t defeat that peripheral opponent, this profession will drive you crazy,” Johnson said. “You have to remember why you got into this business — because you love the game, love the arena of competition, love working with young people.”

Another thing that helps, defensive backs coach Ashley Ambrose said, is that coaches always believe victory is just around the corner.

“I knew getting into this deal that it’s part of the business — if you get hired, there is a chance you’ll get fired,” said Ambrose, a standout for 13 seasons in the NFL but in his first season as a full-time coach. “I’m not going to stress on it. In our minds, we as coaches are saying, ‘If we do things a little better, we can win out’ (in the last five regular-season games). That’s how you have to think.”

If there is a change, Cabral and Hagan would love to be retained by the new head coach and remain at their alma mater. Hagan said if that doesn’t happen, he may have to get out of coaching because he will never leave the front Range “until I’m put in a pine box and delivered back to my mama in California.”

Having been kept on by three CU coaching hires, Cabral said he wonders if his “nine lives” have run out.

“I understand that all good things have to come to an end,” he said this week. “I don’t know when that’s going to happen, but eventually it will. That’s reality.”

Staff writer John Henderson contributed to this report. Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or

Remembering Oklahoma

Sept. 29, 2007: Colorado 27, no. 3 Oklahoma 24 (OT)

With CU leaving the Big 12 after this season, The Denver Post is taking a look at the Buffs’ history with its opponents.It seems like another generation ago, but Colorado actually beat a higher-ranked Oklahoma team than it will play tonight. In what Dan Hawkins will no doubt call his greatest moment as a Colorado coach, on Sept. 29, 2007, his son Cody led the Buffaloes to a 27-24 overtime win over the third-ranked Sooners.

“We were tired about hearing about the 1990 national championship team or the 2001 Big 12 championship,” defensive tackle George Hypolite said. “This is our team. we were ready to make a statement.”

His defense made it possible, holding a team averaging 61.5 points per game to only 230 yards total offense. Malcolm Kelly, a preseason all-Big 12 receiver, didn’t catch a pass. It all allowed Colorado, a 22-point underdog, to score the last 20 points of the game.

Cody Hawkins, a redshirt freshman in his first Big 12 game, hit Tyson DeVree for a 4-yard TD on fourth down to make it 24-17, then tied it with 4:05 left with a 15-yard pass to Dusty Sprague. Hawkins wound up passing for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buffaloes finally ended a 14-game losing streak to ranked teams when Kevin Eberhart drilled a game-winning, 45-yard field goal.

“I’ve been (coaching) for 25 years, and you know when your team is ready,” Dan Hawkins said. “All week, I told them we were going to win the game. our guys were where they needed to be.”John Henderson, The Denver Post

THE SERIES

Overall: OU leads 39-17-2 (three games played at neutral sites). In Boulder: Oklahoma leads 17-9-2. In Norman, Okla.: Oklahoma leads 20-7.

<a href="http://www.denverpost.com/cu/ci_16473587tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.denverpost.com/cu/ci_16473587Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:01:29 GMT 00:00″>CU’s coaches carry on despite storm clouds of job insecurity

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